Flirting With Disaster (Camelot 3)

“Have you ever been with a man who d-did those things to you?” His voice had turned husky and dark. “Talked dirty to you? Spanked you? Tied you up and sspent hours figuring out how many ways he could make you c-come with his tongue?”

“No.” She put as much scorn into the word as she could manage. As if scorn could protect her from the way he was turning her on. Or prevent him from knowing he was doing it.

It was no use. Sean turned to look at her, and he smiled the wickedest smile she’d ever seen. A smile that said he knew exactly what he was doing, and he’d known all along. “Sounds like the guys you’ve been with have been reading all the wrong books.”

She closed her eyes and gave herself a moment to die.

Then she opened them, picked his book up off her lap, and said

with all the nonchalance she could muster, “What are you saying, I should go out with a guy who reads sci-fi?”

“You c-could do worse.” Leaning forward to turn up the music, he asked, “What did you get me to eat?”

She reached blindly into the grocery bag on the floor in front of her seat and pulled out a can of Pringles.

“Thanks.” He took the can and started to eat them, and she began to wonder if she was insane.

That conversation—it hadn’t been a normal conversation, right? There had been sexual overtones. She couldn’t have imagined them, because he’d definitely mentioned making her come with his tongue—or someone doing that—and it had definitely made her want to unzip her jeans and stick her hand down her pants. She was wet and restless and keyed up.

Sean was eating Pringles.

Damn the man.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking out at the light traffic on the interstate. The woman in the car in front of them appeared to be talking on her cell phone and curling her eyelashes at the same time. Sean passed her. Katie wondered if she’d ever get laid again.

She pulled a package of Bugles out of the bag and tore it open. “You mind if I read your book?”

“Help yourself.”

“No, I mean, do you want me to read it out loud? You’re not all that far into it. If you don’t mind starting over, we could read it together.”

“That wuh-would be n-nice.”

So she read. “I see in Lunaya Pravda that Luna City Council has passed on first reading a bill to examine …”

When she got to the end of the third chapter, she closed the book and took a sip of water, thinking about everything she had on her plate once they got to Buffalo. She needed to get Judah to tell her everything, and she needed to figure out what she was going to do about Sean.

She wasn’t the only partner packing heat.

Chapter Fifteen

He’d been waiting for her for hours, ever since she texted to say she and Sean were on the way. When she finally stepped through the door, a week’s worth of anxiety just flowed right out of him. It was the strangest thing—Judah could actually feel it. Like a stream of dark energy, moving through his chakras and out the top of his head.

“You made it,” he said.

She gave him a bright smile as he crossed the room and pulled her into a hug. His hands settled at her waist as he took her in. Long legs in black slacks, a taupe top with a V-neck that was professional without being drab. It was good to look at her. The green around her head was brighter than the last time he’d seen her, shining with energy and possibility. He didn’t know when he’d last met anybody with an aura as fresh as Katie’s. “You get sexier every time I see you.”

“Do you completely lack shame, or are you just very good at pretending?”

Judah grinned. “I pretend for a living.” In more ways than she could know.

“That explains it,” she said. “Behave yourself, or I’ll tell Sean exactly what happened in Louisville, and then you two can finish up that pissing contest you started there. You do remember Sean?”

She stepped aside, giving him a better view of her glowering partner. The man had disliked him on first sight. Judah could only imagine what Sean would do if he knew what had happened on the couch. Tear him limb from limb in a jealous rage, probably.

“Of course,” Judah said. “Good to see you again, man.” He extended his hand. Sean squeezed it too hard and grunted a greeting.

“Take a seat,” Judah said, gesturing toward the couch. “We have a lot to talk about.”