feared being helpless again. But he’d been strapped down. Been promised death. And yet…
He’d just been afraid for her. Worried that he couldn’t protect her.
“What scares you?” Chloe asked.
“The idea of losing you.” Truth. She’d changed everything for him. There was no going back.
Forget Chloe?
Hell, no, that option had never been on the table. Never had. Never would be.
His mouth took hers.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Almost twenty-four hours later…
“Joel, do you want to talk about it?”
He was stripping off her clothing. One piece at a time. Kissing her.
“Joel…?”
The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. After the events at the hospital, she’d just wanted to slip away with him. But slipping away hadn’t been possible. Not with a dead doctor to deal with. Not with a serial killer being zipped into a body bag.
Their escape from the limelight had been delayed.
Cedric had done his press conference. Chloe and Joel had needed to answer questions. So many questions. She’d had to go back to see Ruben. Had to talk about Portia.
Had to even deal with Richardson more.
But it was over. The cops were handling things. She and Joel were finally clear.
And since she’d forced him to get yet another checkup before going back to their place, she also knew that he now had the all-clear to resume normal activities, all post-concussion as he was.
His mouth slowly lifted from hers. “Do I want to talk? Baby, I want you.”
And she wanted him. She’d needed him desperately, and she’d tried to stay close to him since the attack.
“I nearly went insane.” He stilled. Glanced up at her. “When he went across that table with his scalpel…when he went at you.” He put his hands down on the mattress, moving them to either side of her body. Caging her. He kept his weight off her, though, and his mouth came down on Chloe’s in a warm, passionate kiss. “Can’t lose you,” he rasped against her mouth.
You won’t.
He was already naked. She could feel the heavy length of his arousal pushing against her. “We have to be careful,” Chloe told him even as she bit his lower lip. “I don’t…want to hurt…your arm. Or your head. Maybe we should stop—”
“God, no. Stopping will hurt a million times more.” He ditched the rest of her clothing. “I’m a doctor. Trust me. My head’s fine. So is my arm. My neck. Everything. Besides, you heard me get the all clear.”
Yes, she had. “Joel…”
He spread her legs. Pushed his cock at the entrance to her body.
But he didn’t thrust inside of her.
A feverish intensity had been fueling him—and her—ever since they’d walked into Joel’s home. His eyes had glittered. Tension had rolled from him. And as soon as the door had shut behind them, she’d known they wouldn’t make it long before they were fucking.
“I don’t ever want to hurt you, Joel.” She meant it. With all of her being. Joel mattered so much to her. Chloe would never forget what it had been like to search for him. To throw open door after door after door…and find empty rooms. To know that Joel was somewhere, and he needed her.
And she hadn’t been able to get to him.
She’d known—with cold, brutal clarity—that if Dane had killed him, she would make sure that Dane died, too.
A savage realization. She didn’t want to be that person. That person scared her. But…when it came to Joel…
I will protect him at all costs.
His tongue thrust into her mouth. His fingers slid over the curve of her breast. He teased her nipple. Pulled her out of the darkness of her own mind and back into the moment with him.
Joel isn’t dead. I opened the right door. I saw him.
And Dane had still died.
“I want you so much,” Joel breathed. “Will never have enough of you.”
She’d never get enough of him, either. Her hand slipped between them. Her fingers curled around the length of his cock. Stroked. Pumped.
Another kiss. Deep. Sensual. She arched up to him.
He spread her wider.
Sank into her.
There was no more talking. The need was too intense. Her hips surged toward each thrust of his body. They strained together. Her nails started to rake over his arms—
No, his wound!
He caught her wrists. Pinned them to the bed. Put his mouth to her throat. Kissed her.
Thrust.
Her eyes squeezed shut as the orgasm rocked through her. Her legs clamped around his hips, and she held onto him with all of her might.
He licked her neck. Sucked sensually. Her eyes opened as his head lifted, and Chloe