“I’m so far past friendship, Trouble. I can’t even see the fucking line anymore. I don’t care how messy you are, how many walls you’ve built. I’ll tear down every single one. You’re my home, Trouble. The only one I’ve ever had.”
She stared at me, and I stared at her. I saw it all over her face: her guilt, rage, heartbreak. We were destroying each other.
“You’re going to leave,” she said quietly. “It’s going to be too much for you when you really find out who I am.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Trouble!” My voice cracked with anger. “I’m never walking away. Get that through your head. You’re it for me. The love of my fucking life. Do you hear me? Nothing you’ve done, nothing you’ve lived through, changes that.”
I stepped closer to her.
“Is your brain turned on tonight? Because I have a message for it.” I cupped my hands around my mouth and aimed towards her. “I can handle you. You want to kill someone? Fine. I’ll help you dispose of the body. You want to light your house on fire? I’ll bring the gasoline. You want to go on a secret federal mission? Cool. I’ll dress up in an FBI outfit. I think I’d look pretty hot in it.”
She cracked a small smile.
“You want to slap me, punch me, bite me, throw me into a river, I’ll let you do it, and then I’ll drag my ass back to you. Youwant to run away and get married? I’ll be there at the altar waiting for you. Fuck, I want to marry you now. I want it so badly. You. Are. The. One. I want YOU. I want all of you, even the pieces you hide from me. For the love of God, please,please,stop pushing me away.”
We instinctively moved closer to each other. We were so close, our noses touching, and the fire between us was burning so hot that we were about to be engulfed in flames.
Her breathing stalled, and I could tell her anger was subsiding, replaced by a desire for me. Her eyes said it all; she loved me, too. My body was about to implode. I wanted to show her how much I loved her, craved her, and obsessed over her.
“Max… this is too real.” She whined, but it was more of a whisper.
“Just tell me you love me. Tell me, please.” I was begging now, but I had no shame in it.
I looked at her eyes, her mouth, her tits, and back up to her eyes. She licked her lips and pushed her hips into mine. I saw her take a few moments to decide if she wanted to say it, and then she looked right into my eyes, and I melted.
“I love you,” she whispered.
I hesitated, laser-focused on those words coming out of her mouth. They cut through my drunken haze and buried themselves in my chest. The rational part of me was telling me to slow down. I needed to take things slow. She was suffering from trauma, and I needed to support her journey.
But the irrational part of my brain woke up as soon as her lips parted, and her eyes drank in my body, and then she whispered again against my lips, “Yes, I love you. I love you so much.”
I blinked, listening to her voice crack when she said it, and then I snapped.
“Fuck it.”
21
MACKENZIE
He pressed his mouth firmly against mine, his arms gripping me tightly. His strength was overwhelming. I didn’t resist; within seconds, we were perfectly in sync. Our kiss deepened, passionate and hungry, as if we couldn’t get enough of each other. Every sensation heightened, and everything else faded into the background. It was just us, lost in the intensity. We stumbled backward, my back hitting a tree as our desire ignited.
I wrapped my left leg around his waist, and we melted into each other. He pulled my swimsuit cover off and ran his hands over my body.
“Sofuckingperfect,” he whispered into my mouth.
I moaned. My entire body lit up.
“You’re mine,” he growled against my skin. “Not his. Not anyone’s. Say it.”
“Yeah… yours,” I moaned against his lips.
“No, that isn’t good enough. Say my fucking name,” he demanded, biting my bottom lip and sucking on it hard. I tasted copper on my tongue.
I swallowed, consumed by him.
“Max McKinnon… I’m yours.”
He sighed into my mouth, his kisses growing more aggressive.
