Page 67 of Corrupted

"Fucking bitch!" he snarled.

"Sticks and stones, Kurt," I said. "Sticks and stones." I turned around to leave, but then turned back. "Gianni, do you think Terry will let me borrow his blowtorch later? I have a favour to repay."

Kurt glanced down at his chest and shook his head. He started to plead and went on pleading as we left the basement, closing the door behind us.

CHAPTER 24

GIANNI

"This is the life." I laced my fingers together and placed my hands behind my head. I leaned against the back of the outdoor lounge and gazed out at the view.

"It could be worse," Damon agreed. He sat down beside me and copied my pose.

"It has been worse." Mina sat on the other side of me, her legs crossed. She wore black leggings and a dark purple T-shirt with the logo of Bobby Starlight, her childhood favourite pop star, on the front. She wore her brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

For the first time since I saw her in that cage, she looked like a woman who was almost twenty-four, not so tired and world-weary. Not quite carefree, but we'd work on that.

Reuben sat on the edge of the lounge, lost in thought. His polo necked shirt looked new. It might have been hanging in his wardrobe for years, but he hadn't let himself relax enough to wear it. It wouldn't last long, but it was good to see him take a rare day off.

Mina uncurled and walked on her knees to place her hands on his shoulders. She started to massage them lightly, her upper body pressed against his back. "You should get a professional masseuse."

He dropped his chin down to his chest. "Why would I need one when I have you?"

She laughed, soft and husky. "Because I'm not a professional. Although, maybe now I could be. I could go back to school and get myself a day job. Something to keep me busy between contracts."

"If you need the money—" Reuben started.

"I don't," she said quickly. "I just want to do something interesting with my life. Maybe not masseuse. I wouldn't mind learning about technology and how to use it the way the twins do. Then you wouldn't have to call on them all the time for things like that."

Reuben grunted. "It keeps them busy, but if you want to study, you can. Any university would be lucky to have you. Brutham Academy has an excellent computer science department. The campus is a long way from here or Sydney. For a number of reasons, they don't do external study."

"You're on the board of Brutham," I pointed out. "They'd open a campus here in Dusk Bay if you insisted on it. And funded it. We could live here during term time and back in Sydney when Mina isn't studying."

"You could go back to school too," Damon said. "Learn how to do something useful."

I flipped him off. "Ha fucking ha. I'm very useful." I rolled onto my side to face him. "If I went back to school, it would be to teach. Psychological torture one-oh-one."

He turned his face until his nose was almost touching mine. "You're an expert at that. I feel psychologically tortured right now." His eyes shone with humour, his equivalent of laughing.

"The only thing you're suffering from right now is the suppressed desire to fuck me," I said. "An issue I'm happy to rectify any time."

His eyes were immediately darker.

Nail, meet head.

I lay perfectly still. He'd either make the first move, or he'd shift back away from me. Whatever he'd do was fine with me. I wouldn't put any pressure on him to…

The thoughts flew out of my head when he moved closer, brushing his lips over mine.

Then I was kissing him back, deepening the kiss before rolling onto my back and pulling him with me. His upper body lay across mine, growing erection pressing into me.

I slipped my hands up the back of his shirt and over his firm, scarred skin. Every centimetre of him was warm under my palms. With every caress, I wanted to feel more of him.

He groaned and pushed his tongue between my lips, like he was thrusting into me.

I was so hard by now, I'd be lucky if I didn't lose my load in my track pants. I managed to whisper his name right before I undid the front of his pants and pushed them down so I could palm his cock.

I raised my hips so he could pull down my track pants and do the same to me. His hand was hot and firm around my length. His fingers explored my piercings with fascination.