“He did. My family really likes you, and of course I want to meet yours.” I run my hand over my neck and then motiontowards the obvious nose piercing. “Do you think this will be a problem? What if they hate me on sight?”
“They’re not like that,” she quickly says. “They briefly met Sasha, and all they said was, ‘Well, looks like she’s in safe hands.’” She smiles at the memory. “They’ve always thought of her as a second daughter in many ways, and they were thrilled that she found someone who’s so obviously in love with her and treats her the way she should be treated. I’m not sure what to say about your job, though.”
She starts gripping my finger again, so I give one of her long, blonde strands a soft tug to get her attention. When her blue eyes meet mine, I say, “Right now, we’ll tell them I’ve got some IT job that allows me to work from home. After we’re married, we can tell them the truth if you want.”
I laugh at how wide her eyes get and lean closer to kiss her. “Too much too soon?” I ask. “Need me to take things slower?”
“No.” She reaches her hand up, sliding it behind my neck so she can play with my hair, something she seems to really enjoy doing and I’m more than happy to let her continue. Every soft brush of her skin against mine sends a shiver down my spine. I’ve never been this hard for this long, and I’m a little curious about how long it’ll last. I know there’s no way in hell it’s going to go down while she’s with me. That much is painfully obvious.
“I am a little worried you’ll change your mind, though,” she admits, “or find someone else you’d rather be with.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather be with, and I’m not the kind of guy who changes his mind. Jesus, Van, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but that’s not why I want to be with you.”
“Why do you want to be with me?”
I grin because that’s a really easy question to answer. “Because you make me feel things no one else ever has, because you’re just as sweet as you are gorgeous, because you’re smartand funny, and because you don’t mind getting on the floor and letting a rambunctious puppy jump all over you. You’re a hard worker, but you’re also so quick to laugh.” I run my finger along her cheek. “Because you get nervous when we’re together, and I think it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, but you’re also so effortlessly sexy. I love that you don’t play games, that you don’t flirt with every guy you meet, and that when we’re together, you look at me like you are right now.”
“How am I looking at you?”
“Like I’m important to you, like I matter to you,” I tell her, and then I can’t help but add, “And also like you’re thinking about ripping my clothes off. It’s an intoxicating mix, Van. If I’m not careful, it’s going to go straight to my head.”
I see the corner of her mouth quirk up before she rocks her ass against my hard length and purrs, “Which one?”
Stilling her movements by grabbing onto her hips, I close my eyes and take a second to get control of myself. With my eyes still shut, I say, “Both. You drive me crazy, and I’m honestly surprised I have enough blood left in my brain to even have this conversation right now.”
She presses her lips to mine, and I can feel that she’s smiling. “I feel the same way about you, Niki. I wanted to push Deirdre off the balcony when she kept trying to get you to look at her tits.”
I grin and kiss her back. “Don’t start killing people just yet. All she did was annoy me for butting into our time. I was trying really hard to work up the courage to kiss you, and she ruined everything. And for the record, I don’t give a fuck about her tits.”
“She’d be devastated to hear you say that.”
I nip at her bottom lip. “Yet another thing I don’t give a fuck about.”
“Since you brought up killing people,” she starts to say, and I cut her off with a quick, “Uh-oh,” because I know where this is headed.
“I was just curious. I mean, I need to know what you do, right? If we’re going to be dating?”
It’s impossible to not smile when I say, “We’re definitely dating, Van, and it’s definitely exclusive.”
I get a flash of her dimple before she keeps going. “Then I need to know what you do.”
“But what I do is a secret,” I tell her.
I didn’t think the answer would satisfy her, so I’m not at all surprised when she keeps going. “But do you kill people like Sasha does?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, no one in my family does what he does or loves it the way he does. Sasha is unique.” I can tell she’s worried about this, so I rest my hand on her thigh and then grin when she immediately puts her hand on top of mine. “You seem to have a thing for hands.”
“I have a thing for your hands,” she corrects, and I grin even bigger. “Stop distracting me and tell me what you do.”
“I mainly work behind the scenes. You already know I handle all the security. I gather information, fuck with CCTV cameras, that kind of thing.”
“But you kill people too?”
Instead of answering, I ask, “Would it bother you if I did?”
She doesn’t rush into an answer. She takes a few seconds to think, and her answer reminds me yet again why I’ve fallen so hard and so fast for this woman.
“It would bother me because a life is a life. It’s someone’s child or sibling or spouse, and it’s impossible for me to be happy about that, but I know you, Niki, and I know you’re not heartless. If you’ve killed someone, then I trust that you had no otherchoice. I’d assume it was to protect your family or save your own life.”
