Page 68 of Sweet as Sin (Bad Habit 1)
“Fuck your deal! No deal!”
“Fine, then. Don’t come.” His smile was evil. His hips continued their torture. He bent his head and sucked my nipple into his mouth, and I couldn’t stop the gasp of pleasure that escaped my lips, not for all the money in the world.
Against my breast, he chuckled.
“I hate you.”
It was a whisper, nothing more, but Nico reacted as if I’d shouted it to the hills. He reared up on his elbows, sank his fingers into my hair, and said, “You’re a fuckin’ liar! Tell me the truth, Kat!”
Something inside me broke then. I felt it, like someone had taken my heart and just snapped it in two, as if it had no more strength or substance than a toothpick. I began to cry.
“You’re the liar! And I do hate you! I do!”
Nico pressed his cheek to mine. His heart pounded frantically in his chest. “If you wanna call what you feel for me ‘hate,’ then I hate you, too, baby. I hate you with my whole heart.”
I shuddered. Tears streamed from beneath my closed lids. There were no words to describe what I felt. I had never been more confused, more angry, more hollowed out. It was as if every emotion I’d ever felt had decided to run rampant at full throttle through my body.
Humiliation was near the top of the list.
Because even though he’d left me alone all night, even though I still had no idea if what he’d told me was the truth or not, even though I’d just told myself it was over, I still wanted him. I wanted more than one night.
I wanted all the nights, and all the days, too. All the highs and lows, all the wreckage. No matter how stupid or self-destructive it was, I wanted everything he made me feel, because, more than anything, he made me feel alive. I sobbed, clinging to him.
Nico whispered, “That’s right, sweetheart. Give it to me. Don’t hide from me. Give your man everything you’ve got.”
He cradled my face, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. When he flexed his hips, driving himself deeper into me, my moan was broken. He cut it off with a kiss.
Then it was nothing but a frenzy.
There was so much urgency in our kisses, in the way our hands explored and our bodies crashed together, it might as well have been our last few minutes on earth. When finally I cried out, the first waves of orgasm gripping me, Nico’s whole body shuddered, shaking mine. He slid a hand under my bottom and squeezed.
“Fuck, baby. I can feel that beautiful pussy milkin’ my cock.” He groaned as I continued to come, harder than I ever had, every nerve ending in my body honed to an exclamation point, my heart cracked wide open.
“Look at me!”
Though my mind had spun far away, my eyes obeyed his husky command. He hovered there above me, face strained, looking exactly as ruined as I felt. I took his face between my hands. He said my name, his eyes locked to mine. Then he fell apart in my arms.
He throbbed and twitched, deep inside me. His breathing stalled. All his muscles clenched. With an animal sound, he came, his fingers digging so hard into my hips I felt the bruises forming. Then he collapsed on top of me, panting.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that. Long enough for our breathing to slow, for our hearts to resume a more normal beat. He pressed kisses along my jaw, to the corner of my mouth. He slid his arms beneath me, then rolled me over so he was on his back and I was on his chest, my head resting on his shoulder. He cradled me like that, stroking my hair, caressing my back, calming me.
Outside, the sky was lifting to a clear, blinding blue. Another perfect day in LA.
Watching that beautiful sky, I knew, to the marrow of my bones, I’d just signed my own death warrant. I’d just handed over the keys to my happiness to a man I knew almost nothing about. Except that he was volatile and came with more baggage than even the Titanic held.
And, if our ship was destined to sink, I was too smart to be so stupid. I had to buy myself a life preserver.
“Promise me something,” I whispered.
Nico answered without hesitation. “Anything.”
I swallowed, watching a lone seagull sail across the sky. “If I ever need to walk away . . . if I ever tell you it’s over, let me go. Don’t try to convince me to stay. Don’t follow me. Just let me go.”
He was silent so long I glanced up at his face. I’d wounded him. I saw it in his eyes as he studied me. “If I say ‘yes,’ are you gonna tell me you’re walkin’ away right now?”
Sniffling, I shook my head.
He brushed the hair off my forehead. “You need that so we can move forward? Me givin’ you my word that I’ll let you walk away if you want to?”
