Page 10 of Bitter When He Begs

I watch his lips like a fucking hawk; hungry and taunting. He looks like he’s about to spit another curse at me, anotherfuck you, but then his mouth snaps shut like he knows better. Like he knows if he gives me that much, I’ll take more.

Ah, baby boy’s learning.

His fingers twitch against his jeans, fists curling like he’s seconds from swinging. And maybe I’d let him take a swing at me, just so I could catch his wrist again, shove him flat on his back, and show him what fear really feels like when it’s laced with want.

I glance down at his mouth again. He notices, and his tongue darts out. Nervous? Or maybe hopeful. Don’t know, don’t care. Either way, it’s fucking hot.

He shakes his head, stubborn to the end. “You’re such a piece of shit.”

I laugh. “And yet, you still got in my truck.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

“Probably not, but you did. And now that you’re here, I’m wondering…” My hand lifts slowly, grabbing his jaw. He flinches, but he doesn’t pull away. “…if I kissed you right now, would you fight me?”

He blinks, then he swallows hard.

“Would you push me away,” I murmur, my hand curling just slightly beneath his jaw, “or would you pull me closer?”

Silence.

Breathless, tight, charged silence.

He stares at me, chest rising and falling, and his lips part again, but still—no words. No answer.

Andthat’smy answer.

I lean in so close our noses brush, just the faintest contact. I watch the way his eyes flutter, the way his whole body freezes as he waits, but I don’t kiss him. My lips hover over his, close enough to taste the peppermint on his breath.

Instead, I pull back, just far enough to make him chase it. He leans in, barely an inch, like he doesn’t even mean to, like his body’s moving before his brain can catch up.

And that’s when I smile. “You want me to kiss you so bad it’s pathetic.”

His eyes snap open and he lets out a sound—a frustrated, broken little exhale that makes my cock twitch. He shoves at me again, his whole body tense and his face burning as he glares at me. “Jesus fuck.”

I laugh, leaning back like I’m giving him space, but I’m still close enough that he feels me, still close enough that I can watch the way he fights to catch his breath.

“Relax, Sunshine,” I drawl, grinning. “Not used to guys talking to you like this?”

His throat bobs. “Not like this.”

I grin. “No? No one ever told you how pretty you look when you get all flustered? How you get this little pink flush right here—” I brush my knuckles lightly against his cheek again, and he jerks away like I burned him, his ears going bright red.

I chuckle and sit back, stretching my arms behind my head, watching the way he exhales. “By the way, if I see that little med student around you again, I’m breaking his fucking hand.”

Sage’s head snaps toward me. “What?”

I tilt my head, blinking at him like I just told him it might rain tomorrow instead of threatening to ruin someone’s entire future. “Lee, right? You like him?”

He looks at me with wide eyes, but doesn’t answer. “Doesn’t matter. If I see him anywhere near you again, he’s gonna have a real hard time holding a scalpel.”

“You’re actually fucking insane,” he spits.

I lift my shoulder in a casual shrug. “And you’re mine, so maybe don’t make me crazy, yeah?”

His nostrils flare. “You don’t get to fucking say that, Luca. You don’t get to fucking threaten him—”

“Sure I do.”

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