15. Melting the Ice Cream
melting the ice cream
. . .
Sadie
Sadie’s Guide to Hostage-Taking Being Taken Hostage Forming a Partnership with Your Hostage, Tip #9: Ice cream is a great way to celebrate a successful hostage-taking. If you’re so inclined, your ex-hostage can join you.
Bear’s growl reverberated through the ice cream parlor. One moment Davian’s lips were a breath from mine and I was frozen in place, and the next Bear yanked him away from me. Davian hopped backward on one foot just as Bear viciously ripped his other shoe off.
If I weren’t so horrified by Bear’s sudden obsession with Davian’s footwear, I would’ve collapsed in a laughing fit at the scene.
Bear pranced backward, brandishing the black loafer like a hard-earned war prize before bounding off into the corner.
“Bear, no!” I yelled, pushing past Davian to give chase, but he slung an arm around my front like a steel band. It pulled me to a quick halt.
“Let him go,” Davian said, not sounding the least bit bothered by Bear’s thievery. But the shoe had to be expensive. “He’s distracted now.”
I winced at Bear thrashing around his newfound treasure. Then Davian’s hand slid down to my hip—making my heart jump into my throat—and all thoughts of dogs and fancy footwear evaporated. My back was flush against his firm front.
Oh.
Oh dear .
I squeaked, trying to focus on the issue at hand. My voice was far too high pitched when I got it to work again. “But your shoe…”
But Davian’s hand on my hip was already turning me to face him, and his dark gaze cut off the rest of my protest. A fledgling smirk grew at the corner of his mouth, pulling my attention. It was unfair how attractive the smirk made him. “It’s a small price to pay so I can do this without interruption.”
He leaned in with deliberate slowness—like a predator toying with his prey. Turned out I was into that, because my heart was beating as fast as Bear’s tail wagged during feeding time, and a spike of adrenaline hit.
Davian’s lips met mine—slow and teasing—before molding against them with a hunger that stole my breath.
As I leaned into him, my free hand found his side. I’d never been one to waste ice cream, but the cone dropped from my hand without a second thought as I matched his hungry pace.
The answering rumble deep in his chest left my insides trembling.
Davian barely gave me time to catch up before he cupped the back of my neck and deepened the kiss, igniting flames in my belly. He tasted sweet like vanilla, and I now had zero complaints about his ice cream choice.
Bear’s low growl went ignored. The world faded around us. All I could focus on was giving as much as I got.
Until Bruno tutted behind the counter, breaking our kiss-induced spell. “Careful, kids. You’re melting the ice cream.”
Reality crashed back, and I froze in Davian’s arms. My cheeks flamed as I tried to pull away, but he kept a firm hold on me, unbothered by our audience. His gaze remained glued to my mouth, and when he let go of my neck to trace his thumb over my lower lip, I couldn’t fully suppress a shiver.
That didn’t escape Davian’s notice, and one side of his mouth slanted up. “What are you thinking about?”
My tongue peeked out to wet my lips, and it just barely caught the edge of his thumb. Davian’s eyes flashed, making me smile. Only one thought raced through my mind.
“I’m thinking I want to kiss you again,” I admitted.
His gaze heated in a way that made my toes curl, and Bruno was the last thing on my mind when Davian’s mouth met mine again, in more of a tease than a kiss.
“What are you thinking?” I murmured against his lips.
He trailed slow, lazy kisses to the corner of my mouth, and my heart stuttered.
“I’m thinking I should take you hostage for dinner tomorrow night.”
A laugh escaped me, even as my cheeks heated again, and I pulled back far enough to squint up at him.
“But I thought you said hostages were only taken as a security measure to make someone else do something?” I said, throwing his earlier words back at him.
His answering smirk did funny things to my stomach. “The term’s grown on me.”
Well, then. I cleared my throat before beaming at him. “I think I can pencil getting abducted for dinner into my schedule.”