Page 14 of Blood & Kisses

“Who do you think they were sent from?” he asks carefully.

“One of the others,” I’m giving him little to go on, deliberately. “Look, they have a lot to lose if I speak up and expose them, so they threatened to hurt my family if I told the police.”

“What do you mean they have a lot to lose?” he asks, narrowing his eyes, still glued to my face.

“Careers, family, status,” I reply.

“So, I know one of the men on your list is a cop, so what about the other two? What status do they hold?” he probes as I step further out onto the balcony because the urine is getting to me.

“I’m telling you who they are, Blake,” I answer sternly so he knows I mean business. “For your safety and my family’s, I must keep their identities a secret until the job is done.”

He moves away from guarding the door with eyes honing in on his target. “You do realize who I am, right?” he states, pointing at that handsome, charming face perfect for thieving.

“Where’s this line of questioning going? And to be fair, I don’t know everything you get up to after dark,” I reply in jest. “Maybe you do more than thieving. Maybe you rent your body out, too.”

He’s right up on me now, looking down at me under those dark eyelashes, warm hands find the small of my back. “My body will only be rented out to you on demand.”

I stifle a smile and shuffle on my feet as I become moist between my legs. Poking fun, “How much, eh? How much will you rent your body out for? How much per hour?”

He glances over my shoulder at the world outside as the night quickly claws at the light. A gentle breeze catches a curl of his hair and forces it to dance. “For you, a special deal,” he replies, dropping his eyes down, shimmering in mischievousness.

“Yeah? Now, do tell?” I ask, warding off the nerves belting about in my body. I’m so hot for this man, and my fear of intimacy has ruined my life for far too long, so I stay strong in my position rather than moving away like I usually would.

“A kiss,” his eyebrows cock. “One kiss.”

“One kiss and I get to do whatever I want with your body for an hour?” I hum as erotic sensation runs up and down my thighs, turning them to jelly. “Sounds like a good deal, apart from the fact that it stinks really bad here.”

“Yeah, I can’t do much about that and…ah,” lengthening the space between us as the magic disintegrates, “call Gabe.” He swipes on his phone and places it against his ear, and after two ringtones, Gabe answers. “We’re at Rae’s. Her apartment has been done over. Call the cops or not?”

I can’t hear what Gabe is saying, but the conversation is short, and Blake swipes off and sends the pics he took of the mess to Gabe. I step backward to move out onto the balcony when a hand catches my cheek as his mouth claims mine. His bristly skin rubs against my chin and lips as his hand crawls up the nape of my neck and under my ponytail, pushing my mouth harder against his.

“It still stinks in here,” I breathe into his delicious mouth.

“Shush, I want my payment for being a rent boy,” he croons, biting my bottom lip, and I gasp. He softens his touch as a shadow casts over him, growing distant. “Tell me if you want to stop, Rae. Tell me when you want me to step away if you feel suffocated.”

“I don’t want to stop,” I answer quickly.

He breaks the kiss, moans in disappointment, and holds my face in warm hands, staring directly into my eyes. “You sure, Rae? Don’t say yes when you mean no. Don’t fuck with this.”

I’m slightly shocked by how heated he’s getting over this. “I mean it, Blake. I mean it. Why are you getting so angry about it? I can speak for myself as I am an adult. I consent.”

“Why?” he seems annoyed that I can’t see what’s obvious to him. There’s something sinister in those eyes, and I can’t figure out where it’s coming from or why his mood would turn so quickly. I’d expect a mood swing like this from Cormac, but not Blake, with a smile that would stop a hunting lioness in her tracks. “Why?” he repeats, pulling away from me, holding his anger.

“Have I done something wrong?” my cheeks burn irritably. “You need to spell it out because I can’t your mind, Blake?”

Those broad shoulders tense, and a strained expression casts across his likable face. “I saw what they did to you, Rae,” he stresses, pointing toward my dresser in disarray where my photograph was kept.

Emotion slams against my chest as my jaw tenses. “No,” I point my finger at him. “Don’t you dare.”

“What?” he asks confused.

“Don’t feel sorry for me. I do not want your sympathy, Blake. Please. Forget what you saw in the photograph and stop treating me like a delicate flower, or I’ll lose respect for you,” I’m barely holding it together. “This is why I didn’t want anyone to know. This is why it pained me to show you that photograph because you’d look at me like you are now.”

“I can’t get that image out of my head, Rae.” His voice is soft but strained as the floor beneath my feet opens up. Anxiety strikes me hard, triggering trembling hands, and my head is about to explode. I need to get out of here. Now.

“I can’t deal with this right now,” I hiss, sweeping past him to the door as my eyes burn with tears that I won’t let him see. “Close the door on your way out. I’ll take a cab back to Gabe’s.”

8

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