I held back a chuckle at her obnoxious haughtiness because I didn’t hate it at all. It was a big part of her, and I loved her confidence.
She broke off with a harsh breath, “It’s just…” Finally, she opened her eyes, and the look she pinned me with made my knees wobble. “Tanner told me to come to you,” she whispered.
That startled me, “Tanner did?”
She gave a sharp nod, watching me closely. “He said I needed to burn it off. And that you could help me. He said that you calm the chaos in me or something else profoundly Tanner Brooks like.”
I giggled, even as something twisted deep in my gut. The idea of Tanner, so steady and golden, sending Rhea to me like some offering because it was what she needed.
Paired with the way she obeyed his words.
The way he saw her needs.
Thatdid something for me.
“I’m glad you did,” I said, my voice softer now. “You don’t have to carry it all alone anymore, Hotshot.”
“How do you do that?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“Say the right thing. Look at me like I’m not one move away from losing it all. Like I’m not broken and almost feral, like a wild animal in a cage, looking for a way to cause the most destruction in the quickest time possible.”
I smiled slowly and surely because I knew she didn’t need my pity or my assurance. She knew the truth, but her mind wouldn’t let her believe it. “Maybe I like when you’re a little feral.” Her eyes burned hotter. I reached up, brushed a strand of hair off her face, and then cupped her jaw. Her skin was warm against my palm, and her pulse thrummed beneath my fingertips. “Let me help you,” I whispered.
And that was all it took.
She kissed me like she needed oxygen and could only find it from my lips. There was no hesitation in it, no gentle lead-up. Just heat, hunger, and hands that shook slightly when they held me. I could feel the storm inside her, the one she hadn’t been able to shake, the one Tanner sensed because he sent her here—to me.
And I was more than willing to let her unravel in the safety of my arms.
Her fingers dug into my hips as she led me backward against the wall, pinning me to it with her hips as her lips teased myneck. There was something wild in her that hadn’t learned to be tamed.
As I threaded my fingers through her hair, tugging her closer, she groaned, low and desperate, as if I’d just given her the permission she didn’t know she would ever get.
“I didn’t come here to fall apart.”
“You’re not falling,” I whispered as her hands gripped my waist, “You’re letting go.”
Her eyes closed for a beat, and her hands stilled. “Letting go is harder than it looks for me.”
“Not when you’re safe,” I held her face in my palms again, “And you’re always safe here, with me, Rhea. Let me be the place of serenity and peace that you so desperately need.”
She nuzzled into me, burying her face in my neck again and kissing the skin there. In our time together, I learned Rhea hated eye contact when she was being vulnerable. Like she could hide from it all if I couldn’t see her face.
“You feel like heaven,” She murmured.
I smiled, sliding my hands under the warm fabric of her shirt, teasing them across the defined skin of her abs. “Funny. You feel like electricity, just waiting to burn me.”
That earned a growl. One that vibrated straight through me as she gripped my thighs and lifted me. I gasped, wrapping my legs around her waist and clinging to her in shock as she walked us up the stairs to my bedroom.
“Tonight,” she held me firm in her hands as she laid us down on my bed, covering my body with hers. “I’m going to let you look at me like I’m more than this—more than sex and chaos. And tomorrow I’ll earn it.”
I moaned when she rocked her hips into me, and I gave up trying to convince her she was worth so much more than that, losing myself to the need she had built inside of me with her vulnerability.
Her fingers pulled at the fabric of my pajamas, and she groaned, drawing a giggle from my lips as she failed twice to get them off.
“What are you wearing?” She leaned up, staring down at the fabric as if it offended her.
