Page 99 of Toxic Temptation
Kovan’s voice is deadly quiet. His green eyes promise retribution, of the long and painful variety.
“I didn’t lie,” I squeak out. “I omitted. There’s a difference.”
“You let me believe he was your ex.”
“I didn’t do anything. You drew your own conclusions.”
“And the point was what, exactly?”
I shrug and try to walk around him. “Personal satisfaction?”
He follows, his shadow falling over me like a predator stalking prey. My skin prickles, but there’s an excited flutter low in my belly. This was always the end result of this game. I pretended otherwise, I told myself I had different reasons—but I knew. I knew all along where it would take us.
And now, so does Kovan.
“You enjoyed watching me squirm.”
“So you admit you were squirming then?”
His eyes flash. “You’re not the sweet doctor everyone thinks you are. You’re a little troublemaker who likes playing games. The thing about being a troublemaker, though, Vesper… is that it ends with punishment.”
I roll my eyes and try to step away, try to pretend every word he snarls in my ear isn’t doing heinously delightful things between my legs.
“Think whatever you want, Kovan.”
His hand slams against the counter, trapping me between the fridge and the island. “You don’t get to mess with me and then just walk away. No, no. I think I’d like to mess with you, too.”
Despite the fear racing through me, I force myself to meet his gaze. “What are you going to do about it?”
In hindsight, challenging a man like Kovan Krayev probably wasn’t my smartest move. He leans in until his body is barely an inch from mine. Any closer and we’d be pressed together completely. My clothes have never felt flimsier. No room has ever felt tinier.
“Is this how you intimidate all your employees?” I croak, desperate to say anything that’ll forestall whatever he’s planning next.
“You’re not an employee, remember?” His voice drops to that sinful, velvet whisper that makes my skin tingle. “You’re my girlfriend.”
“In name only.”
“Is that what you keep telling yourself?” His breath tickles my ear as he wraps a strand of my hair around his finger.
“It’s the truth. It’s what you wanted,remember?”
He smiles, and his eyes light up with green and gold and blue-gray flecks. So many colors and promises swirling in there. “Oh, I remember everything. I remember you saying you’d never beg me to join you in bed, for instance. But it’s got me wondering something… If I touched you right now, Vesper… would you stop me?”
My eyes widen. My heart pounds so hard I can feel it everywhere—my chest, my throat, between my legs most of all.
“Yes,” I squeak out.
His smile widens. “That wasn’t very convincing.”
“Let me go.”
“I’m not holding you.” His lips are so close I feel their warmth. “If you want to leave, just leave.”
“You’re in my way.”
We’re sharing the same air now. He’s close enough to give me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I’m starting to think I might need it.
“If this is going to work, we need to be honest with each other,” he rasps against my lips. “We need trust.”
