Page 59 of Her Wicked Hero

“Who let you down?” he asked again.

“It doesn’t matter. I just don’t want you to do something that isn’t real. I can take care of myself. I don’t want to expect something, and it just be taken away,” she sounded so sad.

“Think back to the very first moment we met. Have I let you down?”

She frowned. “Well, no.”

“I don’t intend to and do you know why?”

She shook her head.

“Because you matter to me. You matter one hell of a lot. You can trust me.”

She sucked in a deep breath and didn’t let it out. He stroked her throat.

“Breathe Baby.” She let out a breath. “Will you let me take care of you? Please?”

It was one of the longest moments of his life. Then she nodded.

He dipped his head and captured her lips with his. He was careful all right. Careful to make sure she was on the same page as he was. Careful to ensure when his tongue stroked and plundered, she was eager for him to continue. Last night, he’d taken note of her insecurities and they’d broken his heart. His Marcia should never think she was anything but beautiful and wanted. Zed knew his fingertips were rough and calloused, so he traced the contours of her cheek with a barely there touch, wanting to make sure he was providing pleasure.

Unlike the kiss in Marcia’s bedroom back in Virginia, she was tentative. Her hands landed softly on his chest, then in slow increments, crept upwards until she circled his shoulders. Zed continued to stroke her cheek as his other arm brought her body into the curve of his. He needed her close like he needed his next breath.

Marcia moaned into his mouth as she undulated against him. He’d never tasted anything as sweet. Sharp nails bit into the back of his neck, and she wrenched her mouth away from his. He looked into her flushed face.

“Zed,” she sighed. Marcia turned her head then shoved it against his neck. Had he done something wrong? He heard her take a deep breath. “You smell so good.” He jolted at the feel of her tongue licking his collar bone.

He tried to pull her away, tried to see her eyes, but she wouldn’t allow it.

“Querida.”

“No. Let me. I need to feel you.” She kissed his healing scar. “I almost lost you. Before I ever really knew you, I almost lost you.”

He had to brace his legs, so he could remain standing. Just thinking of that moment when Kane called him to tell him Marcia was in the hospital. That she had been a victim of an attempted kidnapping. In that moment, he knew Marcia was his future, his love, his life, his everything.

“I want you,” he said point-blank.

She swallowed. “I smell like gunpowder.”

“No, you smell like jasmine and Marcia. It’s been years since I’ve had to work so hard to control my body’s reaction to a woman. You walk into a room and I’m rock-hard.”

“Really,” he laughed when he saw her shocked expression, “you had no idea?”

She shook her head. “But I hoped.”

“You have a lot to make up for. Especially those red panties you took so long to fold.”

She looked up at him through a thick fringe of eyelashes, her pink swollen lips tipped into a sly smile. “How do you propose I make it up to you?”

There were so many facets to Marcia, it would take a lifetime to explore. It was going to be so much fun. Zed swooped her up into his arms, and she let out a whoop.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing, Mr. Dante Zaragoza?” she asked primly.

So fucking fun, he grinned as he strode into his bedroom. He gently placed her onto the bed.

“You make your bed?”

“You should try it,” Zed tried to keep his voice light and teasing, but it came out rough and territorial. Seeing her in his bed did something to him on a primal level. It was like something in him had finally been unlocked.