Page 145 of Toxic Temptation
I stop myself from finishing the thought, in large part because Kovan is close enough now that I can count every dark eyelash framing those eyes.
“Tell me,” he says again softly. “Tell me what you need. Maybe I can help.”
His lips look full and soft in the muted moonlight streaming through the breakfast nook windows. The constellation tattoo on his forearm peeks out from his rolled sleeve, reminding me there are depths to this man I’ve barely glimpsed.
If I give myself permission tonight, to do what I know I should absolutely not be doing, I will live to regret it. I know I will.
Getting this close to Kovan Krayev is asking for heartbreak.
He’ll walk away unscathed.
I will not.
But I can’t stop myself from leaning closer, breathing in his scent, craving the solid warmth of him. “You can’t help,” I mutter.
“How do you know?”
“Because…” My brain short-circuits when he’s this close. “Because it’s a bad idea.”
“What’s a bad idea?”
He knows exactly what I’m talking about. He just wants to hear me say it.
And God help me, I’m about to cave.
“Stop.” I put my hand on his chest, trying to push him away. “I’m not thinking straight. I’m tired and emotional and?—”
“You need a distraction.”
Yes.That’s exactly what I need. I need to forget who I am and what I do. I need to forget Jeremy Fleming and Carmen Monroe.I need to stop being Dr. Vesper Fairfax for a few hours and just… exist.
I want to stop thinking. I want to enter free fall. I want to leap off the edge of the mountain without worrying about the consequences that wait for me at the bottom.
“Say the word,” Kovan murmurs, like he can read my thoughts. “Say the word and I’ll make you forget today ever happened.”
Desire unfurls in my stomach. Isn’t that exactly what I need? I’ve spent so long being nothing but a brain, nothing but ambition. Maybe I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be a woman.
“Okay,” I hear myself whisper. “Distract me.”
He doesn’t hesitate. His smile is slight and cryptic as he lifts me into his arms, carrying me toward the stairs.
“It would be my pleasure.”
50
KOVAN
Her breath hitches as we climb. A tiny, panicked sound in the dark. “What are you doing?”
“If I tell you, it’s not a very good distraction.”
I reach the top of the stairs and shoulder through into my bedroom. I set her down, though I don’t let go of her. Not quite. Not yet. I have a fistful of her scrubs at the waist and it’s taking every ounce of willpower I possess not to strip them off of her.
But she does the work for me when she wrenches away. I’m holding on so tightly that her motion brings her pants sliding down her thighs into a tangle of maroon fabric around her ankles. She kicks free of the whole mess, panties included, and stumbles backward.
“We can’t start like this.”
An eyebrow arches. “Why the fuck not?”
