I couldn’t resist sliding my hands beneath his shirt so I could feel the warmth of his skin. He breathed in deep, his muscles tensing beneath my fingertips, but he didn’t pull away.
“We can’t do this.” His voice was a guttural growl that sent another chill over me.
“So you’ve said. I promise not to let you get attached.”
He chuckled softly, and the sound reverberated through my entire body.
I pulled back and peered up at him. “What if I promise not to get attached?”
“Can you do that?”
I could tell he wasn’t asking because he believed it.
I opted for complete transparency. “There’s a rule about love. To have it, you have to be willing to be hurt. I’m not willing. I’ve been fighting for attention all my life, and when I think I might get it, my mother steals it from me. It’s not worth it. So yes, I can promise you I won’t get attached.”
For a brief moment, I thought I saw a glimmer of sympathy in his gaze. But I didn’t want that from him either.
“I’m not a virgin, Rule. I haven’t been for a really long time. I know how to separate sex from love.”
His hands stilled on my arms, his fingertips pressing into my flesh. I wasn’t sure if he was gearing up to push me away or trying to hold himself back. I hoped for the latter because, although I was hiding it well, his constant rejection was battering away at my self-esteem.
Taking the lead, I leaned into him, bringing my lips closer to his. For a moment, we shared the same air. But the second I pressed my mouth to his, he pushed me away, taking a step back. He didn’t look angry but perhaps disappointed. Instantly, I felt like an idiot.
“Sorry,” I said, turning to walk back toward the car.
Fuck. Why did I do that? It was an open invitation for more rejection, and I jumped right in with both feet.Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“Laikyn, wait.”
I didn’t. I couldn’t. “You told me you didn’t want me. I didn’t listen. I shouldn’t have done that.”
I should’ve listened.
It took every ounce of my self-control not to run to the car. I didn’t want to admit it but his rejection hurt. I mean, I’d married the man, and he couldn’t even stand to kiss me.
I pounded up the steps to the parking lot, my chest heaving but not from exhaustion. I was angry. At myself. At the situation. And yes, I was angry that he’d pushed me away, but I had no one to blame but myself. He had warned me, and I didn’t listen.
I was almost to the car when I heard a guttural “Goddammit, girl” from behind me.
Rule’s hand curled around my arm, spinning me around. When he took a step forward, I stumbled, my back hitting the car. The next thing I knew, his mouth was on mine. I whimpered, blaming it on surprise, but the heat that pooled deep in my core called me a liar.
The kiss was brutally beautiful, the way his tongue thrashed against mine as though getting inside me was the only thing that mattered. I kissed him back with equal passion, my brain short-circuiting.
“Damn you, Laikyn,” he groaned against my lips before kissing me again.
I clung to him, wanting to stay like this forever.
“First off,” he growled hotly, “I never said I didn’t want you.”
His hand curved behind my head, his body pressed to mine as his tongue thrust into my mouth. He wasn’t gentle, and this wasn’t a sweet exploration. A part of his body was inside mine, and though it was his tongue, it could’ve been his cock for the sensations that blasted through my being. I felt that kiss between my thighs.
Rule twined his fingers in my hair and pulled so our mouths separated. He was breathing as hard as I was, his eyes so dark I could no longer see the gold flecks in them.
“Don’t think for one second that I don’t want to fuck you,” he growled, his hips pressing forward, the evidence like a steel rod between us. “I’ve never been tempted by anything like you before.”
I assumed that was a compliment, but my brain wasn’t functioning well enough to form words.
The chirp of a siren ruined the moment. Rule instantly released me, stepping back. I glanced toward the sound and noticed a patrol car stopped near the entrance.
