I leaned over her, pressed my lips to her shoulder blade. Tasted the salt of her skin.
And something shifted in me.
The urgency faded. The raw, desperate need softened into something else. Something deeper.
I pulled out of her gently, and she made a small sound of protest that tugged at my chest. Before she could move, Igathered her in my arms, turned her to face me, and laid us both down on the tangled sheets.
She curled into me, her head finding that spot on my chest like it had been made for her. Her fingers traced the tattoos over my heart, and I felt my pulse steady beneath her touch.
For a long moment, we just breathed together.
“Knox?”
“Yeah?”
“I want …” She hesitated. Swallowed. “I want to feel you again. Softer this time. Then the next time hard and rough again.”
I tilted her chin up, searched her eyes. Found them soft. Vulnerable. Open in a way I’d never seen before.
And beneath that openness, I saw it. The thing she was trying to hide from me.
Fear. Still there. Still coiled tight in her chest despite three weeks of armed guards and locked doors and my body wrapped around hers every night.
I’d thought the security would be enough. Thought if I just gave it time, she’d feel the sanctuary of round-the-clock guards parked at the end of the driveway. Men who watched the house for any sign of trouble.
But three weeks in, and she still flinched at car doors slamming. Still checked the locks twice before bed. Still woke gasping from nightmares she wouldn’t tell me about.
I couldn’t watch her live like this.
Waiting for Silas to make a move was killing her slowly. We’d been playing defense for three weeks, and it wasn’t working.
Tomorrow, I’d call Jace. Maybe the rest of the guys too. We’d sit down with Harper and come up with a new plan. Something proactive. PIs to hunt Silas down instead of waiting for him to strike. Or we could relocate to some other place that would comply with my parole. Somewhere he’d never find us.
Harper loved this bungalow. It was her symbol of independence, the first thing that was truly hers. The thought of asking her to leave it twisted something in my gut.
But we couldn’t keep living like this. I needed to convince her to get out of here.
Until then, I’d give her what she needed. I’d protect her body and her heart.
I rolled her onto her back, settling between her thighs.
This time, I didn’t rush. I kissed her forehead. Her eyelids. The tip of her nose. The corner of her mouth.
When I finally kissed her lips, it was slow. Tender. The kind of kiss I’d never given anyone before. The kind of kiss I didn’t even know I was capable of.
I entered her slowly. Inch by inch. Watching her face for every flicker of sensation.
Her eyes stayed open. Locked on mine.
“You were worth the wait,” I whispered against her lips. “Every goddamn second. You were worth it.”
A tear slipped down her temple. I kissed it away.
“I want you,” she breathed. “I want all of you, Knox. Every broken piece. Every dark corner. I want it all.”
I thrust slowly. Deeply. Withdrawing almost completely before sliding home again.
“I’ve never …” I had to stop. Swallow past the tightness in my throat. “I’ve never had this. Never had someone who saw me the way you do.”
