“How did you know what happened with my boss?” I asked.
He didn’t hesitate. “Met you on Saturday night. My man had tapped into the cameras in your office building by three o’clock Sunday mornin’.”
My face twisted, my expression incredulous. “Why?”
That time, he paused briefly. “’Cause I knew by then I wanted to protect you.”
My eyebrows pulled together. “But I told you I wasn’t interested.”
Pagan’s mouth curved. “Exactly.”
My belly fluttered.
“You know the last time a woman gave me lip?” he inquired.
I shook my head in reply.
He dipped his chin, his eyes boring into mine. “Never.”
My forehead creased. “So this is all because I told you no?”
“In a way,” he responded. “But it’s mainly ’cause you stood up to me. You know the last time that happened?”
I shook my head again.
He gave me a lopsided grin and repeated, “Never. I need an ol’ lady who tells me no. It’s gonna drive me crazy, but I’m surrounded by yes men and women.Mywoman’s gotta be more. Saw you across a crowded room, Ash, and within seconds, I was by your side. Went off, acted the dick to see what your reaction would be.”
“So the whole Shannon thing was a test?” I challenged.
He moved toward me. “I prefer to call it an experiment.”
“Just put me in a fucking Petrie dish, why don’t you?” I muttered.
He barked a soft laugh, coming to stand directly in front of me. “Well, you’re gonna be under a microscope. I’m not a man who misses much.”
Pagan was so close I could feel the heat radiating from him and smell the clean, fresh scent of his citrus, woody cologne. I glanced up and stilled because he was looking at me as if I were something rare and precious.
My heart fluttered as his hand reached for my jaw and two calloused fingers slid across the soft skin of my chin, tilting my face upward.
I knew he was about to kiss me, and I should’ve flinched, protested, swung at him even, but I was so caught up in the moment that I couldn’t have stopped even if I wanted to.
His lips caught mine, hard enough to make me whimper, and warmth flooded me—not from the burning heat of his skin but from the sheer unrelenting force of him. My knees buckled, and an arm twined around my waist and pulled me against him so forcefully that I felt every hard plane of his body.
Pagan’s mouth was soft but insistent, his tongue sliding into my mouth, pressing against mine. Before I knew it, I was arching up, pushing my body against his and kissing him back with so much abandon that I even shocked myself. It felt like I was coming apart.
His arms tightened around me like iron bands, locking my body to his, and suddenly, I wasn’t flying apart anymore. I was raw and exposed but also anchored and grounded, and it was both terrifying and addicting.
He broke away, his breath shuddering gently against my lips, and muttered, “Jesus fuck, woman. You make me do the unthinkable. I don’t kiss.”
The corner of my mouth hitched. “That’s a shame. You’re pretty good at it.”
He chuckled, his breath warm against my cheek. “It may become my new favorite habit. You taste like trouble and there ain’t nothin’ sweeter.”
His words struck a chord in me, and my breath quickened. I could sense the power contained within him, and it made my thighs clench with need. I wasn’t a risk taker; if anything, I shied away from danger, but something about Pagan made me crave it.
I wanted to be scared; I should have been, he had torment written all over him, but what really terrified me was how much Iwasn’tscared. My body felt the threat of him, and my instincts screamed at me to run. But something inside me was unfurling, something dark, and it found him fascinating.
Even though he’d likely shred me, I knew I was going to take the risk.
