He didn’t take the bait.
Instead, Kieran leaned in towards me again, this time leaving mere centimeters between our faces. My breath caught in my throat.
“You seem like the type who might enjoy being under duress, though, Arken,” he murmured. His voice was low, velvet over gravel, so soft and husky and gods, I hated what the sound of it was doing to me.
What are you doing to me?
He had always been better than me at this gods-forsaken game of ours. Just the other day, I had been giving him shit over it, too—the way he used his silver tongue and sex appeal to get what he wanted out of damn near anyone. I’d caught him laying it on the barmaid that afternoon, thick as honey.
“Oh, please,” he had argued. “It’s just another tool, one that makes for much easier investigations. Why resort to fear or violence if seduction works just as well?”
When I had suggested that perhaps it was unethical to toy with people’s heartstrings like that, he’d doubled over laughing.
“Trust me, Arken. Nobody in this city is walking around with a broken heart over the likes of me.”
But I had my doubts. I was also sincerely struggling to come up with a witty response as the influence of his sheer proximity was starting to overtake my wit.
Or maybe it was the way he looked like he was currently undressing me with his eyes.
Just a game. Get over yourself, Arken.
I was just about ready to shake it off and think up something clever when the bastard went for my damn throat.
“Oh,” Kieran crooned softly, slipping a hand back under my jaw—this time with entirely different intent. He cocked his head gently, maintaining that searing eye contact before allowing his gaze to drift just a little bit lower. “I’m actually right, aren’t I? You do…”
My heart beat scattered, frantic and erratic.Perceptive motherfucker.He knew godsdamned well…
But why was he staring at my mouth like that?
The sun had already started to set outside, and the orange glow of dusk wasn’t doing me any favors. The warm panes of light poured through as the room began to darken, leaving his skin looking positively golden.
“Don’t go silent on me now, sweetheart.”
That was the second time he’d called me sweetheart tonight.
“Err. I… Um. Sorry. What was the question again?” I stammered.
Source be damned, I sounded pathetic. He chuckled softly, and the way it rumbled in his chest left my eyelids feeling heavy.
Why did he have to be so good at this?
Kieran gently stroked my cheek with the pad of his thumb, his dominant left hand still cradling my jaw. The other hand moved to brush a stray lock of hair behind my ear, and he let his fingertips brush skin ever so slightly, raising gooseflesh on my arms. I really hoped that wasn’t obvious.
He drew his response out slowly, voice dripping with sensuality.
“The question was… Do youenjoybeing put under duress, Arken?”
Gods above and below, I was being put under duress right here and now.Just a game, I reminded myself. There was no need to fixate on the way he’d just said my name like a prayer.
“That exists within the realm of possibilities,Kieran,” I breathed, letting my arousal slip into his name in the same indecent way he’d uttered mine.
There we go, Arken. Two can play this game.
What I hadn’t anticipated was the genuine flicker of surprise that would pass behind the lazy, bemused bedroom eyes he was giving me, or the way that for a moment, he seemed to struggle to return to form. It was only a moment, though, quickly replaced with a seductive and calculating half-smile.
I felt the lightest of pressure beneath my jaw as he began to tilt my face upward. We were close enough now that I could feel his breath against my lips, and it seemed like he was about to say something—another round of heavily weighted innuendo, if I had to guess.
I wasn’t about to give him the chance. No, the gloves were off now, and before he could speak another stupid, sexy word, I leaned into his caress and…