She activated it anyway. Her smirk grew beneath the shadow of her baseball cap. That little minx.
Her brother growled. I flicked my gaze to him only briefly, measuring his threat as I would a wolf in the woods. It concerned me, but I didn’t sense he would act on the threat just yet.
Betty took another step toward me. I crossed my arms, adopting a wide stance and puffing myself up like a bear showing its strength. Her taser lit up with life, crackling in her hand.
Bold little thing, looking glorious and fiery with life—she should have been a redhead.
“Is this your idea of flirting?” she teased.“Where the fuck were you?”
I ignored her question.“I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away,” I retorted.
She scoffed, expressing her annoyance and disdain with the condescending tilt of her head.“100-million dollars worth of stolen art will do that to a woman.”
“Are you stalkingmenow?” I asked.“I could get used to this.” It felt like foreplay.
“You should. I’m not the type to back down from a challenge,” she shot back.
I nodded.“Good. I wouldn’t want you to. I like my women in charge.”
Her brother growled again, but she gestured him back for a second time. For good measure, she threw in a middle finger. Once he’d conceded, she stepped toward me, a demoralizing look in her eyes.
She sauntered from side to side as she approached, stopping a hair’s breadth from me.
I let my hands drop to my sides.“Hey there,” I teased.
She paused for two beats before her breasts pressed into my chest. I could scarcely breathe, feeling her hardened nipples pebble through the layers between us.She pinched the brim of my hat and tilted it off my head before dropping it to the ground. The bill made a hollow thud as it hit the floor. Her scent enveloped me—rich, musky rose and vanilla.
I ached to touch her, fingers tingling and charged with energy, but the glint of barely haltered rage on her brother’s face held me back. Why did he have to come?
Betty rose on her toes, coming eye to eye with me before leaning close to my ear.Her breath tickled across my neck, warm and moist with her words as she said,“Can I have the art back?”
I felt her tongue caress my earlobe, eliciting a delicious shiver down my spine.I clenched my hands.
“Prettyplease?”she added.
I smirked, my balls tightening at the sound of those words on her tongue.“You can have anything you’d like, especially if you say it like that.”
I couldn’t help it; I needed to taste her.
I stepped one foot forward, fitting my thigh between her legs. The warmth of her center was apparent as she pressed forward even more, embracing the contact and pressure.
Tilting my head, I didn’t hesitate as I took her lips in mine, delving into her mouth with abandon. She reciprocated the kiss, tasting of cinnamon, her tongue eager to explore my intrusion. Pulling back ever so slightly, I bit her bottom lip with a gentle tug, but she leaned away in challenge.
I followed like a leashed puppy, much to my demise.
A startling pain jolted my left rib cage, forcing the breath from my lungs. It sent a bolt of electricity through and across my ribcage, eliciting a sharp pain all the way to the tips of my toes. It was harsh at first bite, but as it spread, issued a deep and pleasurable punishment in the wake of our kiss.
The little tease hadtaseredme.
With a grunt, I buckled forward, falling to my knees as a second blow of pain bloomed across my left cheek. I heard my jaw crack, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth as the inside of my lip split open. The room was spinning, ears ringing as my hand went to my jaw, rubbing it. Her brother, Nash, had cashed in on his anger with his fists.
Asshole.
Hunched over and unable to recover, hands grabbed me. I felt my frozen body drag a short distance before my back was propped against a cold metal pole. My stiff arms were yanked behind me, wrists bound with thezipof ties filling the air. My hands went numb from the sudden loss of blood flow. I could easily break my way out of zip ties, but I found it easier to let this asshole believe he’d bound me.
When Bee approached, I saw double. Lucky for me. She loomed over me before kneeling down to prop herself in my lap.
“Tag, you’re it,” she whispered.
