The Venetian and the Rum Runner - L.A. Witt Page 0,96

his finger on it. And he still couldn’t look away from him. It was like Danny had come here on a mission, and not just to get paid, and Carmine had no idea if he should be… Well, he was definitely nervous, but nervous like he thought Danny might brandish a knife or a gun? Or nervous in an entirely different way?

Am I seeing what I want to see?

Because God forgive him, Carmine had had dreams about Danny looking at him exactly the way he was now.

But Danny couldn’t possibly mean what he’d meant in those dreams.

And Carmine was still standing there like an idiot with the chits in his hand. Clearing his throat, he broke eye contact and thumbed through the chits. Another impressive haul; if he’d known this crew was this good at hijacking and rum running, he’d have hired them the moment the Volstead Act had gone into effect.

I’d have hired them anyway. Especially their man in charge.

It took Carmine three tries to count out the cash. By the time he gave it to Danny to count, he was strangely flustered, and as their fingers brushed when Danny took the money, Carmine’s heart jumped. From the way Danny’s lips turned up just so, it hadn’t been by accident. What in the world…?

The office was silent except for Carmine’s heartbeat and the whisper of cash sliding against cash while Danny counted it. Then Danny handed it back. “It’s all there.”

“Great.” Their fingers brushed again. That had to be deliberate. It had to be. Especially with the hint of a grin and that wicked sparkle in the blue eyes Carmine dreamed about most nights.

He shook himself, wrapped the cash as he always did, and finished it off by tying a string around it. “There we are.” He held it out to Danny again. “Payment for today’s score, and money for the next one.”

“Thank you.” Danny reached for the wrapped cash, but he also stepped closer. A lot closer. So close Carmine could almost feel his body heat, but he could absolutely feel his presence.

Carmine gulped. Whatever he’d felt when Danny had walked in, it hadn’t been his imagination after all, and now something in those eyes dared him to come even closer. Carmine could’ve been imagining it, but he was sure he could see—hell, feel—a glint of desire in Danny’s gaze. And why else would he have come so near if he didn’t want something? Nothing about his posture or his expression suggested that what he wanted was a fight, or to try to intimidate Carmine, which left…

Carmine moistened his lips.

Danny looked, and when he met Carmine’s gaze again, that glint of something burned even hotter than before.

He couldn’t be imagining it. He’d played these wordless games with too many men before to not understand everything Danny was saying without speaking. It was only disbelief that kept him from moving. This couldn’t be real. Could it? Danny had hated him at the start. Warmed to him steadily over time. Was it possible he wanted Carmine now? That what had begun as warmth had become genuine heat?

Experimentally, Carmine inched forward. Danny tensed, but he didn’t give any ground. He stayed put, eyes still locked on Carmine’s.

Carmine lifted his chin, and Danny lowered his just slightly, bringing their mouths to the same height, so close someone only needed to lean in or inhale deeply and they’d be touching. And God in heaven, Carmine wanted to feel and taste those lips, but he hesitated, lingering there with his mouth almost grazing Danny’s just to feel the electric anticipation.

Then their lips touched, and somehow every light bulb in the room didn’t explode in a shower of sparks. Somehow Carmine didn’t.

He pressed in for more, and Danny growled low in his throat as he wrapped his arms around Carmine’s shoulders. Carmine slid his own around Danny’s waist, and his heart went wild as the kiss deepened. Danny had been edgy and cautious whenever he’d come into Carmine’s office, but not today, and now? Especially when he was kissing him? There wasn’t a tentative bone in his body.

Carmine had been imagining this since the night they’d met, and it was so much better than he’d pictured it. Danny’s mouth was soft and demanding at the same time, his hands firm but gentle as they slid up Carmine’s back.

Danny took over and pushed Carmine up against the hard, concrete wall, and even through his suit, Carmine could feel the cold against his back and the heat