Page 81 of In the Dark

He slid the fork into my mouth so I couldn’t finish, and then he leaned close to the shell of my ear. “I want you to be and look healthy. Like my wife is taken care of. Like I’d indulge in every single curve of hers and enjoy them too right now if she’d let me.”

Oh, Lord. I glanced up at him and got lost in those blue-green eyes. Lost in his charm. Lost in the sweet nothings he murmured probably because he was more used to flattering women then giving them the truth. Then he dragged a finger along my collarbone and down to the swell of my breast before bringing it back up to tip my chin so my face tilted toward his. I couldn’t help but shiver.

My body turned to liquid heat every time he touched me, like somehow during that one night we had together, he’d programmed me, and I couldn’t come back from it.

Having him this close felt criminal, felt like I wanted to give into what he was before, to how I knew his hands could touch me, to how I knew his lips could devour me.

I swallowed the food and licked my lips, glancing down at his, and a low growl sounded somewhere from deep in his chest. I jerked back out of his reach to break the connection. “Once between us was enough I think, Callahan.”

“According to who?”

“Me. And you should feel the same.”

He was still staring at my lips. “I’m trying to keep my hands to myself, Viper, but no way in hell once with you would ever be enough. I think every damn man on the planet would agree with me.”

“Keep your hands to yourself?” So that’s what him not making passes at me since Demi was. It wasn’t the fact that he’d somehow found me less enticing after threatening his lover. “Why?”

“Didn’t you tell me to earn you?”

“Yes?” I said slowly.

“I think that comes with me earning trust before I ravage the hell out of you.”

“Or maybe we never get to that point.”

“Why?”

“Because our families will never get along, for one.”

“Don’t care.”

“You don’t … You’re doing this specifically for your family,” I reminded him.

“And business. And …” He stopped himself, sucking on his teeth. “What did your uncle tell you about the trust?”

I stared at him, not sure how much I should divulge, but then again, he’d find out anyway. “You really believe there’s money my grandfather and dad stashed away for the heirs of their bloodline?” I gave him a look.

He shrugged. “Our grandparents and ancestors have done stupider things.”

“Right,” I sighed. “Well, I was with my dad and mom until I was six, Callahan. Never once did he say a word to me about it. I tried to remember, even on the day he died.”

He looked at me suddenly, his face morphing into a sort of disgust. At first, I thought he’d figured me out. I didn’t look toward where the SD card was hidden, but I felt it radiating between the mattresses. But then he said, “At six, you shouldn’t have to try to remember anything about your parents being taken from you, Jas. Did Paolo—”

I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Paolo asked a lot of me as a child, and up until his death.” I shrugged, trying not to be frustrated with it. “It was his way.”

“It was the wrong way.”

His words settled in my bones. Monte and Perla had always allowed Paolo to question me. At times, they’d been adamant about it, berating me, withholding my place to sleep, food, common comforts. I didn’t talk about it because I was grateful, but Callahan’s visceral response to even this slotted him into my heart as someone I was thankful to have met. I didn’t tell him that, though. Instead, I said, “Maybe. Or maybe it was just their way.”

“Their way always, huh?” he said like he hated it.

“I guess. Let’s not forget that their way is potentially getting you a share in the firearms company and a transactional offspring necessary to fulfill the contract.”

The air cooled, thinning to a sort of pressurized silence between us. I saw his jaw jump in irritation, and the cords of muscle at his neck tightened as his gaze turned icy. “You think that’s what’s between us?” His voice was dangerously low.

I met his fiery gaze, trying to keep my cool and put a barrier between us because I couldn’t have him embedding himself in my heart. “That’s what we signed up for, Knight.”

He nodded once, then twice, the silence stretching. Then he leaned close, letting me feel his heat before his lips were against the shell of my ear again. “Jas, when I fuck you on our wedding night, it won’t be just transactional. It’s going to be real. When I fuck you, you’re going to forget about a contract, because I intend to obliterate all your thoughts except for me and you. So, eat your food.” He pointed to my plate and pushed off the table, standing over me to play with a tendril of my hair. “Because I want to make sure these curves still exist on our wedding night. Know why?”