Page 99 of The Enforcer

“I think so. Are you gonna leave me?” She looked back to the rattrap on the floor, seeing the reflection of light from the window and feeling again like she was seeing something alive, but not really there. “Can I come with you? I won’t look. I swear, I just—”

“Come here,” Tino cut her off by crawling into the bunk. She was still curled up against the wall, knees up to her chest, so he caressed her ankle. “Shoes on the bed. Is that how you do it at your house?”

“There are ghost rats on the floor,” she told him as he pulled off one of her shoes and tossed it aside.

“Ghost rats I can deal with. It’s the living ones I hate.” He grabbed her other shoe and slipped it off her foot. “You have to think about something nice. Something beautiful. Otherwise you’ll ruin the roll.”

“How do you know?” she whispered as she watched Tino kick his shoes off. “Because you’re a drug dealer now?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do you like being a drug dealer?”

“I don’t care.” He reached up and caressed her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “It could be worse. A lot worse.”

“Would you kiss me like Nova kissed those girls?” she asked because she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Tino’s fingers in her hair felt too wonderful, and nothing else really seemed to matter. “You said I’m supposed to think about something beautiful. That’s…beautiful.”

Tino’s eyes were so dark it was difficult to see the irises as he stared at her. He took a sharp, hard breath as if he was fighting a battle she couldn’t see.

Then he rolled onto his back and looked up to the top bunk. “Bri—”

“It’s just as friends. So I know what it feels like,” she explained quickly so he didn’t get the wrong idea. That she thought about him constantly. That she begged and pleaded with Jasmine to put them in as many routines together as possible because he was the only partner she wanted to dance with. That she went to bed every night dreaming about him. “’Cause you’re my friend.” She took another deep breath. “Just friends, Tino.”

“You don’t know what it feels like?” he asked her, sounding shocked. “You haven’t kissed anyone? What about Vito Brandini? I thought—”

“He smelled like black licorice.” Brianna stuck out her tongue and made a gagging sound. “I mean, I guess, but—” She shuddered from the memory. “No.”

“I wanted to kill Vito. He said he touched you. That hefeltyou.” Tino looked away as he said it, his shoulders tensing as if he was remembering it. “Jesus.”

Brianna probably ought to be really pissed off at Vito.

She was fascinated with Tino instead. Especially when he sat up and cupped her face. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, making her shudder as all the fine hairs on her arms stood on end.

“Just as friends?” Tino asked.

She nodded. “So I know.”

“I don’t know either.” He raised his eyebrows as he looked at her mouth. “I haven’t—”

“Never?” she asked in surprise, because the girls at the warehouse and pretty much any female with a pulse who got near Tino clearly wanted him.

“Not with anyone I want,” he corrected himself, which made no sense, but then he said, “Not with anyone I think about.”

She frowned at that, knowing somehow it wasn’t right, but Tino slipped his hand to the back of her neck before she could ask. He tugged her hair, one sharp jerk that made her gasp because she wasn’t expecting it at all. Then he leaned in and licked at her parted lips, tasting her like it was something he craved.

It was a wet kiss.

A dirty kiss.

With his tongue brushing against hers.

It was a kiss like the ones on the train. Open. Indulgent. Blatantly sexy for anyone to see because that was what she’d asked for.

His hold on her hair was still tight, and he tugged her head back, forcing her to break the kiss only to lick at the line of her throat, dragging his tongue up slowly to her ear before he asked, “Like that?”

Her breath felt trapped under the wave of pleasure.

Crushing, shuddering pleasure that hazed out everything but the feel of his breath against her skin and his fingers tight in her hair.