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  “Uh…” Liv laughed nervously. “I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to jump you like that.” She tried to get off his lap but he pulled her back down.

  “What’s the rush, Lilenta?”

  “I…I just…” The words wouldn’t come. Liv had been carefully avoiding getting too close to him for most of the week but now that she was in contact with him again, almost full body contact, whispered the naughty little voice in her head, she was finding it hard to think about anything but how good it felt to have his arms around her and how incredible he smelled.

  “You just what?” Baird seemed mildly amused. “You just thought you’d come out here dressed in next to nothing and tease me?”

  “I never thought that!” Liv felt a hot blush climbing her cheeks as she tried again to push away from him. Baird let her sit back a little but he kept her firmly planted in his lap.

  “Of course you didn’t.” He made a show of looking her up and down, his hot golden gaze taking in everything from the way she was nearly falling out of the grey satin bra cups to the skimpy satin panties that completed the set. “You know, Olivia, I can only think of two reasons you would wear something like this. One, you’ve finally decided to give in and let me bond you.”

  Liv’s throat finally unlocked. “What’s option number two?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound so squeaky.

  Baird’s eyes hardened. “Two would be that you thought you could come out here, flash a little skin and then get me on breach of contract and improper touching when I went for you. You think you’re the first bride to have that idea? Hate to break it to you, Lilenta, but it’s been done before to other Kindred. I was wondering when you were going to try it.”

  “I…I would never…” Liv was mortified that he had seen through her plan so easily.

  Baird frowned. “Oh no? Then I guess you just like putting on a show for me, hmm?”

  “Maybe I was just hot and wanted to wear something cool and comfortable for a change without having to worry about you making stupid remarks or staring at me,” Liv snapped.

  “You’re forgetting that we dream shared for six months, Lilenta. I know how you dress when you want to be comfortable. You wear one of those big, oversized night shirts that goes down to your knees and your old pink wrap thing and those slippers with long ears and animal faces on them.”

  “I don’t have my pink bathrobe and bunny slippers with me,” Liv protested.

  “No, but you could have asked your sister to send them up. Instead, you asked for this.” Baird’s gaze ran hungrily over the open robe and the grey satin bra, displaying the rounded tops of her breasts. “This is not the kind of outfit you put on if you don’t want to be stared at, Lilenta.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I wear, you always stare at me,” she accused.

  “Because I can’t help myself,” he growled. “Because you’re so fuckin’ beautiful and you won’t let me touch you even though I can tell by your scent you want me to.”

  “Don’t start with the scent thing again—why are smells so important to you?” Liv demanded, wishing she could get away from him, from the cage of his big, muscular arms. .

  One corner of his mouth curved up. “They’re important to you too—or they should be. They have a lot to do with the way we choose our brides, and the way our brides react to us. My scent helps your body recognize me as your mate the same way your scent let me know you were the one for me. It confirmed everything I’d learned about you during our dream-sharing.”

  “Thanks for the Kindred biology lesson,” she snapped, struggling to be free. “Now will you please let me go?”

  “When I’m good and ready. He frowned. “And before you scream breach of contract, remember that I am allowed to hold you—I just haven’t been doing it because you were so obviously afraid of me.”

  “Are we seriously back to that again?” Liv put a hand on her hip and glared at him. “For the last time, I am not afraid of you or the way you make me feel.”

  “Prove it.” There was an undeniable challenge in his eyes. “What’s that human expression? Put your currency where your oral cavity is.”

  Liv didn’t know whether to be amused or irritated. “It’s ‘put your money where your mouth is.’ And how am I supposed to prove it?” She had stopped struggling—it was useless. And besides, she had an idea that the way she was shifting all over his lap when she tried to get away was causing him a lot more pleasure than pain. The hot, hard lump she could feel nudging her bottom through his black sleep pants told her that much.

  “Kiss me.”

  “You already kissed me—back when you first brought me up to the suite. How is that going to prove anything?” Liv was exasperated. Exasperated and hot and confused and a lot more turned on than she wanted to admit.

  “Right. I kissed you. But if you’re really not afraid of me or your reaction to me, then you should be able to kiss me with no problem. Right?” He gave her a predatory grin that made Liv distinctly nervous.

  “That’s true,” she said even though she knew it wasn’t. “But I’m still not going to kiss you unless you can give me a better reason than that.”

  “How about because I won’t let you go until you do? C’mon, Lilenta—just one kiss. And if you can honestly tell me it does nothing for you I’ll let you up and won’t bother you the rest of the night.”

  “This is blackmail, you know.” She wanted to be outraged but the fact was that the longer she was in his lap, the less she wanted to leave it. Even now she was trying to keep herself stiff and unyielding but all she wanted to do was melt against him and let him touch her…take her. Hell, let him do anything he wanted. Oh, I am in so much trouble here!

  “Call it what you want but if you want off my lap, you’ll take the challenge. Otherwise I’m completely within my rights to hold you like this all night.”

  “All night?” Liv was horrified. She didn’t think she could last another ten minutes, let alone hours of being so close to the big Kindred warrior.

  Baird raised an eyebrow as though he knew just what she was thinking—as though he knew how close to the edge she was. “Go ahead—I’ll just sit here. I swear I won’t touch you. I’ll just let you kiss me.”

  “You’ll let me, huh? Aren’t you just too kind,” Liv grumbled but she already knew she was going to do it. At this point it seemed safer to give him a quick kiss than to stay in his arms any longer. She could feel herself getting hotter, her heart racing, her pulse pounding. She needed to get away from him fast and go take a cold shower—or sit on a big block of ice or do anything to cool off and forget how much she liked being near him.

  “Well?” Baird caught her gaze with his and the challenge in his eyes was unmistakable.

  “Fine,” she snapped. “But no funny business or I will claim breach of contract and I’ll be out of here so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He smiled at her. “Come on, Lilenta—kiss me.”

  Just one quick kiss. Wishing she didn’t feel like her heart was about to pound right out of her chest, Liv braced her hands on his massive bare shoulders and leaned in. She thought about keeping her eyes open but at the last minute his golden gaze was too intense and she shut them quickly. Just a quick kiss, she told herself. But not too quick—she didn’t want him to think she was afraid. Even though she was absolutely terrified.

  She brushed his lips with hers, a gentle feather-light touch that was reminiscent of the first kiss they’d shared, the one he’d given her during their claiming ceremony. She heard a low rumble of pleasure in response but Baird didn’t kiss her back right away though she could feel the tension in his big body. He was letting her take the lead—giving her control of the situation and it was surprisingly erotic.

  Feeling braver and forgetting she’d intended to end this quickly, Liv kissed him again. This time she tilted her head to fit their mouths for more contact. His lips were full and surprisingly soft. When she parted her own lips and lapped