Page 110 of The Villain We Tempt

Jesus fucking Christ, self…

My face immediately scrunches up.

“Yikes, okay, yeah…” I wince. “Rewind. I never said that.”

“Pretty sure you did. I was there.”

I give him a bratty look, sticking out my bottom lip. “Please?”

He sighs. “Fine. Rewound. Recorded over. Erased.”

I grin. “Thanks.”

“I don’t think you really want to know, anyway,” he says. He’s still holding my chin, and I shiver as his thumb drags lightly back and forth over my skin.

“I don’t think so either,” I say with zero conviction.

Or do I?

“It’s just…” I frown. “I mean, I know every woman on MaskTok would tell me to just shut the fuck up and enjoy it, because it’syou…”

A chuckling sound rumbles from behind his mask. “Careful. My ego doesn’t needanymore stoking, believe me.”

I giggle. “Well, whatareyou looking for when you take your shirt off and go online to…you know, do your thing?”

“Food.”

I frown. “As in…”

“For my ego.”

I laugh loudly and my eyes flick to where his mouth would be if he wasn’t wearing his mask.

God, I really do want to kiss him.

“What areyoulooking for when you do the same thing?” he says quietly.

I smirk. “Hey now, mister,Ikeep my shirt on.”

“Kinda,” he grunts.

My brow quirks up. “Is that a complaint?”

“Not in the least.”

I flash him a smile before I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess maybe I was looking for a way to express myself, but, like, anonymously? Maybe I wanted to let a certain part of myself out without fearof judgment and all the awkward questions?” I sigh. “I dunno. I guess that must sound insane.”

“She says to a man who dry humps knives for likes.”

I giggle. “And the stalking. Don’t forget the stalking.”

“I can assure you, Galina, I won’t.”

Heat floods my face as he steps close. “You should go upstairs before your suitemate looks outside and worries you’re the next victim of the Shoreline Killer.”

My pulse jangles. “Is that your way of reassuring me you’renotthe Shoreline Killer?”

He chuckles. It’s still robotic, but it eases my galloping pulse.