Page 53 of Lethal Lover

“Trust me. I’m confident for many reasons.”

Her breath warms my skin. My cock tingles, aware of her nearness. I lean back against the cushion. “You’re gonna have to prove it to me or else I’ll just keep believing that you’re all talk and no action.”

Val pulls away, her eyes wide with shock. I don’t bother to hold back my chuckle.

“You might be damn deadly, babe, but you obviously don’t know how to handle a weapon like me.”

“You’re a dud grenade,” she snaps. “You make all hell break loose for absolutely no reason.” Then she turns and continues scurrying around, cleaning the same spots over again.

“Ouch.” I hold a hand to my heart. “You know what I think?”

“Don’t really care.”

“Sure, you do. And I think you and I need to get the hell out of here for a little while. This suite is making us both a little stir-crazy. We need some fresh air.”

Her eyes widen to the point where they look like they’re about to pop out of her skull, just like the poor sucker inCasino. Except in this scenario,I’mthe vise.

“Do you remember what happened last time we left the suite? Another one of your fabulous ideas, by the way.”

“My idea only included hitting the craps tables, not blowing our cover.” I flash a smile. “If memory serves, you’re really responsible for that total fuckup.”

She balls up a white linen napkin and hurls it at me. “Screw you, Quinn. Before you rolled into town, I was so close to tracking Branko down. Now I’m stuck in a fucking ivory tower, and the moat below is filled with goddamn snapping crocodiles.”

“Nice imagery. But let’s be honest. You were about a million miles from close.”

She flips me off. “You know nothing.”

I stand up from the couch. “I know that my time is limited and that I don’t want to waste what I have left sitting in this fucking room. So take a walk with me or get undressed so I can fuck you. I need a release, one way or the other.”

Her jaw drops somewhere during the minute it takes me to get all that out. I knew she’d never go for the sex, but I’m a hot-blooded male. Can you blame me for making it an option?

She stares at me like she doesn’t quite know how to respond. But it doesn’t look like sex is in the cards, so I make it easy on her.

“Look, we have private access to the roof from here. Nobody will see us. Nobody else is even staying on this floor.”

“You want to go up to the roof?”

I motion toward the dusky sky behind me. “We’ll have a great view of the Strip.”

“We have a great view from in here. Inside, where we’re safe.”

Stepping toward her, I give my head a shake. “Not really. Safe is relative. My sister-in-law Kyla thought she was ‘safe’ in a hotel room until some fucking goon dressed as a waiter delivered room service and kidnapped her from the place. So don’t let the locks give you a false sense of security. It’s bullshit. If someone wants to get to us, they will.” I move closer. “We just need to be prepared.”

Her eyes lock on mine, and even though she wants to resist, I can sense that she’s torn. That she needs an out, too. Even if it’s only a staircase away.

Her shoulders finally relax. “Okay, but not for long. Just to get a little air.”

I grab my gun and stick it into the back of my shorts. Val does the same, then slides her feet into a pair of flip-flops. I put on sneakers, grab the key, and pull open the door.

“Look both ways,” she mutters under her breath.

“I’m not a fucking amateur.” The hallway is clear, as expected. I grab her hand and pull her toward the stairwell leading up to the roof. She squeezes my fingers and stays tight against me. I push open the door, and she suddenly tugs on my hand.

“Wait, how will we get back out? Won’t it automatically lock?”

“Let’s test it.”

She stands in the hallway and lets the door close. I twist the handle to open it again. “We’re good. Let’s go.”

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