Page 74 of In the Dark

“It was going nowhere.”

She hummed, and just when I thought she might believe me, she asked, “Tell me, how was kissing her?”

My gut twisted at the question. She’d seen that, and she cared enough to ask, meaning that I couldn’t take back another moment of me hurting her. “Not—”

“If you kissed her, you could have done the rest,” she said, her eyes holding mine. She looked away and then up to the ceiling, and her tone changed to resigned. “And you know what? You don’t owe me anything, Knight, but I will fight you every step of the way if you’re kissing women here.”

“Here?” I questioned, confused.

“This is supposed to be the place I have to live for two years, correct?”

“It’s just as much your home as it is mine,” I hurried to remind her.

“Then …” She took a deep breath, like she was closing down all her emotions in one big swoop of oxygen. “I can be mature if you can. Maybe we shouldn’t tarnish the home with you being a man whore”—I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up her hand—“or me being a whore, while we sleep down the hall from one another.” Her words sounded strained and vulnerable. “Those should be the lines.”

I searched her eyes then, wanting to see her fury and vulnerability, but she’d locked them away. She cared, but she was trying not to.

“Viper,” I said her nickname softly, trying to bring her back to me, but she looked away, shaking her head. “I hurt you, and maybe I wanted to just to see if I could. For that, I’m sorry. I fucked up, okay? I was trying to stop from obsessing over you.”

“Obsessing?” She lifted a brow like I was being ridiculous.

I swore and then admitted, “Yeah, because you’re all I think about now. You run through my head all day, and I swear all I was trying to do was get you out of it. I see you everywhere and it’s driving me crazy, Jas.”

She lifted her chin. “I don’t care about the reasons or your excuses. Never again with me here, Callahan. You understand?”

“How about never again from either of us. Period. Not out of this house, and not in it,” I told her, because I wouldn’t have it any other way now. Not after how much time Archer spent in her room.

“I guess I’ll agree for the two years.”

Two years was starting to seem rather short as she stood there looking flawless in the moonlight.

“Can you agree to throwing away your pajamas after tonight too?”

She rolled her eyes. “What’s happening tonight? You’ve drained me of all my energy. I’m going to bed.”

“My bed first.” I slid my hands to her hips and walked her backward until her legs hit the edge of the bed.

She raised her eyebrows at me and started to chuckle. “You’re unbelievable if you think I’m sleeping with you after what you did tonight, Callahan.” There was my first name. Thank Christ I’d won it back.

“No. I think you’re letting me apologize, though.”

She tilted her head and bit her bottom lip. “How exactly do you intend to do that?” She sat down on the edge of my bed, feeling the sheets beneath her fingers like she was measuring all her surroundings.

I stood over her for a moment, taking in the woman who was owning my life, who was going to be at the center of it for at least two years but probably more, and I smiled because I was starting to see I didn’t want it any other way. Jasmina was full of fire and recklessness, but she was strong and full of pride too. I respected her because she respected herself.

I leaned forward to tip her chin up because I wanted to taste the lips I’d been thinking about all day.

Yet, just before I could, she pulled back. “Cally baby.” She smirked at me. “There’s no way you’re going to kiss another woman and think you can kiss me in the dark. You want to apologize, get on your knees.”

She lifted her hips and slid only her shorts off. She didn’t have any underwear on, and I groaned at seeing her slowly spread her legs with all the confidence in the world.

We were playing a dangerous game.

I think we both knew that.

But I wasn’t backing away from it now. I wanted her, and I was taking any scraps she would throw my way, even when she was furious with jealousy. I kneeled between her legs and grabbed one of her hips so that I could move her forward. I wanted her pussy on the edge of the bed where I could see it drip for me. I moved my thumb over her clit, and she gasped. “You don’t even deserve this,” she whispered, looking down at me.

“And yet you’ll give it to me, because you know it’s what we both want.”