“Are you trying to get out of trouble by being cute?” I ask, the corner of my mouth lifting.
She nods, then darts forward and grabbing hold of my sweater, she eagerly looks up. “Is it working?”
I let out a chuckle. “I have to say, I’m surprised by that temper of yours.” Moving a hand around her, I press my hand to her lower back so she’ll move closer to me. “First you knee the fucker, and then you let me have it.”
Her shoulders slump again.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers again.
“How sorry?” I ask, my lips curving into a grin.
“Very.” Kingsley glances up at me, and when she sees the grin, relief washes over her face.
“Show me,” I whisper.
She places her hands on my shoulders and standing on her toes, she stretches but only manages to press a kiss to my chin.
“Is that it?” I ask, totally taking advantage of the moment.
Kingsley gets a mischievous look and taking hold of my hand she pulls me toward the bed. I begin to laugh when she gets onto the mattress and stands on it. I have to look up at her, which has her wagging her eyebrows at me.
Lifting her hand to my face, she brushes her fingers over the skin where she slapped me, then leaning down she presses a kiss to the spot.
I move forward and wrap my arms around her ass, hugging her to me.
Framing my face with her hands, she begins to press kisses all over it. When she reaches my mouth, she stops, and meeting my eyes, she whispers, “Do you still want to be in a relationship with this crazy chick?”
Smiling, I nod. “Your crazy plays well with my crazy.”
My words make her smile, and then she skims her mouth over mine. It’s soft touches until I need more, and I have to take over.
I lower an arm to her legs and pull them from under her. She lets out a playful shriek as she falls back onto the bed, then she scoots up so I can lie down next to her. I rest my head on my palm and bring my other hand to her face.
Tracing the outline of her mouth, I say, “I like you, Hunt.”
Her mouth curves up under my finger. “Yeah? You don’t want to strangle me anymore?”
I shake my head.
“I like you, too.”
“Yeah? I don’t scare you anymore?”
Her smile is filled with a warmth which lights up her eyes as she wraps her arms around my neck. “No, how can I be scared of you after you saved my life twice?”
“Maybe I saved you so I could torture you,” I tease as I lean down. Lightly biting her bottom lip, I suck it into my mouth before I let it go.
“Yeah?” She wiggles closer to me. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to like whatever torture you have in mind for me.”
“Hmm… kinky,” I groan.
She pulls back, and her eyes widen. “Hold on. We’re not talking about whips and shit, right?”
“Hunt, the only thing touching your ass will be my hand, so don’t push it. I will throw you over my knee.”
She actually thinks about it, which has me looking at her with surprise. “You like the idea of me spanking you?”
“Ahh… uhm…” she stammers, her cheeks flushing pink. “I didn’t say that.”
I brush my mouth teasingly over hers. “Oh, you didn’t have to say a word, your reaction was answer enough.”Chapter 23Kingsley“I missed my class,” I whisper between kisses.
Mason lifts his head and glances at his watch, then shrugs. “I’ll help you catch up on the work you’re missing.”
“Yeah?” I smile at him.
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I hope he won’t take it the wrong way, but it’s something I’m really worried about.
“Sure,” he replies, resting his head on his palm again so he can look at me.
Lowering my eyes from his, I reach for his sweater by his abs and begin to fiddle with the fabric. “Are you sure you like me? You don’t just feel pity because I almost died?”
When he doesn’t say anything, I dart a glance up at him, and seeing the frown on his face, I begin to ramble, “It’s just you really hated me and then it just suddenly changed. I –”
Mason moves over me, and I have to open my legs to accommodate him. He braces his arms on either side of my head, and tilting his head, he says, “Now that I have your full attention before you start rambling, and I don’t get a word in.” I glance to the side because I’m feeling anxious about his answer. “I never hated you to begin with.”
Slowly, I bring my eyes back to his, and when I see an affectionate look softening his features, I feel a fluttering of hope.
“When we met, I was a mess. I think I liked you from the start and I just didn’t know how to process it.”