Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights 1)

I had to put on the brakes. I had just met this girl, yet all I could think about was devouring her. This was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I’d had one-night stands—the fuck ’em and leave ’em girls that had meant nothing—but none of those experiences could compare to the heat that was blazing through my veins right then. I didn’t want just one night.

I wanted all of her nights.

FOUR

Santana

I felt him coming without having to lift my head to watch him. With each step he took toward me, the air seemed to crackle with a tension that was making every fine hair on my body stand at attention. I was practically humming with anticipation of what would happen once he reached me.

He hadn’t said a single word to me all morning, though I had heard his voice as he spoke to his friends. I liked the sound of it. Not deep, not dark, but not weak, either. Just … masculine and perfect. I liked the sound of his laugh, too. Even as I’d tried to concentrate on the individual shoots, I had found myself picking out his laugh, and within minutes, I could depict if it was a real laugh or a forced one.

Kale was only a few feet away now as I slowly turned to face him. But as I did, my gaze landed on the man across the room and my jaw automatically tightened.

Travis Braxton.

I wasn’t a fan, no matter how much Emmie praised him. I didn’t know what it was about the guy, but he rubbed me the wrong way, and not in a sexual way, either. There was zero attraction between the two of us.

Zero.

He was good-looking in a preppy, stuck-up suit kind of way. His hair was always styled meticulously and, between that and his facial hair, I was pretty sure he went to the salon at least once a week. I just couldn’t get into a guy who looked like he took longer to get ready in the morning than I did.

No, it had more to do with him wanting to walk into the middle of my shoots and try to take over. The last shoot I had done with one of his clients, he’d tried to throw his weight around and called out orders to the guys. Even Emmie didn’t pull that kind of shit when she was present for one of the shoots. It was distracting and, if I was honest, kind of insulting. She just told me what she was looking for, and I could normally give her exactly what she wanted. That day, though, Travis had thought he knew what Emmie wanted and had ended up messing the whole thing up, making the session take twice as long since he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

He had quickly learned his lesson when I finally finished and sent the prints up to Emmie to look over. That was when I had lit into him. He’d lost most of his superior attitude and had left with his tail tucked between his legs when I had told him he was a fucking idiot and to leave the photography to the professionals. Emmie had called me later, laughing so hard she was in tears. Apparently, no one had ever stood up to her number one guy … ever.

“Want me to kick his ass for you?”

My eyes snapped up to find Kale standing only a few inches away now.

My heart kick-started in my chest, making me slightly lightheaded for a second. I sucked in a steadying breath, only to inhale his scent, making my panties dampen in reaction. It was a subtle kind of scent, not aftershave or even cologne. Maybe his body wash? Whatever it was, it smelled fresh and clean with just a little citrus tossed in.

I liked it.

“Wh-What?” I stupidly stuttered as I just stood there, staring at him.

A smug grin teased at his lips, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to me and was enjoying it. It made the ring in the middle of his bottom lip stand out more, and I had the crazy urge to suck on it.

“The suit. I’ll kick his ass if you want me to.”

I shook my head to both clear it and answer him. “No, that’s okay, but thanks, anyway.”

He shrugged. “No problem.” He glanced over at Travis, and I saw a muscle twitch in his jaw, like he was gritting his teeth. “He your ex?”

That had me laughing.

“No way. I can’t stand the guy, and I think the feeling is mutual.”

Kale seemed to relax at my answer, and I had to quickly remind myself that I had to stay professional. Whatever was happening with me where this guy was concerned was dangerous, and I didn’t need some rocker boy fucking up the life I had finally made for myself.

Clearing my throat, I waved a hand toward the green screen. “Well, you’re the last one. We can knock this out really fast, and then you can go get something to eat. Unless Travis has something for you to do, th

en I think you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.”

Kale just stood there, watching me so closely I started to squirm. After a long moment, he finally nodded and followed me over to the green screen.

He was quiet for the next twenty or so minutes while I got one shot after another. Every few minutes, I checked my work, and damn, they looked good. Every one of them was usable. The intensity on his face. The set of his mouth.

The way he looked at the camera, as if he was looking right into my soul …