Page 50 of Carnal Urges
Either there are cameras in here, or Spider confessed. Trying to bullshit him clearly isn’t going to work, so I tell the truth instead. “I don’t want him to get in trouble.”
Declan draws a slow breath through flared nostrils. He’s trying very hard not to grab me around the throat. “Why would you care if he gets in trouble?”
“I don’t want him to get in trouble because ofme. Also, he seems nice.”
He repeats flatly, “Nice.”
“Yes.”
“He’s killed six men within the past seventy-two hours.”
“Oh. Hmm. That does seem like a high number for such a short period of time. But he is a gangster, so I guess it comes with the territory. Is there a quota they need to meet or something?”
He does the slow-breathing thing again. When he seems confident that he’s controlled the urge to break my neck, he says, “You’ve bewitched two of my men. One whose nose you broke. The other one you only spent minutes with. Kieran fancies himself your butler,and Spider fancies himself in love. I won’t be able to send anyone else in here for fear they’ll come out trying to kill me.”
I have to suppress my smile. If he sees it, he could explode. “Just because you’re immune to my charms doesn’t mean everyone else is.”
His voice deadly soft and his eyes burning, he says, “Aye, your infamous ‘charm.’ That must be the influence your crazy ex Stavros was operating under when he attempted to shoot his way into the building.”
I arch my brows. “Stavros tried to rescue me? Already?”
“Aye.”
My heart skips a beat. “Oh god. Is he okay? You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“Why do you care one way or another? He bored you so much, you broke up with him.”
“That doesn’t mean I want him dead! And I asked you not to hurt him, remember?”
“I remember. Which is the only reason he’s still alive.”
I exhale a relieved breath and press my hand over my heart. “Whew! What did you do with him?”
“Put him on a slow boat to China.”
I can’t tell if that’s the truth or if he’s being sarcastic, but I know he didn’t hurt Stavros. I can tell by his expression that he’s disappointed in himself about it.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. Sincerely.”
When he only stands staring at me with those blistering eyes, I feel defensive.
“What now?”
“You’re strange. And powerful. And aggravating beyond belief. I can’t decide if I should muzzle you for the remainder of your stay or unleash you on my enemies. I think you’d have them all eating out of your hand within an afternoon.”
After a moment, I say, “Funny, but that almost sounded like a compliment.”
“It wasn’t. I don’t like you.”
“I don’t like you, either.”
The space between us crackles with heat. His gaze is palpable, as if there’s a current of electricity attached to it, shooting into my body, straight down between my legs.
He looks at my mouth and moistens his lips.
That’s the last thing I remember before I wake up in the hospital.
SIXTEEN
