“Earth to Leilani.” He waves a hand in front of my face. “Where did you go?”
Oh, if only he knew the dirty roads my mind wanders all day long. How I’d tear his clothes off and climb him if I weren’t afraid of rejection. How badly I want his lips devouring mine.
The air moves with him as he steps closer, and a sweet, floral scent slaps me hard. My breath hitches, my blood turning to cherry slurpy in my veins.
I tilt my head, scrutinizing every last inch of him until I spot a pink smudge on the sharp line of his cheekbone...
Fuckinglipstick.
My gaze clashes with his. He looks amused, unaware he just triggered the feral rabid thing inside me.Herperfume curls around me, clings to his skin, and my fists clench on cue.
I surge forward, shoving him back with all my might. “You fucking asshole!”
He stumbles, his brows hitting his hairline, lips briefly parting without sound, and then: “What? What did I do?”
“Why don’t you tell me?!” I shove him again, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. “I’m righthere!”
“Tell youwhat? You’re not making any sense, Leilani. What were you thinking about?”
“You!” I charge at him as he backs away, my fists pounding his chest. “You drive me insane! I’m here, waiting, and you’re—” Another shove, but this time he doesn’t step back. He grabs my arms, holding me at a distance. “Let me go! Don’t fucking touch me!”
His hands fall away, a deep eleven denting his forehead. “Just stop, okay? Talk to me. I don’t know what’s happening.”
“Neither do I!” I yell in his face. “You’re so hot, so funny, so fucking perfect, and what? I’m not enough? God, I can’t stop thinking about you! I see your face every time I come and you’re out fucking other women?! What the hell is wrong with me? I’m righthere!”
His demeanor shifts, pupils blowing wide as he steps forward, towering over me. “I jerk off every morning because of you,” he seethes. “Every night after you go to bed. I haven’t touched another woman since I met you.”
The words knock all oxygen from my lungs, butherfloral scent wafts between us and his cheek is fuckingstained.
“You’relying,” I grit out, dragging my finger over the pink smear. “You have lipstick here, and you smell—”
“I’mnotlying.” He catches my face, his fingers sinking into my cheeks and puckering my lips.
I love it when he does that. It’s the kind of possessive, control-filled move that makes my pulse race and thighs clench.
“I’ve never lied to you.” His dark eyes rove my face, glinting with satisfaction. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous when you’re jealous. It’s my birthday, hellcat. That’s Violet’s perfume and Bianca’s lipstick. The only girl I want throws her fists at me every five minutes.” He bands one arm around my lower back.
The fire in my chest flickers, then morphs into an entirely different type of heat as I melt into his touch. “You want me?”
“I wanted you the moment you walked intoScarlettthat first time.” He lets go of my face, his warm breath fanning my mouth. “But you’ve been through some fucked-up shit, and I was trying to be fucking patient.”
“You were being fucking stupid and you’ll pay for that.” I shove him onto the couch and straddle his lap. My knees dig into the cushions, thighs locking his hips. “You’ll pay for making me feel like I’m not good enough for you. No food until you fuck me, Koby. Treat me like I’m breakable and I’ll make it hurt.”
The veins in his hands strain as he grips the cushions instead of my hips. The restraint in that one small gesture makes my pulse spike. He could flip me, crush me, fuck me into the couch until I can’t think. Instead, he’s holding back, fighting the part of him that wants me under him, writhing and moaning.
My throat clogs again, and something dangerous flickers in Koby’s eyes a second before—
“Fuck it.”
He surges up, one hand grasping the hair at the back of my head, the other cinching my waist to crush me into him, and his lips finally catch mine.
We both groan into the kiss, releasing everything we’ve been choking down for weeks.
It’s everything I’ve imagined and more. He’s not tentative. Not careful. He doesn’t test the waters.
Hetakes. Claims. His mouth is hot, unrelenting, full of wild hunger. The pressure steals my breath but I don’t want it back. His tongue pushes past my lips, and his taste slams into me... whiskey, mint, smoke.
I clutch at his shirt, dragging him closer, even though there’s no space left between us. His fist in my hair tightens, angling my head for better access, and he fills his free hand with my hip, dragging me further against his hard, thick cock pulsing between us.
