Edged Blade by J.C. Daniels Page A

was going to kill Justin—for being a pain in my ass.
    Reaching up, I laid my hand on Damon’s cheek.
    He froze.
    “But you don’t smell him on me, do you?”
    Closing his eyes, Damon ducked his head. “That’s not…Kit, I didn’t think…”
    “I know.” Lifting my other hand, I cupped his face in my hands. The dark crown of his head was bowed and I leaned in, pressed a kiss to his scalp. “He’s just being evil. I mentioned you were coming over later and he flopped his ass down on the bed just to get under your skin.”
    His head came up then.
    “It looks like he’s done just that,” I said softly.
    His hands flexed on the sheets next to me. “I’m going to get under his skin. Literally.”
    Leaning in, I pressed my mouth to his.
    He groaned.
    I all but held my breath…waiting.
    The soft, gentle kiss wasn’t what I wanted.
    It wasn’t what I needed.
    My heart raced and my body begged…and he soothed.
    While that edgy need climbed higher and higher, I twisted my arms around his neck and hooked one knee around his hip.
    He broke the kiss immediately.
    As he put the width of the room between us, I clenched my hands into fists.
    Maybe the only way to do this was to get naked.
    The idea had merit.
    Yeah, he’d probably try to coddle me through it—and maybe I’d end up needing that—but at least he’d get the point.
    “Why was Allerton here?”
    The question was a splash of cold water.
    Jerking my head up, I met his gaze. The grey was a warm haze of smoke and his jaw was a rigid line, but the words had been delivered in a cool flat tone. Interesting segue, Damon .
    I ran my tongue across my teeth and immediately wished I hadn’t because I tasted him on me. His gaze dropped to my mouth and I shuddered. A muscle pulsed in his jaw and he looked away.
    “Fuck this,” I muttered, shoving upright.
    I moved toward the door, my sock-clad feet silent on the hardwood.
    Damon moved out of the way—away from me—like I carried some sort of contagious disease. I wanted to grab him and shake him and beg him to touch me. How did I tell him that I needed it?
    Just do it .
    But the words lodged in my throat, trapped.
    “Kit.”
    Shooting him a dark glare, I continued into the kitchen. I needed chocolate or a drink or a huge pot of tea—or sex—but clearly, I wasn’t going to get the option I really wanted, so I had to make do.
    “He was looking for Justin,” I said. “Just like I already told you.”
    He was quiet as I opened the fridge. Milk. There was milk. I grabbed it and opened the cabinet next to the fridge. Perfect. A half bar of real chocolate. Hot chocolate—not quite sex, but almost as good.
    “And why was Justin here?”
    “Because we’re gearing up for a job.” I focused on heating up the milk instead of looking at him. I wasn’t quite ready to talk about that job just yet—or Shanelle. Not considering how pissed off I was getting.
    “What’s Allerton got to do with this?”
    I jerked a shoulder. Breaking the chocolate into pieces, I added it to the milk. One piece went into my mouth and I hummed in appreciation.
    Heavy arms came around me, surrounding me.
    My body reacted to the nearness of his. Heat grabbed me, shimmering through me. I turned to face him, one piece of chocolate still in my hand. Lifting it to my mouth, I stared at him as I licked it off my fingers.
    His eyes flared.
    “I don’t know what he wanted from Justin,” I said, deliberately choosing those words. I had a bad feeling I knew exactly what Allerton wanted with Justin, but I wasn’t going there right now. “He just wants to speak with him.”
    Damon’s gaze stayed on my mouth.
    The taste of chocolate lingered.
    I wanted the taste of him .
    Licking my lips, I shrugged casually. “Now…can you back off?”
    Instead, he reached up and touched his finger to the corner of my mouth.
    I felt that touch jolt through me from head to toe.
    I turned my head and caught his finger in my mouth and sucked on it.
    He was on