Page 41 of Kiss of Deceit

His lips smashed to mine in a bruising kiss as he ran his hands down the outside of my thighs. Tingles ran through me, and I opened my mouth, my tongue clashing with his. He tasted as good as I remembered, and I let out a small moan, feeling the stress fall from me. As we kissed, I felt him tug on my hoodie again.

My eyes flew open, and I ripped my mouth from him. He stared at me, not looking the least bit surprised that I pulled away. Looking past him, I glanced at the light above the stove. Fingers grasped my chin, pulling my attention back to him.

“The light stays on,” he said with no room for argument in his voice.

I went still, my heart thudding painfully. “No.”

“Then no distraction for you.”

His hands fell from my thighs as he stepped back. The hard-on in his sweatpants was impossible to miss, but so was the determination on his face. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

“Are you serious?” I snarked, crossing my arms. “Scared of the dark?”

“What are you scared to show me?” he tossed back. “You want me, Dani? I know that I want to fucking taste you again. But this time, I want to see every inch of you while my tongue is buried in your pussy.”

His dirty words had a rush of heat shoot through me, and I swallowed thickly as we stared at each other. But I couldn’t do it. If he saw my scars, he’d ask questions that I really didn’t want to answer. A phantom pain spread on the back of my neck like it always did when I remembered how I got the burn marks. My nails dug into my arms until I jumped off the counter and went for my coffee cup.

“What are you hiding?” he asked quietly from behind me.

“Nothing,” I snapped, not looking at him as I took the sugar out. “I don’t like the lights on.”

“I’m not just talking about that. You hideeverythingabout you.”

Stirring the sugar into my cup, I didn’t look at him when he stepped up beside me, pouring himself some coffee.

“That fiery little attitude. Your humor. That singing voice. Your entire personality. You cover it. I’ve barely seen it, and I live with you.”

My mouth grew dry, and I closed my eyes for a moment. This was why I kept to myself. To stop people from asking questions like this. I didn’t even realize how much of my real self I’d let Kole see in the few times we’ve interacted.

“Why?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“I don’t cover anything,” I mumbled. “I just like being alone.”

“Really?” he mused. “I think you’re lying.”

I finally lifted my head to look at him. “You’ll never know when I’m lying, Kole.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I know for a fact that those screams and moans that I coaxed out of you in the storage room weren’t lies.”

“Or maybe I just faked it to help your ego.” I couldn’t help but taunt.

He chuckled. “Get naked and I’ll do it again just to prove you wrong.”

My giggle sounded foreign to my ears, and I stopped abruptly, my heart pounding against my ribs. I couldn’t do this. It wasn’t just about sex. Talking to him waseasy. But he was already prying—wanting to know more about me than I cared to share.

I knew I needed to make friends in this town just to keep my mind busy. But not with Kole. He’d try to get too close.

Keeping my mug in my hold, I strode out of the kitchen. “Enjoy the rest of your morning.”

He didn’t respond, and I wondered if he’d actually stay awake after drinking that coffee. He usually slept most of the day from working nights at the bar which was why we barely saw each other.

And that was how it needed to stay.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

kole

“I fold,”Harry grumbled, tossing his cards down.