Page 44 of Darkest Desire

Slowly, she turns around to face me. We’re so close. It would be easy for me to lean down and capture her lips with mine but I hold back. I want to see what she does.

“It would be a start,” she admits.

“Why didn’t you try to leave today?”

She wraps her hands around her stomach. “I’m still in pain. I figured it would be better to not leave. To your credit, you haven’t beaten the crap out of me.”

“And I never plan to.” I push a piece of her hair behind her ear. “You look so fucking cute right now.”

She flushes but doesn’t pull away from me.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you, Sasha. Have you wanted to kiss me?”

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Answer my question.”

“Of course not,” she says hotly, almost like she’s lying.

“Why do you look embarrassed?”

“I do not.”

“How do you know? You can’t see your face right now. I can.”

She places her hands on my waist to push me away but she stops herself. She doesn’t remove her hands.

Slowly, I cup my hands over hers, keeping her in place. “I think you want to kiss me,” I say, lowering my voice.

“No. You have to respect that.”

“Fine. I will. But I think you’re lying.”

“Hear my words, Nico. I said no.”

“Ok, ok. I won’t kiss you.” I back away, letting her go. Is that just me or do I see a slight flicker of disappointment on her face? “I wanted to let you know that I’m having a dinner party later this week. You should be healed up by then.”

“A dinner party? Didn’t we just have a party?”

I shrug. “I like parties. You should be feeling better by then. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t try running. I don’t want to have to kill any more of my guests.”

“Then make sure none of them attack me.”

“I can see why men are drawn to you, Sasha. There’s something irresistible about you.”

“So, you’re saying it’smyfault that I was attacked?”

“No. What I’m saying is that you make men go wild. It’s a miracle I haven’t ravaged you yet. Maybe it has something to do with your virginity.”

She sucks in a sharp breath. “I told you that I wasn’t a-,”

“A virgin? I know.” I lean down to speak into her ear. “But I don’t believe you. There’s something purely innocent about you that you can’t hide. You’ve never known the touch of a man.” I trail my fingers down her arm. It brings me satisfaction to see goosebumps break out on her skin.

“Nico,” she whispers.

“Would you like to know what it feels like?”

For just a moment, she leans in closer to me before she shakes her head and backs away, hitting the bookshelf behind her.