Carnal Urges by J.T. Geissinger

Author:J.T. Geissinger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

* * *

Declan removes my handcuffs long enough to dress me in one of his white button-down shirts, then recuffs me and drags on a pair of black jeans. Barefoot and bare chested, he leads me into the kitchen. He sets me on a stool at the huge marble island and kisses my forehead.

Then he sets about rummaging through his huge refrigerator for something to feed me.

I watch him, marveling at the masterpiece of architecture that is his back. “How often do you work out?”

“Every day. Ham?” He holds up a plastic bag of deli meat.

“Is it salad flavored?”

“No.”

“Exactly.”

He peers at me over his shoulder. “Are you a vegan?”

“What did that background check you ran on me tell you?”

“Many different things, none of which concerned your diet. Are you?”

“No. I just really love veggies. I used to eat a lot of junk, but I cleaned up my diet. I feel much better now. Didn’t you buy a bunch of green stuff for me when I first got here?”

Declan turns back to the fridge, replaces the ham in the drawer he removed it from, and opens another drawer. Staring down into it, he sighs. “Aye. I was hoping it somehow disappeared while you were in the hospital.”

“I could make you something, if you want. I promise you’ll think it’s good.”

When he looks at me over his shoulder again, his expression is doubtful.

“Okay, maybe not good. Edible, at least. I’ll sprinkle it with lots of M&Ms and Lay’s potato chips. That should make you happy.”

“I don’t eat that stuff. I keep it for Kieran. He has a sweet tooth. And a salty tooth. A fried tooth, too. Basically anything a doctor wouldn’t want you to eat, he loves it.”

“No wonder he looked at the tray he brought me like he was about to throw up.”

Declan chuckles. “Didn’t stop him from trying to convince me I should unleash you in the kitchen to cook up a batch of rabbit food for him and the boys.”

“Such is my power. Speaking of the boys, where is everyone?”

He turns from the fridge with a bunch of vegetables in baggies. He lets the door swing shut and sets everything down on the counter across from me. Removing a cutting board and a knife from a drawer, he says, “Downstairs.”

“What’s downstairs?”

He pauses with the knife in midair over a cucumber. “The entrance to the building.”

Right. Kieran’s a bodyguard. He’s on bodyguard duty. “Does he ever go home?”

“The men work in shifts. I don’t keep them chained to my side.” With a sly grin, he slices into a cucumber.

“Ah. I see what you did there. Clever gangster.”

“I am.” His grin fades, leaving a dissatisfied look in its place. His voice lowers. “Except when it comes to you.”

I say softly, “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Our eyes meet. There’s something so raw in his gaze. Raw and unhappy.

“What are you thinking right now?”

“I’m thinking…” He pauses long enough to look down at the knife in his hand as if he doesn’t know how it got there.

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