Page 178 of Vicious Temptation

Relief relaxes his shoulders.

“And I want this,” I say. “I want you.”

His eyes hold mine. “Me too, chama. Me too.”

I don’t know what the word means, but I don’t need a translation. The way he looks at me tells me everything I need to know.

“Thiago, take me upstairs.”

He nods once and starts walking again without making any attempt to put me down.

We cross into the lobby, and I’m sure there are people around, since it’s barely nine o’clock, but I don’t bother looking. No one else matters. And if anyone is staring at Batman carrying Catwoman through the building like she’s the only woman in the world, they might be right.

Forty-Five

remi

Thiago kicks the condo door closed and deadbolts it, all without loosening his hold on me. Call me whatever you want, but that alone makes me wet and itching to tear out of this costume and ride this man to oblivion.

I watch him cross the dark living room without bothering with the lights. When we reach his bedroom, he wastes no time tossing me onto the mattress. I bounce once and prop myself up on my elbows while Thiago stands at the foot of the bed, still wearing that fucking Batman mask as he looks down at me.

“Well, Batman,” I say, slowly crossing one booted leg over the other. “Looks like you finally caught me.”

His head tilts as he takes a step closer. “I did.”

“And what exactly do you plan on doing with me?”

Thiago moves between my legs, planting his hands on the mattress beside my hips.

“That depends on how cooperative you plan on being.”

I flash him a grin and lift my leg, pressing my heel to his chest. “You really don’t know Catwoman at all.”

We barely spent any time at the party, and it would be a fucking crime not to have a little fun with this.

“Tell me something, Braga. Why Batman?”

He looks up at me, caught off guard by the question.

“Is it a cop thing?”

He closes his hand around my ankle. “What do you mean?”

“You know.” I gesture vaguely between us. “Justice. Bad guys. Brooding in dark corners while pretending you don’t have feelings.”

“I don’t brood.”

“You absolutely brood.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

I grin. “Fine. So, tell me, why him?”

His thumb moves absently over the leather of my boot, his silence stretching long enough that I start to wonder why such a simple question requires this much thought.

“Because he does what he thinks is right, even when the way he does it isn’t,” he finally answers.

“Because Batman operates outside the law.”