“No.”
“Then we can go back to your place.” She releases my hand in favor of my thigh, grinning when my dick jerks to attention. “That is, if you think we’ve talked enough…?”
This fucking woman.Her hunger for me is only driving me feral for her.
At the red light, I pull the e-brake and snare her by the nape, swallowing her surprised gasp with a long, deep kiss that leaves her moaning into my mouth. “Oui, ma reine.We’ve talked enough. Tonight, you’re screaming my name when you’re not choking on my cock.”
Poppy giggles, the sound filling my world with music. “Deal,mon roi.”
HARMLESS
Poppy
As Brontë and I climb from his car and cross Indigo’s parking lot, I wave at Circe, Cas, and Bax. They’re practically bouncing on the balls of their feet by the entrance, the three of them having agreed to keep Brontë company inside the bar while I rendezvous with Nik.
None of them know the coroner I’ve been spending my time with, and they’re more than excited to meet him for themselves. Circe is brimming with spritely curiosity while Cas and Bax look like they’re ready to get the new guy hammered to spew his secrets like a frat boy during rush.
“Go on,” I insist as Brontë pauses, lingering by my side instead of parting from it. His murderous glare doesn’t leave the mercenary lingering in the shadows outside the blue neon glow of the bar’s stylish sign, watching us with the same uncertain hesitancy we’re watching him. “Enjoy some drinks with the crew while I take care of this.”
Brontë’s cheeks hollow as he drags deeply on his cigar. “I don’t trust him.”
“Do you trustme?”
“That’s not a fair argument, and you know it.”
Stretching to the tips of my boots, I kiss the edge of his frown. Instantly, his arms are around me. He holds me so close, I can feel his heart trying to beat from his chest to mine.
“I’m a big girl,mon ange.I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“I know you’re entirely capable of taking care of yourself,Petit Diable,but your track record with every Volkov so far has been less than ideal.”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“He could.”
“Let’s not forget you were once planning to turn me into a book. Yet here I am, in your overprotective embrace.”
“I’m not overprotective. I’m just protective enough.”
“Says the man crushing me with a hug.”
He nips the arch of my ear. “I’m exerting dominance.”
I snort then bite the sensitive spot beneath the corner of his jaw. His answering growl reverberates through my bones, making my toes curl. “You can exert dominance all you want later. Do as I say, and go inside. I need to do this alone.”
Brontë sighs cherry smoke through his nostrils. “If he tries anything, he’s getting shot in the head. Period.” He gifts me with a single harsh kiss that will definitely bruise my lips before releasing me and stalking toward the trio at the entrance.
Stifling my shivers in the absence of his heat, I close the distance between me and Nik. Trying to focus on the chill of the night and the muted bass pounding from inside the bar to keep my thoughts from straying to the hundreds of possibilities this meeting could end badly.
“Your guard dog isn’t pleased with being dismissed,” Nik remarks, smug as Brontë casts a final warning glare over his shoulder before disappearing inside with Circe, Cas, and Bax. “Does he lack faith in your abilities?”
“Do you?” His imperious smirk fades. “That’s what I thought.”
“What sparked the need for a private chat,printsessa?”
Keeping my hands close to my knife and gun, I tell him of St. Aurelius’s Cemetery and his family’s connections with Leviathan’s founding father. He listens with clinical detachment, his features betraying no emotion.
When I’m done, Nik turns his gaze to the night sky and asks, “Why are you telling me this?”
