Page 226 of Vicious Temptation

They’re just lollipops, and I know that. They’re cheap, sugary, and ridiculous, but they mean everything because Thiago knows they’re my comfort food and that I always keep one nearby. He noticed something so small that most people would have overlooked, and then he made sure I’d never run out. It isn’t the candy that means so much to me. It’s the fact that he pays attention.

“How are you so obnoxiously perfect?”

He’s beside me again in seconds with a lollipop already in hand. He unwraps it and flicks the wrapper onto the workbench behind him.

“Why watermelon?” he asks, bringing the candy to his mouth.

“I was maybe six. Milly, who was our cook before Estela and practically family, helped raise my mom. She and I were on a grocery run about a month before she passed, and I’d been a real pain in the ass all day.”

Thiago shifts the lollipop to one side of his mouth and chuckles.

“When we got to the checkout, I spotted one and begged her to buy it for me. She said no, which, naturally, was the greatest injustice I’d ever suffered.” I laugh at the memory. “I was crying those big, dramatic kid tears, convinced my life was over.”

I reach for the stick. He lets it slip from between his lips, and our eyes meet as I bring it to my own.

“What happened?” he asks.

“I noticed an older woman drop one of her grocery bags. Everything spilled onto the floor, and even though I was still crying, I ran over to help her pick it all up. I even chased down a stubborn lime that kept trying to roll under the next checkout lane.”

Thiago’s mouth curves as he listens.

“That night after dinner, Milly came into my room and sat beside me on the bed. She kissed my forehead and told me how proud she was of me.” I glance down at the candy between my fingers. “She said I was a good girl and that I should never let the world convince me otherwise.” I smile at the memory. “Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out that watermelon lollipop. She died just a few weeks later.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Slipping the candy back between his lips, I shake my head. “It’s okay. Losing Milly used to hurt, but it doesn’t anymore. The way losing Estela still does sometimes. Now I like to think they’re somewhere together, watching all the irresponsible shit I do.”

“I bet they’re exhausted.”

“I know I would be.”

We laugh together, and I reach for the stick again, trying to steal it back. He grins around it and refuses to let go as he slides my coveralls farther down my thighs.

“I can see why you like these,” he murmurs, rolling the candy over his tongue. “They’re sweet.”

His attention returns to me, and the playfulness in his expression gives way to something far less innocent. Drawing the lollipop from his mouth, he traces it slowly across my bottom lip, holding it there.

“But I can’t help wondering how much sweeter they could be.”

Fifty-Six

remi

Thiago dips to my abdomen, trailing his lips down the center and enjoying every tremor he pulls from me.

“Take that off,” he says, nodding toward my top.

“You know, at this rate, I’m never going to fix this truck.” Catching the hem of my shirt, I pull it over my head, tossing it at him. “You’re too damn distracting, Braga.”

He grins and closes his mouth over one nipple, sucking and licking until my fingers disappear into his curls.

“I think that’s just an excuse to keep me coming back.”

“My pussy is enough to keep you coming back.”

Thiago looks up at me, and the grin on his face says he has no intention of arguing.

“You won’t hear me disagreeing with that.”