“I made it clear that no one was to touch you.”
“I don’t think bounty hunters bother with the fine print on a contract. When do they ever play by the rules?”
I want to ask what she means, but she bulldozes ahead, not giving me a chance to speak.
“Tell me the truth, Dante. Aren’t you here to make sure I can’t lay a claim on the inheritance you’ve stolen from me?”
“I haven’t stolen anything, and I don’t have to kill you to make sure of that.”
“Is that so?” She sneers. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Then tell me what’s going to happen.” She steps right up to me, putting us toe to toe. “Tell me why you’re here.”
I drop my gaze to her lips. “I’m here to take what’s mine.”
She laughs that strange laugh again. “You’re not getting Noah.”
My voice is level. “I don’t mean him.” I finish my drink and set the glass down on the bar counter. “Well, not only.”
She steps back and glares at me. “Stay away from Noah. He’s not yours, and neither am I. Making that assumption will be a mistake.”
She has no fucking idea how wrong she is.
Ugly jealousy burns in my gut. “Did you take another man’s cock in your pussy?”
She clamps her lips together.
My voice comes out low. Dangerous. “How many?”
More silence.
“Because so help me God, Tatiana, I’ll kill every motherfucking one of them.”
A chuckle bubbles up in her throat. “Is that what this little charade is about? Hell, Dante, you’ve always been possessive, but this takes it to a whole new level.” Her cheeks flush red with anger when I don’t reply. “Did you come here to piss on your tree? To mark your territory?” Shooting back her drink, she downs everything in one go before putting her glass neatly next to mine. “I’ll tell you what. I’m done doing things on your terms. It never did me any good, did it?” She shakes her head. “No. Look where listening to you has left me. So here’s how this is going to work. You want my pussy? You can buy it.”
I growl a warning. “Tatiana.”
“No, Dante. Let’s call this what it’s always been. You used me, so why change the game now?” She brushes her hands under my jacket, pushing it off my shoulders. “I fuck you, you get over it, and you go away.” When the jacket falls on the floor, she grabs my shirt and rips it open. Buttons fly everywhere. “I’ll sign any papers to denounce my inheritance.” She pulls the shirttails from my pants. “Or why not have a death certificate issued? Everyone thinks I’m dead anyway. Why not leave it like that? It’ll make things easier for you from a legal point of view. Don’t you think?”
She stills when she’s got the shirt open to stare at the new ink on my chest. I covered a lot of skin since the last time she saw me naked. I don’t know if it’s the vastness of the ink or the fact that all those images prove just how long it’s been that pulls her out of the fucked up space she’s gone to in her head, but she’s quiet as she splays her fingers over my chest.
She’s back in the moment, and fuck, her touch… it does something to me. I should push her away, but I want her—I’ve never stopped wanting her, not in all the years I’ve been hunting her like an animal—and I’m not a good enough man to stop her when she strokes her palms down my chest and over my stomach.
Whatever pulled her out of her head, that’s gone when her fingers reach my belt. She unfastens the buckle while staring at my face and licking her lips like a tease. “How about that, Dante? Is that what you want? A fuck to get me out of your head? Hell, I’ll even give you one for the road.”
I grip her wrists. “Not like this.”
“Yes.” She pulls free and slaps my hands away. “Exactly like this. My way. My terms. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
There’s no getting over her, no setting her free. I’m about to tell her that when she unzips my pants and slips her hand through the gap without bothering to unfasten the waistband. Her warm hand cupping my hard-on is my undoing. The gentle squeeze of her fingers around my cock is as much as I can take.
Grabbing her shoulders, I push her away. “Tatiana, no.”
“Yes, Dante.”
She shimmies out of her leggings. No panties.
