Page 174 of The Wicked

I could feel his eyes on me when he spoke again. “Tell me, what is it you desire?”

The question had my gaze snapping to his, and I couldn’t help but snicker. “Okay, Lucifer Morningstar.”

“What is a Lucifer Morningstar?” he asked.

“He’s a character from a show—like a TV—never mind.” I couldn’t deal with explaining it to him; I felt I’d spend hours doing that. “That, though, is a very dangerous question to ask a woman like me.”

“I think it’s a pretty normal question. Do you plan to be a thief for the rest of your life, or is there something more that you want?”

I parted my lips to answer the question, but nothing came.

Elio waited patiently until I sighed and decided to be honest about myself for the first time tonight. “Honestly, I haven’t thought that far yet. Maybe it’s because I don’t like to dwell on my future when I could just have it all in my present.”

“That’s careless thinking.”

“I never said I was careful.” I curled the side of my lips.

A small scoff left him as he raised his hand to my hair, and I stiffened. He stroked gently before tucking it behind my ear; the warm tips of his fingers brushed the skin at the back of my ear and down my neck. I couldn’t hide my visible shiver.

“Your actions show how very careless you are, Sport; you don’t have to say it in words that you’re not,” he said, his voice lower than before, gaze dropping to my mouth.

God… I wanted him to break that one rule, close the space between us, and just… do it.

Why the fuck was I waiting for him to do it?

Fuck this.

My palm rested flat on his chest, and I was genuinely surprised to feel how fast and hard his heart thumped.

I pushed him flat and settled atop him in a straddle. He didn’t stop me when I brought my head to his neck, breathing him in as I kissed his hot skin.

His hands came to hold my waist in a firm grip.

I kissed from his neck to his chin, then up to the corner of his lips, before I pulled away slightly, connecting my gaze with his—his hot breath fanning my face, his eyes showing how completely resigned he was to this situation.

He would let me kiss him. I knew it.

“I want to break a rule, Elio. I know you want it too.”

“I do,” he said, swallowing while his heart hammered against my palm. “But I can’t.” His whisper brushed against my lips.

“Yeah, I know. It’s a good thing that I can, then.”

Without thinking about what he’d do next, I leaned in to satisfy that ache in my chest and the desire to feel the warmth from a kiss and—

His phone blared up in a ring before I could even press my lips to his.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “Don’t answer—”

He was already reaching for the phone, bringing it to his view while I got off him with a glare.

“Who the hell is it?”

“Angelo,” he said, watching the phone ring.

I rolled my eyes. “Why am I not surprised.”

“It’s almost threeA.M. He wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important,” he said, sitting up.