Free Sleeping With the Entity by Cat Devon

you have a thing against talking mackerels?”
    “As examples of the lunacy of some consumers, no. As a decoration, yes.”
    “So you’re saying I shouldn’t get you one as a present for your grand opening?”
    “You’re kidding, right?” She eyed him uncertainly.
    “Am I?” His lips lifted slightly.
    “I can’t tell,” she admitted. “I haven’t experienced you kidding me before.”
    “A milestone in our relationship,” he said drily.
    “Are you saying we have a relationship?”
    “A business relationship.”
    “Sure. A business relationship.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re being much too nice to me all of a sudden. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
    There was a lot that Nick wasn’t telling her, that he couldn’t tell her. Staring into her eyes, it was so tempting to just lean a little closer so his lips touched hers. She was wearing a jean jacket over a white T-shirt and jeans. Nothing fancy. Nothing to make him want her so intensely. Every time he saw her, his desire for her grew.
    “There is something. I knew it. Tell me,” she said.
    “I want to kiss you.”
    “Wha … at?” Clearly stunned by his reply, she stumbled over the word.
    “You asked me a question. I answered it.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    He swooped in and answered her question with action instead of words. His mouth brushed against her soft lips, coaxing them to part for him. When they did, he rewarded her response by intensifying the kiss.
    He could feel her heartbeat, feel the throb of her pulse drawing him in.
    “What are you doing?” she whispered as he nuzzled her earlobe.
    “Kissing you.”
    “But why?”
    “Because I want to,” he murmured against her mouth.
    “Is this your way of trying to convince me not to open my shop?”
    “Forget about your shop.”
    “I can’t.” She pushed him away. “Don’t try to make me.”
    “I’d never make a woman kiss me against her will.”
    “I meant don’t try to distract me with kisses. It won’t work. Any more than my kissing you would distract you.”
    Nick wasn’t about to admit that her mouth was capable of making him lose track of everything. Every thought. Every good intention.
    “You don’t believe me? I know this doesn’t distract you.” She moved swiftly, placing her mouth over his.
    He fed on her. Not her blood but her essence—the essence of her soft lips, the texture of her tongue. Because there was plenty of tongue going on. He doubted she’d intended that to happen when she’d kissed him to make a point. But the fact that it had happened proved how volatile the two of them were together.
    At their very first meeting, he’d thought she was playing with fire. Now he was doing that, too. Fire had the power to destroy vampires. But damn, she tasted so fine.
    He’d fed earlier so it wasn’t her blood he craved. It was her body. He wanted to take her then and there, up against the wall, with her jeans around her knees and him embedded deep within her.
    But the need to protect his secret took priority above all other needs. Pushing her away, he regained control. “Lock your door,” he growled before storming out.
    *   *   *
    “Are you ready for your grand opening in four days?” Suz asked Daniella as the two of them sat in the back work area of the shop where Daniella was still tweaking some of her specialty frosting recipes.
    “Sure,” Daniella replied. “I can’t wait!”
    “You’re lying,” Suz said.
    Daniella made a face. “What gave me away?”
    “The way your right eyelid is twitching.”
    Daniella put a hand up to her face.
    “Now you’ve got frosting on your forehead,” Suz said.
    “Great,” Daniella muttered.
    “How nervous are you on a scale of one to ten?”
    “I don’t think in terms of numbers,” Daniella said. “That’s your thing, not mine.”
    Suz nibbled on the remnants of what once was a naked chocolate cupcake. “You’re avoiding the question.”
    “Because I want to