“Today-year-old Henry loves it, too.”
Irina, beaming, taking a large bite of her own piece. “This is … different,” she mumbled through her mouthful, crunching through the hundreds and thousands. I stifled a wince at the jarring sound as she hoovered the piece.
“What’s the verdict?” I asked, picking up another slice.
Irina leaned closer, her T-shirt slipping down and revealing a smooth, tanned shoulder and a pearly white bra strap. She reached over to my side of the plate and snagged a piece with long sprinkles.
“I can’t give you a proper review until I’ve sampledallthe options.”She winked and bit into it. Her eyes fell closed, a pornographic moan erupting from her lips. I watched in fascination as her throat worked to swallow the mouthful. An odd, deviant thought sprung to mind about what it would be like to sampleher. To taste and devour her the way she was the fairy bread. To put my lips on her pretty throat and trail them lower …
Heat flooded my face, and other parts of me, as she licked her fingers, grinning wickedly when she noticed my blush. One finger, still damp from her mouth, trailed over my cheekbone.
“I like your way better.”
My eyes found her mouth, and a tiny smear of butter on her bottom lip. My attention snagged on it and wouldn’t let go.
What if I were to press my lips to hers there? Just to clean it off …
I leaned closer … and so must she have, because suddenly the warmth of her mouth was against mine, salty and slippery with butter, and so very soft.
“Mmm,” she mumbled, lips parting, and I couldn’t help myself. I deepened the kiss, pressing my tongue inside. Her taste, mingled with the sweetness of the sprinkles, filled my mouth. Her hands were suddenly in my hair, tangling the way our tongues were.
My stomach swooped, and before I knew it, I was gripping her waist, fingers bunching the fabric of her T-shirt, her flesh warm and giving, and only a thin layer of fabric away. She moaned into my mouth, and I swallowed every sound and wanted more. I ached for this. For more than this. For all the things I hadn’t felt a need for in longer than I could remember.
I pulled back, panting, hot-faced and shocked by the strength of my desire as I gaped at her. Irina’s bee-stung lips glistened, rosy and perfect, her eyes wide and roving my face.
“That was …” she breathed.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “That was crossing a line. I didn’t intend to … we …” I cleared my throat, spinning on my chair and opening my laptop.
“We need to talk.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
A Warder-Away of Bad Things
IRINA
Talk about whiplash!
One second he was kissing me like a man possessed, the next he was adjusting his glasses and pulling up a spreadsheet like nothing had happened. Only the hectic flush on his cheeks, and the way he surreptitiously adjusted himself under his desk, told me that he was just as affected by it as I was.
“We need to talk?” I repeated, too flustered to think straight.La dracu! That kiss … I’d have let him do whatever he wanted to me …
“I’ve been compiling a database of all the potential risks to this little scheme of ours.” He turned the screen towards me. “If we can list all the weak links, we can plan for multiple contingencies, and minimise the risk.”
My eyes roved over the screen without really taking anything in. “Okay?”
He scrolled down, scanning the text. “I’ve identified all the ones I can … but I don’t know who on your end knows the truth about your expired visa. So, let’s start there.” His fingers were poised over the keyboard, ready to type.
“I …”Da-ma dracului, I needed to get my fuzzy, kiss-muddled brainto work! “Well, there’s Kat, obviously—that’s my best friend, and my flatmate.”
Henry typed her in, moving to a new row. “And?”
I shrugged. “Well, there’s Rumi, the ex.”
“Rumi—that’s her name!” he muttered, finding an earlier entry and making a change. “I would consider her a high risk, given she’s made overt threats towards you already.”
I nodded mutely.
