Sweet As Sin

11

“Replacement—Kat! You can’t just stare at Nico with your mouth open! You’re the one with the power in this song, right? You’re the muse. The bride who’s about to leave him at the altar. Look at the wall, look at the ceiling, pretend to be bored. Look at anything but him! Yo?”

“Um, yo.”

Obi nodded. “Good. We’ll go again.”

Nico shifted his weight. His leg slid over mine. I chanced a glance at him, to find him smiling, his hair falling into his eyes. He whispered, “Your heart’s poundin’, Kat.”

He was flirting with me. The man was shameless. Even if he didn’t remember he had a girlfriend, I did.

“It does that when I’m bored.”

He grinned, clearly not believing a word I’d said. I had to be more convincing.

“Actually I have this condition where my blood pressure spikes when I’m near an overbearing asshole.”

Wow, that slipped out much too easily. And apparently with convincing venom, judging by the expression on Nico’s face. His jaw gritted so hard I thought his teeth might shatter. His voice came out in a growl.

“Why are you tryin’ so hard not to like me?”

Obi shouted, “Cue music! We’re rolling!”

I kept my mouth shut, looked at the ceiling, and tried to look like I wished I was anywhere else. The music started. After a tense moment, Nico again began to sing.

I stared off into the middle distance like a cat ignoring its owner’s calls.

This time there was no shout of “Cut!” The room was quiet. The only sound I heard was the music and Nico’s voice, soft in my ear, singing about finding love and losing it. Singing about longing, and loneliness, and loss.

Things I knew all about.

My throat got tight. I closed my eyes for a second, trying to avoid Nico’s piercing stare. As his nose was only inches from mine, this was difficult. Closing my eyes helped.

We made it through the rest of the song in one take. I had looked appropriately disinterested.

“That was awesome, Kat!” Obi fist-pumped the air. “You looked totally turned off!”

A low rumble went through Nico’s chest. I ignored it. “Thanks.”

“Okay, everyone. Ceremony’s next, yo. Let’s get to it!”

People began to hustle. Nico stayed put, his arms hard around me, legs tangled with mine.

I lifted my head, and tried to move. This was like trying to move from beneath a boulder that’s flattened you. “Um. Shouldn’t we . . . ”

“Yes, we should.” His grin was wicked.

We weren’t talking about the same thing.

“I meant shouldn’t we get up. We should get up.”

Nico stared at me, grin fading. The intensity in his eyes was more than a little scary. I blundered ahead. “You might have to help me a bit, though. This dress is—”

“I’m gonna ask you a question, Kat. And you’re gonna give me an honest answer.”

This didn’t sound good. My heartbeat kicked up a notch. I swallowed because my mouth had turned desert dry. “Which is?”

He gave me a long, searching look. Then he bent his head and whispered into my ear, “Are you wet for me?”

My heart decided now would be a good time to have an attack. I couldn’t blame it.

“Don’t be disgusting!”

Of course I wasn’t disgusted. I was too busy having a heart attack. Nico wasn’t buying it, either.

“You are. I know you are. Your face is flushed. You’re breathin’ hard. Your heart’s poundin’. And beneath your panties, your p***y is soakin’ wet.”

If my face was flushed before, now it went molten. It didn’t help matters that he was right. I tore my eyes away, escaping the intensity of his gaze.

“You’re an arrogant prick, Nico Nyx.”

He chuckled. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

I hated that he could read me so easily. I hated how effortlessly I was falling apart in his arms. I hated how self-confident he was, how sure of the effect he was having on me. I hated it all, but I loved it, too, which was far more dangerous.

“Actually it does. My face is flushed because these lights are hot, and my heart’s pounding because I’m nervous as hell. I’ve never been on camera before. It has nothing to do with you.”

There was a long pause as he studied my face. “You lie for s**t, woman. It has everything to do with me. You know it. I know it.” His voice dropped. “And my hard c**k sure as f**k knows it, too.”

I laughed to cover my shock. No one had ever spoken to me the way he did. I couldn’t believe the nerve of this man.

I couldn’t believe how much I liked it.

This was all incredibly flattering, but I had to put a stop to this before it went too far. I wasn’t going to be another notch on this arrogant rock star’s bedpost.

“Well that explains a lot.” My tone was withering.

His eyes narrowed. “Meanin’?”

“Meaning I know which of your heads is making all the decisions. Because I’m sure your brain would be reminding you right about now that you have a girlfriend.”