Page 111 of Vicious Temptation

“Off the books?” I cut in.

Thiago hesitates, then sighs and nods.

“Off the books,” he repeats.

“Someone I thought was a friend betrayed me. He lied. The kind of lie you don’t come back from. And he deserved everything he got.”

All the humor vanishes from Thiago’s face as he listens.

“I’m a firm believer in the saying that when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

“I’m sorry about your friend,” he says, his thumb now slowly brushing back and forth across my lower lip.

I shrug. “He’s dead to me. No second chances.”

Thiago stills. “You forgave me, Remi. Why?”

That’s the million-dollar question.

I don’t really have an answer other than maybe I’ve lost it. It’s my turn to reach up and drum my fingertips against his jaw.

“Don’t fuck this up. Because then I’d have to kill you.”

For the briefest fraction of a second, something flashes across his face, but it’s gone before I can make sense of it. Then he tugs me forward and presses his mouth to mine.

I hadn’t kissed anyone since Ryuji, but now I’m wondering if I’ve ever been kissed at all.

Thiago is the right kind of passion meets dominance. He knows exactly what to give, what to take, and how to leave me breathless and craving more. Maybe that’s why I’ve never stopped thinking about him since the day I climbed him like a fucking tree and tasted his lips for the first time.

He sits up, pulling me with him until I’m straddling his lap, the same position that got me into this mess in the first place.

“Hey, Braga,” I murmur between kisses.

“Hmm,” he all but growls.

My hair is in his fist again, the delicious sting forcing my eyes shut as he tips my head back and kisses along my chin, down the front of my throat to my clavicle.

“You can’t fuck anyone else while you and I are doing this...thing.”

I roll my hips against him, imagining what he’d feel like without any barrier between us.

“So we’re exclusive?”

This time, I can’t suppress a laugh fast enough, but it dies the moment he grabs my jaw.

“No one else.” His expression turns serious, sending shivers down my spine.

“No one.”

“Then that answers your question then.”

“What question?” I manage to ask just as his thumb flicks my nipple piercing.

“Mine.”

My heart stutters at the gravel in his voice as he says it.

“Yours?” I tease, my tone surprisingly composed despite feeling like I’m melting on the inside.