Page 24 of Wicked Bonds

“We need to go back for the others.”

“Not until we find out who is here and you check the wards,” Balthazar replied. “Then, once we’ve agreed it’s safe, we can go back for them.”

She stayed in the snow as he continued toward the house, his steps sure.

This protector side of Balthazar rather appealed to Leela.

As did his backside in those jeans.

“Keep your fantasies for later, sweetheart,” he called back to her. “We have work to do.”

“And you’re not one to work and play?” she taunted, misting to his side.

He grabbed her by the back of the neck before she finished turning corporeal, his reflexes impressive.

“I’m always playing,” he said, his voice deceptively low as he pulled her into a kiss. It was fast and unexpected, leaving her immediately winded as he released her in the next breath.

No tongue.

Again.

Just his lips.

How…?

“I told you a few months of observation is nothing,” he whispered darkly. “You’ll crawl.”

The confidence in his tone rivaled his steps as he continued toward the house.

She stared after him, helplessly inhaling in his wake.

This version of Balthazar was nothing like the one she’d met in Brazil. Yet he was exactly the same in that he continued to blow her mind with each move he made.

Her lips curled.

Suave men were common. Sexy ones, too. But Balthazar took those adjectives to a whole new playing field and underlined them with intelligence and strategy and sprinkled a healthy dose of protectiveness on top.

We’ll see,she decided, using his words from earlier as she followed him once more.

Leela finally understood the point of his challenge. It wasn’t about being difficult or denying him. It was about making herwantto crawl.

For him.

Tohim.

With her own pleasure in mind.

He wanted to be worth her version of a sensual apology. And he intended to indulge them both in a series of erotic games along the way.

His expression gave nothing away as they reached the front door, but she knew he was actively listening to her mind as she deduced his true intentions for her.

“Oh?” Ezekiel’s voice graced the midnight air, his amusement palpable even through the thick wood of the door.

Leela shared a look with Balthazar, her eyebrows lifting. He appeared equally as intrigued by whatever was happening inside. It wasn’t necessarily uncommon for Ezekiel to find amusement in situations, but it helped to know what had him intrigued now.

Ezekiel’s penchant for volatility and violence marked him as a worthy adversary. Leela trusted him to an extent. However, the “retired” assassin would always put his own interests before the rest of them.

“And what else has he borrowed?” Ezekiel asked.