“Oh, I am. I definitely am, Grey. Do I have your permission to do that, or will this display of emotion be too much for you to bear?”
“You can do anything you want.You always do, and I sure as hell have never stopped you.”
“Of course you haven’t. I’m not Mr. Loyal Dog of theYear right over there.”
She watched Heath’s jaw bunch, his entire body coil as if to spring, and she was not yet satisfied. She didn’t recognize this person: a woman who wanted to tear her nails into him.The twisting sensation in her stomach seemed to intensify in the closed confines of the car, because she was acutely, angrily aware of him. He’d wanted to hurt her.The realization that he had done it on purpose only intensified the blow.
“Well, Grey? Can I kiss her?” Heath asked without a hint of emotion, turning to meet her accusing gaze.
Grey stared rigidly out the window, tapping a finger restlessly on his knee.Whatever he was thinking of, it did not seem pleasant, but Heath seemed to take his silence as a yes. He patted his lap, his voice deceptively serene considering the bright, eerie lights in his eyes.
“Come here, Toni. I’m more than ready to give you exactly what you’re itching for.”
She fisted her hands at her sides. “I’m itching to slap you. Both of you.”
“You’re itching to have my mouth on yours, and I’m going to give it to you. Come get your kiss, kitten.”
“Not with the same tongue you put inside that . . . that . . .”
“That juicy pussy of yours.”
She tensed in her seat.
He stretched an arm out, palm up. She had never heard him speak so harshly, had never fully understood how dangerous he could be until he stared at her this moment. He looked uncivilized and ready to do damage—the gleam in his eyes was as grim and brutal as the iron edge in his words. “Come here. I’m going to tongue you so hard you won’t be able to breathe, much less continue to speak.”
“Fuck you, Heath.”
“All right, that’s enough! Both of you.”
“Fuck you, too, Grey!”
All those times she had begged for a silly, stupid kiss from Heath, he’d been playing Grey’s obedient little dog.And Grey! The control freak. So calm. Like a god. Nonchalantly notifying her of the fact: I told him not to kiss you. Damn them both, and damn her for letting it hurt so bad.
When they arrived at the house, Grey pulled her into a shadowed nook down the corridor.
“Toni . . .”
“Don’t ‘Toni’ me!”
“You’re getting too worked up over a kiss, princess. Take it if you want it.”
She yanked free of his hold, her gaze shooting bullets at him. “Don’t talk to me, Grey.”
“Antonia.”
“I don’t care if you want to control your schedule, the room temperature, and the way you organize your freaking clothes, but don’t ever try to control me again! I may like it in bed, but I assure you I don’t like it outside of it.”
“I know,” he said with a solemn nod that only served to increase her anger tenfold.
She bumped into a rigid chest when she spun around. A straining blue vein trekked up Heath’s throat, his body motionless as a statue. He was so tense, so still, so vividly craving her kiss, she could feel the waves coming off him like blankets of fire. It had festered between them, this elusive, stupid, silly kiss, and now the need for it felt violent. It would be a kiss that would bleed, and Toni would bite her tongue before she let him have it.
She tried going around him but he lifted a hand, sank his fingers into her hair as he lowered his lips. “Give me my kiss.”
She slammed her palm into his chest, aware of his hand trembling. “No!”
He tightened his hold on her hair, muscles flexing on his face. “Give it to me.”
“Don’t touch me, Heath, or I swear I’ll get sick all over you.”