揑桳incoln, please don抰 take this the wrong way, but… I don抰 want your help with this. I can handle it.?She swallows. 揑f I have to keep blocking him, so be it. Maybe if it escalates, then棓
揑f it escalates, I抣l break his face,?I snarl. She looks up at me, her green eyes wide and glistening. I clear my throat. 揝orry. Not really. Not unless he was about to hurt you, I mean.?
Truly, I meant what I said the first time, and the fact that I抦 willing to go that far almost scares me.
揕inc…？
揑f you change your mind, I抦 here for you. That抯 what I抦 trying to tell you. I抳e got your back as a boss and…？I pause, unsure what to even call this ball of tension and banter and gentleness between us. 揂s a friend.?
She looks up at me, but not before swiping her cheek, catching a tear.
揟hank you. I appreciate that, even if you抮e being a little harsh.?
揥hat抯 wrong??I urge, pressing my finger to her face, wiping away the wet grief she doesn抰 need to hide.
揥-what do you think??she stammers.
揑抦 not a mind reader. Talk to me.?
I shake my head.
She bites her bottom lip. Another tear falls, bigger and angrier.
揑t抯 just… I mean梠kay梥-so I know I dodged a bullet not marrying the asshole. But why do you think it took him a whole year after the wedding to think he made the wrong choice? Like what made him leave in the first place??
It抯 like I can feel the stone pelting her heart, the way this boy shattered her.
Even if he was her age, he抯 a fucking boy.
No man would ever abandon a beautiful, smart woman after promising forever.
No man would come crawling back like a snake a year later, angling for a shot at killing what抯 left of her heart.
I wipe her face with my hand again.
If I ever see this guy, I抦 going to kill him. Straight up annihilate him and expedite him to hell.
Who waits until their wedding day to leave a woman? And this woman? He抣l never find anyone else like her, and he doesn抰 deserve her.
But right now, she抯 crying in my arms over his damage. I wish I could erase him from her memory, her whole life.
揑-I抦 sorry. This is so embarrassing. God, what抯 wrong with me??She presses her face into my chest while my hand runs through her hair.
揘othing抯 wrong, Nevermore,?I whisper.
I mean it.
There抯 something completely fucked in his head.
She needs to know she抯 wanted, that she抯 not crazy for hurting or confiding in me. She抯 damn sure not crazy for aching to feel desired.
I抳e never wanted anything so badly in my life.
She wants it too. I know because she said it in verse when she slipped.
It抯 not like the night I missed my chance thanks to a dumbass driver without a muffler. When I wait for her to look up with my eyes burning, she doesn抰 lean in or tilt her head.
She doesn抰 know it抯 coming.
There抯 a halting second where I just hold her. Her surprise grows when my arms drop from her shoulders to her waist, pull her in, cradle her tighter, and I can抰 hold back.
I press my lips to hers like a man who抯 starved, even knowing full well she抯 just as ravenous.
In a split second, she opens her mouth and whimpers against my lips.
All soft, pleading sweetness.
She抯 fucking shaking.
I抦 not sure if my heart is still beating, but I won抰 miss my chance.
I抦 not missing another opportunity with this woman. Not tonight or ever.
With a hot rumble in my throat, I push my tongue in her mouth, slowly and fiercely.
I抣l show her she抯 not some pitiful conquest. Not a mistake born from emotion and all the weird turmoil around us tonight.
I need her to see she抯 cherished.
Her teeth graze against my tongue. I groan now, dipping in, tasting her fully and loving and hating it because I know I抦 already addicted.
Goddammit, Dakota.
Her arms tighten around my shoulders.
I feel her nails pressing against my shirt, scratching, begging.
With a rough sound, I move in, pushing her against the wall, taking what抯 mine and exiling every doubt from my brain. We抮e way past reasonable thoughts.
We抮e two mouths, two bodies, two souls drawn together by a thread of pure lust. When she gives me those soft green eyes, I break, driving my tongue against hers as it flutters softly against mine.
This is it.
All I have to do is grab her, toss her over my shoulder, and?
Clank!
There抯 a sharp, fragmented noise that startles us both.
Something cold and wet runs down my back.
Dakota jumps back, breaking our kiss, blinking in confusion.
揘evermore??My voice is ragged, far more desperate than I want it to be.
揝orry. Oh, the wine,?She bends, trying to collect the remnants of her wineglass.
揕eave it. You could cut your hands.?
揕eave it??she echoes.
I nod, and this time when I pull her closer, I抦 far more demanding. I抦 not losing her over a broken damn glass I抣l sweep up later.
She doesn抰 hesitate, at least, folding her arms around my neck.
Her lips find mine automatically.
Our tongues meet again, twined and hungry.
It抯 getting hard to breathe. Even the air itself with this woman梩hat Dakota hint of mint and sweetness梞akes me feel more intoxicated than the two glasses of Cabernet I tossed back earlier.
揙h, God,?she moans, leaning into me, her knees going weak as I kiss her off her feet.
My grip on her tightens, shoring her up, my fingers tingling with pins and needles. I need to feel her, roam her bare skin, squeeze her nipples, plunge into her drenched depths.
These hands need to take her apart and claim every piece.
I swallow something hard in my throat, moving away from her mouth to kiss her jaw, then igniting a neat line of fire down her neck.
揕inc, what are you doing??she whispers with an innocence that makes my cock seethe.
揟he fuck does it look like??I snarl, nipping at the space under her ear with my teeth.
She shudders so intensely she almost falls over.
揇o棓 I stop to run my tongue along her jawbone.
揙h.?
揧ou want棓 My lips swipe across the top of her neck.
Her arms tighten around my neck. She抯 trembling.
揗e to棓 I trace my tongue down her skin before I breathe out, 揝top??
揙-only if you want to.?She draws in a deep breath, staring with wide, needy eyes.
Is that an easy out for me, or does she think I抦 not enjoying this?
揑抦 asking what you want, woman,?I rasp. 揟ell me now. Sixty more seconds of this and I can抰 hold back.?
揑-I wish this could last forever,?she whispers, her lips pursed in a biteable pout.
I chuckle. 揧ou being poetic or trying to tease me into the ground??
Our eyes lock.
揧ou choose.?
Enough.
My choice is fucking sealed, written in the lust churning through my veins.
I lower my head, pressing my forehead against hers like I抦 marking her skin. 揑 can抰 make this night last forever, but I抣l make it memorable.?
Again, she shudders, tempting my hands to start tearing off clothes. I don抰 care if they抮e a shredded heap on the floor soon, I抣l replace them all.
揇o you say that to all the girls??she whispers.
I move one hand to her hair, running my fingers through light-blond silk. I shove my lips to hers again, taking her mouth good and deep before I answer.
揘ot until now. I抳e never said that shit to another living soul.?
It抯 all she needs to hear.
Her hand comes to my face, covering my bottom lip, her finger lingering. Stroking. Teasing. Caressing me to sin.