the edge of her teeth. Each tease of his tongue encouraged her to
open wider and give him more.
Then he kissed her in a full-out blitz of passion. Pouring hunger and heat into the
kiss, using bold strokes of his tongue and soft sucks to drive her wild. Even their
exchange of hot, panting breath was erotic and fed the furor of need building between
them.
And Shiori would’ve been content to kiss him all day, but she realized Knox’s arms
were shaking from holding himself up and not crushing her beneath his weight.
As much as she wanted to feel him bearing down on her, she pressed her palms to his
cheeks, slowing the kiss down. She whispered, “Give your arms a break,” against his
lips.
“One more and I promise I’ll move.”
This kiss was tinged with sweetness and a heady tenderness she hadn’t realized he
was capable of, but he’d somehow known she’d needed.
He lowered himself onto the floor next to her.
How awkward would this be when they looked at each other again instead of staring
at the ceiling tiles?
Then Knox reached for her hand. Just that one simple point of contact relaxed her.
After a bit she said, “What happens now?”
Knox didn’t answer right away. “No idea. All of these thoughts keep spinning in my
head, reasons why we should just chalk this up to one of those ‘seemed like a good
idea at the time’ things.” After a moment he sighed. “Why don’t you tell me how you
see this playing out?”
“I don’t know.” She rolled onto her side and faced him. “This isn’t a situation where
we can just be fuck buddies, because we have to work together.”
“And you being what you are, a fuck-buddy arrangement wouldn’t work for you anyway.”
She’d wondered if he’d bring up Mistress B. “No, it wouldn’t. What usually works for
you?”
“I’m good with one-offs, one-night stands, whatever they’re called. But when sleepovers
start to become regular and exclusive, it veers into relationship territory.”
“Is that what you’re looking for at Twisted?”
“I don’t analyze the time I spend there.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
She took a chance and said, “Because it’s not giving you what you need.”
Knox propped himself up on an elbow, facing her.
Shiori locked her gaze to his.
“Don’t do that, She-Cat.”
He’d already put a wall back up between them. “Don’t do what?”
“Play the Mistress card. One night at the club and one kiss doesn’t make you an expert
on me and what you think I need.”
“You’d be surprised by what one can learn in a single night. Or with a single kiss.”
She traced the wide angle of that stubborn jaw. “I dreamed about you last night. It
was disturbing in that . . . the scenario was far out of the realm of possibilities
for us. Or so I thought. But everything changed with one kiss.”
“You talking in riddles again?”
“Perhaps. But only because you are intent on skirting the topic at hand.”
His eyebrows squished together. “The question of whether we’ll be lovers?”
“No.” She didn’t know if she could do this, because he wouldn’t believe her. She sat
up and then stood to gather her things.
“Come on, She-Cat. You’ve got me all kinds of wound up. Are you sorry I kissed you?”
She zipped her gym bag and turned around. “I’m not sorry you kissed me, because it
was as mind-boggling as I’d imagined. But the best thing to do now is to chalk it
up to the ‘heat of the moment’ thing you mentioned earlier and go back to the way
things were.”
“So you alone get to decide that?”
Shiori stared at him. Posture intimidating, eyes angry, teeth gritted. She wanted
to tell him to kneel and she could soothe him, because she knew her touch could do
that for him. But he wouldn’t see the truth of what he was. He’d argue and bluster.
She hitched her strap over her shoulder. “This conversation has deteriorated, as it
tends to between
open wider and give him more.
Then he kissed her in a full-out blitz of passion. Pouring hunger and heat into the
kiss, using bold strokes of his tongue and soft sucks to drive her wild. Even their
exchange of hot, panting breath was erotic and fed the furor of need building between
them.
And Shiori would’ve been content to kiss him all day, but she realized Knox’s arms
were shaking from holding himself up and not crushing her beneath his weight.
As much as she wanted to feel him bearing down on her, she pressed her palms to his
cheeks, slowing the kiss down. She whispered, “Give your arms a break,” against his
lips.
“One more and I promise I’ll move.”
This kiss was tinged with sweetness and a heady tenderness she hadn’t realized he
was capable of, but he’d somehow known she’d needed.
He lowered himself onto the floor next to her.
How awkward would this be when they looked at each other again instead of staring
at the ceiling tiles?
Then Knox reached for her hand. Just that one simple point of contact relaxed her.
After a bit she said, “What happens now?”
Knox didn’t answer right away. “No idea. All of these thoughts keep spinning in my
head, reasons why we should just chalk this up to one of those ‘seemed like a good
idea at the time’ things.” After a moment he sighed. “Why don’t you tell me how you
see this playing out?”
“I don’t know.” She rolled onto her side and faced him. “This isn’t a situation where
we can just be fuck buddies, because we have to work together.”
“And you being what you are, a fuck-buddy arrangement wouldn’t work for you anyway.”
She’d wondered if he’d bring up Mistress B. “No, it wouldn’t. What usually works for
you?”
“I’m good with one-offs, one-night stands, whatever they’re called. But when sleepovers
start to become regular and exclusive, it veers into relationship territory.”
“Is that what you’re looking for at Twisted?”
“I don’t analyze the time I spend there.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
She took a chance and said, “Because it’s not giving you what you need.”
Knox propped himself up on an elbow, facing her.
Shiori locked her gaze to his.
“Don’t do that, She-Cat.”
He’d already put a wall back up between them. “Don’t do what?”
“Play the Mistress card. One night at the club and one kiss doesn’t make you an expert
on me and what you think I need.”
“You’d be surprised by what one can learn in a single night. Or with a single kiss.”
She traced the wide angle of that stubborn jaw. “I dreamed about you last night. It
was disturbing in that . . . the scenario was far out of the realm of possibilities
for us. Or so I thought. But everything changed with one kiss.”
“You talking in riddles again?”
“Perhaps. But only because you are intent on skirting the topic at hand.”
His eyebrows squished together. “The question of whether we’ll be lovers?”
“No.” She didn’t know if she could do this, because he wouldn’t believe her. She sat
up and then stood to gather her things.
“Come on, She-Cat. You’ve got me all kinds of wound up. Are you sorry I kissed you?”
She zipped her gym bag and turned around. “I’m not sorry you kissed me, because it
was as mind-boggling as I’d imagined. But the best thing to do now is to chalk it
up to the ‘heat of the moment’ thing you mentioned earlier and go back to the way
things were.”
“So you alone get to decide that?”
Shiori stared at him. Posture intimidating, eyes angry, teeth gritted. She wanted
to tell him to kneel and she could soothe him, because she knew her touch could do
that for him. But he wouldn’t see the truth of what he was. He’d argue and bluster.
She hitched her strap over her shoulder. “This conversation has deteriorated, as it
tends to between
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