My gaze roved, taking in every imposing inch of him.
His back carved, bulging muscle and his ass…
I gulped.
He was so beautiful, it was unfair.
Then I winced a bit when he shifted a fraction and I caught sight of the wound on his side. His injuries had all but been forgotten.
“Are you hurting?” I managed around the thickness in my throat.
He grunted a low sound as he wrapped the towel around his waist.
There was something different in his demeanor. Something that hadn’t been there before. This air of cockiness that had been missing. “You think I could be in pain after that?”
Redness streaked, and I dipped my attention away from his obscenely handsome face. “Did you…like it?”
The sound he emitted was almost angry, though his touch was gentle as he reached for my chin again, nudging it up so I was looking at him. “You think there’s a chance that I didn’t? Meant it, what I said when I told you it was the best thing I’ve ever felt.”
His expression dimmed. “I’m not supposed to feel that good. I’m nothing but a bastard for taking that pleasure from you.”
My head barely shook. “I wanted to make you feel good, too.”
His thumb traced over my jaw. “Won’t ever forget it.” His eyes were wistful and full of grief. “Warned you about who I am, Daisy. About who I’ve become. And I’m worried that now that I’ve touched you, I won’t know how to stop.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t want him to. How reckless was that? I must have been a masochist with the way I set myself up to get my heart trampled whenever it came to him.
“I liked it, too,” I admitted. “So much.”
The grin he wore was almost cruel, and he leaned in closer. His masculine scent invaded my senses. “Think that much was apparent. Could taste your pleasure on my tongue and could feel it throbbing around my fingers.”
My stomach fisted. “It was different for me,” I quietly admitted. “I’ve never…”
“You’ve never what?” he pressed in that low voice.
“Felt like that with a man. I’ve never…”
God.
Was I twelve? I couldn’t even get the words out. But after the blaze of passion had melted away, those insecurities were rearing their ugly heads.
Surprise hardened his features. “You telling me you’ve never had an orgasm before that you didn’t give yourself?”
Slowly, I shook my head, though I lifted my chin and met his eye. “It was incredible, Cash. Perfect. An experience I’m going to keep with me forever as one of the best of my life.”
Hate and affection burned in his gaze. “Makes me sick to think about someone not treating you right. I thought if I left…”
“I never could be better off without you.”
“How fucked up is it that I can’t stomach the idea of you with another man? Nothing but a selfish prick who wants to keep what never was supposed to be mine.”
His attention dipped to the ring on my finger.
I thought maybe he knew right then that he was wrong.
That it was always supposed to be this way.
A tragedy just got in the way. Diverted our paths. But maybe I knew all along that something would draw me back to him.
