Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

He answers instantly. “Yes.”
“So you being bad…that’s about other people?”
He struggles for a moment in silence, his brows drawn
together, looking so handsome, it hurts. “It’s about my job. My
lifestyle. My life.”
“You’re telling me you’re a criminal.”
Again, he answers instantly. “Yes.”
If my heart beats any faster, I’ll drop dead. “How big of a
criminal?”
“The biggest. The baddest. The worst.”
“This doesn’t make sense. What kind of criminal would go
around advertising he’s a baddie?”
His voice turns hard. “The kind that needs the woman he
wants to understand what she’s getting herself into.”
I laugh a little, confused and frustrated. “So now you’re
trying to scare me away?”
“I’m trying to educate you.”
“May I ask why?”
His voice goes rough. “Because once you’re in my bed,
you’re mine. And that’s it. Once I have you, I’ll never let you
go. Not even if you ask me to.”
We stare at each other. After a moment, I say, “Wow. We
haven’t even had our first date yet.”
He growls, “This is who I am. The only bad thing I don’t
do is lie. I’ll never lie to you, even if I know you’ll fucking
hate it.”
He’s agitated, I see that clearly. Agitated and irritated, his
temper high.
It doesn’t scare me. Instead, it intrigues the hell out of me.
So does everything he’s said.
All that money I spent on therapy…what a waste.