Page 59 of Mystic Justice
I heard a soft laugh. ‘I’m very glad to hear that. But to be clear, I do welcome pouncing in the future. When you’re ready.’
I was so ready. I opened my eyes to tell him that but, to my disappointment, he’d already gone. Moments later I heard the sound of running water and realised he had shut neither the bedroom nor the bathroom door. He was temptation personified. I groaned aloud.
My fridge door opened and a cold bottle of water floated into my hand. ‘Thanks,’ I said to the ghost. I opened the bottle and tried to water the Sahara that was my throat. ‘Fuck,’ I said when the bottle was drained because the liquid seemed to have gone directly to my nether regions.
I hadn’t expected to have such a strong, visceral reaction to him – and it was tohim, I realised. If another man with the same physique had been standing before me, I could have brushed it aside. But when Krieg was standing before me, this powerful man who was a deadly king and yet kind and caring, who came to my family dinners and stocked his cars with Dr Pepper just for me, when he’d been in front of me with his scent swirling on the air my lust was unparalleled.
Oh man, I was so screwed.
It wasn’t just lust; I was falling for him big time.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Remembering how much Krieg had eaten at the McDonalds drive-thru, I made us a veritable vat of porridge. I sliced in some bananas and added a swirl of Biscoff; I needed the sweetness to go with my black coffee.
I tried hard to get my brain back into work mode but Krieg didn’t take long in the shower. When he emerged dressed once again in leather trousers, white T-shirt and a black leather jacket, my mind went blank again. ‘I think we’re going to have to kiss,’ I blurted out.
His eyes warmed. ‘And why is that?’
‘I can’t stop thinking about it. If we kiss, it’ll clear my mind and there won’t be any more wondering. Maybe there’ll be no chemistry. Maybe you’ll be a terrible kisser.’
He laughed, confidence in every line of him, then prowled closer. ‘Is that what you want, Inspector? A kiss?’
I nodded and he closed the distance, his hips anchoring me to one of the kitchen cabinets. I spent most of my life giving commands, calling the shots, so I should have hated the way hetook control. I expected a reaction to being pinned like that and I got one – just not the one I was expecting.
Krieg must have brought his own shower gel with him because his scent – leather, black pepper and sandalwood – hung heavily in the air. Who knew that any smell could be so mouth-wateringly sexy? Or maybe it wasn’t the scent of him but his presence that was turning my knees to jelly.
His hands rested on my waist and then, without warning, he lifted me effortlessly and set me on the kitchen counter, putting my eyes level with his neck. It was only a slight lift to reach his lips now. He pushed my knees apart and moved closer into my body.
I gulped. ‘Fuck.’
He smiled. ‘Not yet. The kiss though … the kiss we can do.’ His eyes searched mine once more, checking for my consent.
I nodded and closed my eyes. His breath brushed against my skin and then his thick lips pressed against mine. I may have moaned. I opened my lips in invitation and he accepted; his right hand slid up my body until it reached my neck and pressed against it, drawing me even deeper into him. His tongue touched my own in a lazy, gentle caress that made me gasp. Desire roared through me with such heat that it was a wonder I didn’t spontaneously combust.
He groaned too as the kiss deepened and continued for a long minute. When he made to draw back, I mewed and clung to him, pulling him back. His lips curved against mine. ‘What do you think?’ he asked, amused. ‘Is there any chemistry between us, Inspector?’
The way he spoke my title made it sound downright indecent. ‘If there was any more chemistry, we’d start a nuclear war,’ I admitted.
He laughed again. ‘I agree.’ He sobered. At some point in the kiss, he’d forced his hands away from me; now they were on thekitchen counter, one on either side of me. ‘I want you to admire my restraint. I am aware how little you’re wearing under that goddamn robe. All it would take is one little tug.’ He breathed the words into my ear, sending shudders through me. ‘Aren’t I being good?’
‘So good,’ I agreed. ‘Too good.’
‘I promise I can be very bad too – and the temptation to be so is unbelievably strong.’ He bit his bottom lip, his mercurial eyes darker than I’d ever seen them, then he reached out and lifted me down from the kitchen counter. ‘Get dressed,’ he ordered hoarsely. ‘Preferably in a nun’s habit.’
‘Don’t burn the porridge,’ I blurted and ran to my bedroom.
I think we’re going to have to kiss.What a stupid bloody plan that had been. What a monumental mistake. What an idiotic idea.
Before we’d kissed I could imagine that he’d be a terrible washing-machine kisser, tongue swirling round and round, but now I knew otherwise. Now that I knew the taste of him I was so screwed. All I could think about was that tongue, all of that deliciously hard muscle focused on me.
I had a second shower – a cold one this time – but the icy water had little effect on my roaring libido. After 684 days celibate, I was so hard up that if my phone vibrated in my pocket, I was starting to consider it foreplay.
Frustrated, I dried and got dressed. When I walked back to the kitchen, Krieg had ladled me a bowl of porridge and made me a fresh cup of coffee. He’d found a huge salad bowl and put the remaining porridge in it but he was sitting at the table waiting for me.
Loki had woken up. Krieg had found him some ham and torn it into little pieces for him.
‘Thanks,’ I murmured as I pulled out the chair and sat opposite him.
