Page 103 of The Carnage We Keep

I glare at him. “I don’t have a problem.”

The barest hint of a smirk crosses his face.

“In the last five minutes, you have literally set a woman on fire⁠—”

“I maintain my innocence until otherwise proven guil⁠—”

“Invented an affair I’m having,” he continues, talking right over me. “And furthermore, invented imaginary blondes for me to fuck.”

My lips thin. “I said I don’t have a problem. I didn’t say I don’t have opinions.”

“Lots of them, yes,” he mutters. “I’m aware.”

His thumbs shift almost absently against my thighs.

Stroking.

Caressing.

Lingering on my skin and making it almost impossible to focus on anything except their ghosting touch.

Fuck.

“None of it matters anyway,” he sighs.

I frown, wrestling my attention away from his touch on my bare skin. “W-what doesn’t?”

“Vivienne. Another hypothetical blonde. Whoever.” His jaw clenches. “You and I obviously aren’t going to be sleeping together.”

“Beg fucking pardon?” I hiss sharply through clenched teeth.

He rolls his eyes again. “You know what I mean.”

“Do I? Because it really feels like I should be more than a little insulted by the liberal use of obviously in that statement.”

He sighs in exasperation. “The obviously was because you fucking hate me.”

I shrug.

“So?”

He peers at me.

“What do you mean, so?”

“I asked why you and I wouldn’t bang. You answered an entirely different question.”

He just looks at me.

“What I mean,” I sigh, “is that you and I don’t have to like each other to fuck.”

Damiano shakes his head. Then his eyes lock with mine, and I shiver.

“Bella, you and I can barely have a conversation without turning it into a contest. We can’t stand it when one of us tells the other what to do, and literally everything turns into a power struggle. You fight me on principle, even when it’s clear you fucking agree with me. Neither of us knows how to back down.” His eyes narrow slightly. “Shall I continue?”

I wrinkle my nose as I glance away. “And they say the worst thing someone can say is no…” I mutter.

“What I mean is,” he growls, “You push. You take the reins. You manipulate every situation until it bends the way you want it to.”