“Then fuckin’ move it,” he said coldly. “You’re already a day behind.”
“So we’re just throwing them into the deep end?”
“When the water’s calm and not full of sharks…yes,” he answered. “You told me to train him. So let me train him. Gomicromanage elsewhere, Jo. I’m sure you can find someone in your departments to annoy.”
“Excuse me?” she scoffed.
“Jo. This is a thirty-year-old Cognac and you’re whining is ruining the taste, now get out.”
Jo glared at him for a long, tense moment before she turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Ex straddled Meridian’s lap, letting the comforter slip down his back.
“You’re gonna’ break him, aren’t you?”
“Only the parts of him that are useless.” Meridian took another long drag. “Then he’ll be unstoppable.”
He grazed his teeth along Meridian’s jaw. “You see yourself in him.”
“He’s a natural-born killer.” Meridian paused, his grip tightening on Ex’s hips. “I see greatness.”
He pressed his forehead against Meridian’s temple, breathing in the smoke lingering on his skin. His lover’s mouth found the spot on his throat that made him grind his hips down harder.
Meridian’s low rumble was the response he wanted. Those dark eyes met his, penetrating and unblinking as he drank the last of his Cognac and set the glass on the table beside him.
He clutched both Ex’s thighs in a remorseless grip, those gun-roughened hands from years of pulling triggers spiking his arousal.
Meridian’s touch was a promise and a threat. A feeling he craved and feared.
He licked Meridian’s lips, a light caress at first. He wasn’t the type to tease, but he did prefer to savor.
Meridian caught his lower lip and held it between his teeth with the perfect amount of sting.
He opened wider, and Meridian took the space, pressing his tongue inside.
Ex moaned, rocking his hips.
Meridian kissed the same way he killed—efficient, thorough, precise, and unhurried.
The taste of his expensive brandy was heavy on his tongue. Ex chased the bite of oak, burnt sugar, and earthy sweetness from the Black Russian that clung to the seam of his lips.
He tasted it all and yearned for more.
Meridian reached behind Ex and hauled the comforter up over his shoulders, blocking out the cold and sealing him in with his own heat. He gathered the ends in his fists and used them like reins to pull him tighter.
Meridian’s hands weren’t gentle. Every touch landed with intent, the kind that came from a man who knew what bodies did when pushed, when they yielded, and how to make them submit.
His partner’s touch of evil deadliness didn’t scare him. It lit him up and made him ache in places where a simple touch couldn’t reach.
His form of love wasn’t fluffy words nor tender endearment. He was a hunter who consumed what he desired without remorse. Sin enveloped in intimacy.
“Mere, fuck.”
They hadn’t even done anything yet. It was just the thought of where Meridian could take him that had him messed up.
Meridian slid one hand up Ex’s spine, slow, possessive, stopping at the nape of his neck. He held him there, made him stay exactly where he wanted him as he took another kiss, this time deeper and more dominating.
Raw lust surged through Ex, his cock pulsing against Meridian’s abdomen.
