Page 64 of In the Dark

He dragged his eyes slowly over every inch of me, lingering on the rise and fall of my chest before meeting my stare with eyes smoldering.

“I will sleep with Demi,” he rasped, his voice jagged against my ear, “if I damn well feel like it.”

“And I’ll gut both of you if you do,” I retorted in anger.

A dark, dangerous laugh broke from his throat. “Damn, you’re pretty when you’re murderous and mad, baby. By the way, me encanta tu pelo,” he said in perfect Spanish, and my heart almost stopped.

He’d said, “I love your hair.”

This man.

He leaned in, his scent all around me—that expensive sandalwood I was starting to crave, overwhelming my senses. “Give me a taste of that venom, Viper. I fucking need it.”

And then he dove for my lips.

18

Callahan

JASMINA WAS ALREADY WAY more trouble than she should have been. But I wasn’t going to refrain from taking that vicious little mouth when she looked like this.

Goddamn, she was flawless.

She didn’t hold back with her kiss either.

How was I going to find any sort of relief when I knew she was around? Her lips were so full I wanted to drag my tongue across them for days, and her neck was so small I could snap it. Her fight to push back, though, was big and dangerous, which was what I liked most.

She bit into my lip like she remembered this kiss wasn’t meant to feed her desire, and when I moaned, she shoved me back.

“Open the car door for me so we can go home,” she commanded, lifting her chin like she had all the power here.

Every part of me wanted to actually listen to her or do the complete opposite and make a whole scene for everyone in the neighborhood. And wasn’t that something? I should have been throwing her into the car and locking her away. “You deserve to have your ass thrown in the vehicle.”

She shoved at me again, but I didn’t move except to suck in a ragged breath and try to center myself. I’ve always been pretty stable and conscious of my actions. I actually prided myself on it. Always thought about how my actions would affect the Diamonds, my brother, my community.

Yet here I was now with her in the middle of Paradise Grove, and I had my hand around her neck, not thinking at all about the repercussions. Not that she cared at all. She didn’t even look the least bit scared. “You going to throw me in a car and hide me away all because I’m talking back to your little whore in there? Please.” She crossed her arms. “She didn’t even have the decency for girl code.”

“Girl code? Her only allegiance is to my dick.” Jasmina scoffed, but it was the truth. I’d enjoyed Demi. She was everything I wanted in a casual affair because she gave as good as she got. She had no expectations other than what we did behind closed doors and the occasional public appearance. “And it’s all she wants out of me, so you shouldn’t be that concerned.”

“Ha,” my little viper responded loudly, and then she leaned into my grip. “I’m not concerned when all you have to offer, quite frankly, is a kiss like that.”

Her eyes were wild and full of fire. But her words were what sent me over the edge.

Bullshit she wasn’t concerned. Bullshit that kiss we’d just shared wasn’t much to offer.

I tightened my hold on her neck, and she licked her lips.

Jasmina Ruiz wanted as good as she gave, and I was about to give it right back to her.

I yanked her to the side so that the hood of the SUV was behind her and then I shoved her up onto it so that I could step between her legs before I took her mouth again.

This time, I didn’t leave room for her to even breathe. I claimed her on that street, making sure my tongue tasted every part of her sweet mouth, and I couldn’t stop the groan from deep in my chest as she spread her legs wider, like she needed me closer, like she wanted me just as I wanted her.

The problem with having no control around this woman was that, in Paradise Grove, everyone was watching.

“Yoo-hoo, Callahan!” I heard the busybody, Lucille, calling to us as she walked over in heels that met the ground with clipped precision, and not a moment later, I heard my freaking mother gasp.

“Callahan, in the street?”