“Yes, you would.”
I would. She knew me well. I grinned faintly. “Someone else, maybe. Not your housemate. His suffering is my Christmas present. Thank you ahead of time.”
She huffed out an annoyed sound. “Don’t thank me for that.” Her grip tightened on the knife. She pressed it harder against me, and I knew it broke through some of my skin. I didn’t think Blake was aware. “We came to an agreement once before.”
She wanted to save people’s lives. I remembered that with fondness.
“I want to do that again, but for Marshall instead.”
The fondness vanished. “He’s that important to you?”
“No.” She held my gaze steadily. “But I don’t like when you hurt people because of me. I can’t live with that, Creighton. If we keep going how we’re going, I need to compromise on some things, but so do you.”
My hand shook as I tried to rein in my anger. “You would ask that of me? To not protect you? To not avenge you if someone hurts you?”
“You take it to the extreme.”
“You can’t put a leash on me.”
“Compromise.” She rolled her hips over me.
I stopped her and fixed her with a cold look. “Don’t do that.”
Her bottom lip fell open. “What?”
“Use your body to manipulate me.”
“I’m—” She snapped her mouth shut and stewed. “That’s not my intention.”
I smoothed both of my hands around under her leggings, dipping down so I could cup her ass. A surprised sound squeaked from her as I lifted her up and then repositioned her, higher on me,righton top of my dick. “This entire exchange has been a manipulation.”
“I—” She wanted to argue.
I waited, interested in how she could protest.
She closed her mouth. “I wasn’t thinking of it in that way. I just knew that I needed to get you alone, and I don’t want you to leave, so sitting on you seemed the best option.”
I gave her knife a pointed look. “At knifepoint?”
She gave me an embarrassed look before closing the knife.
I palmed it from her.
She gave me a questioning glance.
“It’s better if they find it on me than you.”
Understanding flared. She leaned in, nipping at my lips. “But they’re more likely to search you than me.”
I growled. “They wouldn’t dare.”
Her smirk was triumphant. “Exactly.”
I was enjoying this. This banter between us. I wanted more of it. I wanted to bicker with her until the day my heart stopped.
“I—” She cut herself off, then regrouped. Her shoulders rose and fell back. She straightened on my lap. “I need you to tell me what you’re intending to do to Marshall.”
I grew cold.
