Page 38 of Body of Trust

“It’s not that simple. I’ll talk to my boss, but …” His voice trails off as he runs his fingers across his temple.

“What are you not telling me?” I ask brashly.

His chest is rising, and he pinches the bridge of his nose. I can tell he’s stressed.

I lay a hand on his arm, forcing him to look at me. “Jesse, we’re too far deep in each other’s secrets to keep any more from one another.”

He nods and speaks softly, “The department has been corrupted. They think there’s an informant on the inside. My file has been relocated to a new division. Only a handful of people know I exist. My boss is one of them. That’s who I was with today. We have to handle this from the inside.”

“So, that’s it? I go through with this, or my family dies? And when it’s all over, my father goes to jail.”

“We’ll take it one step at a time. We have a few days. I’m going to take care of this, Amelia.”

“You say that with such confidence.”

“I told you, I was prepared to take a bullet for you. Nothing’s changed. I’d do anything for you.”

“Why?” I ask, exasperated.

“Because I’m fucking crazy about you! You’re all I think about. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, just knowing that you’re here and I’m out there. I wanted you long before any of this happened, and the moment your life was threatened, I was destined to save it.”

With my heart about to burst from my chest, I lift my hand to my mouth and shake my head. In another world, this would all make sense. Problem is, we’re not anywhere but here, in this messed up crime-family drama where lives are on the line and this impossibly brave and stubborn man is determined to fix it.

“You sound like a crazed man,” I say even though I know exactly how he feels. I’ve felt the same way about him.

“Maybe I am. I can’t help it. I’m too far gone for you, and I know you are too. It’s not just when we kiss, which is out of this fucking world. It’s also when we’re near one another. We need each other.”

His words are like lifeblood to my heart. My feelings for him are ballooning so fast that it’s frightening and exhilarating, and I just can’t seem to fight them any longer.

He strides toward me, and the air turns sultry. Until this moment, I’ve always wondered if he feels that magnetic pull as strongly as I do. Tonight, there’s a buzz around him as he leads me in, drawing me closer to his desires.

“Kiss me, Amelia,” he says hoarsely as he cups the back of my head and stills, just a whisper away from my mouth. “If you say you don’t want me, I’ll back away and still do everything in my power to keep you safe. But if you want me too, stop fighting me on this. Stop fighting us.”

Panting softly, I lick my dry lips, and the last bricks of the wall I have up, guarding my heart, fall to the ground.

“Us?” I breathe.

“Only us.”

I sigh and seal my mouth over his. The second our lips touch, a bolt of electricity shoots through me. This thing between us—the connection we have, the intensity of our relationship—ignites.

He doesn’t waste any time in pulling me close. I’m shocked at the gentleness of the pressure he exerts. He groans as his tongue dips inside my mouth, tasting me with firm licks.

My hands are in his hair as his move to my face. He deepens the kiss, stroking my tongue with long, luscious swipes.

I lower my hand to the hem of his T-shirt. He lifts his arms as I fling it over his body, and our mouths are reconnected as I press my body against his, achingly aware of every hard, hot inch of him.

His skin is unmarred and smattered with hair. I inhale his masculine scent as I place kisses over every chiseled ridge of his chest and torso before roaming back up, finding the thick skin of his neck and sucking lightly.

“Sweet Amelia,” he growls, taking my head in his hand, his other cupping my backside.

He lifts me in the air, and I wrap my arms around him.

“Take me to bed.”

He doesn’t hesitate as he barrels down the short hallway to my bedroom. It’s dark with the shadow of the blinds cascading over my duvet. He lays me down and stands over me, looking positively gorgeous in the moonlight peeking through the blinds.

I sit up and rise to my knees. Turning my back to him, I move my hair to the side. His hands glide the zipper down the back of my dress. With each clench of the teeth at the seam, my body grows hotter, and my core is damp.