you long before any of this happened, and the moment your life was threatened, I was destined to save it.”
With my heart about to burst from my chest, I lift my hand to my mouth and shake my head. In another world, this would all make sense. Problem is, we’re not anywhere but here, in this messed up crime-family drama where lives are on the line and this impossibly brave and stubborn man is determined to fix it.
“You sound like a crazed man,” I say even though I know exactly how he feels. I’ve felt the same way about him.
“Maybe I am. I can’t help it. I’m too far gone for you, and I know you are too. It’s not just when we kiss, which is out of this fucking world. It’s also when we’re near one another. We need each other.”
His words are like lifeblood to my heart. My feelings for him are ballooning so fast that it’s frightening and exhilarating, and I just can’t seem to fight them any longer.
He strides toward me, and the air turns sultry. Until this moment, I’ve always wondered if he feels that magnetic pull as strongly as I do. Tonight, there’s a buzz around him as he leads me in, drawing me closer to his desires.
“Kiss me, Amelia,” he says hoarsely as he cups the back of my head and stills, just a whisper away from my mouth. “If you say you don’t want me, I’ll back away and still do everything in my power to keep you safe. But if you want me too, stop fighting me on this. Stop fighting us.”
Panting softly, I lick my dry lips, and the last bricks of the wall I have up, guarding my heart, fall to the ground.
“Us?” I breathe.
“Only us.”
I sigh and seal my mouth over his. The second our lips touch, a bolt of electricity shoots through me. This thing between us—the connection we have, the intensity of our relationship—ignites.
He doesn’t waste any time in pulling me close. I’m shocked at the gentleness of the pressure he exerts. He groans as his tongue dips inside my mouth, tasting me with firm licks.
My hands are in his hair as his move to my face. He deepens the kiss, stroking my tongue with long, luscious swipes.
I lower my hand to the hem of his T-shirt. He lifts his arms as I fling it over his body, and our mouths are reconnected as I press my body against his, achingly aware of every hard, hot inch of him.
His skin is unmarred and smattered with hair. I inhale his masculine scent as I place kisses over every chiseled ridge of his chest and torso before roaming back up, finding the thick skin of his neck and sucking lightly.
“Sweet Amelia,” he growls, taking my head in his hand, his other cupping my backside.
He lifts me in the air, and I wrap my arms around him.
“Take me to bed.”
He doesn’t hesitate as he barrels down the short hallway to my bedroom. It’s dark with the shadow of the blinds cascading over my duvet. He lays me down and stands over me, looking positively gorgeous in the moonlight peeking through the blinds.
I sit up and rise to my knees. Turning my back to him, I move my hair to the side. His hands glide the zipper down the back of my dress. With each clench of the teeth at the seam, my body grows hotter, and my core is damp.
With the utmost patience, he slowly lowers my sleeves down my shoulders, kissing the bare skin in its wake. I shiver as his lips French-kiss every freckle while his fingers run down the back side of my arms.
I turn to face him, letting the dress pool at my knees, leaving me in only a bra and panties.
“You’re so strong,” he says, “inside and out. You amaze me.”
I look up into his blue eyes and want to tell him the same. I don’t. Instead, I pull him down to the bed.
I kick the dress away from my ankles. My legs are spread, and he settles on top of me. His rock-hard erection presses against my core, eliciting a moan from my lips. The apex between my thighs throbs as he grinds against me with every kiss. It’s instinctual on both our parts. This connection is intense and desperate.
I arch my back as he unsnaps my bra and tosses it on the floor. With deft fingers, he explores my body, starting at