Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
My body shivered softly even while my mind screamed to push him away.
“You shouldn’t know that,” I whispered.
“But I do. And I don’t give a fuck what the marshals say.” His jaw flexed hard, teeth gritted. “No one is taking you from me.”
His claim should’ve scared me, but it made my heart race for a reason that was the complete opposite of fear. One that made no sense. “You don’t even—”
“Don’t tell me I don’t know you.” His voice sharpened. “I’ve been in your head since the second I saw your file. You think you’ve been careful, but I see through every word you don’t say. Every lie you tell to keep yourself breathing.”
Heat burned behind my eyes, fear and longing tangled together. “So what, you think just because you kissed me, you get to decide what happens to me?”
“You kissed me back, baby.” He smirked. “And now you’re mine.”
Before I could reply, his palm slid up my spine and curled around the back of my neck again, rough and sure. Then he hauled me against him, his mouth crashing down on mine.
The kiss wasn’t like last night’s. This one was more like a brand pressed to my lips. His teeth scraped, his tongue claimed, and his body pressed so hard against mine, I could barely breathe.
I gasped into his mouth, and he swallowed the sound. Instead of pushing him away, my fingers fisted in the fabric of his shirt and dragged him closer. The solid line of his thigh pushed between mine, and my body reacted before my mind caught up—arching, seeking, desperate for more.
“Jaxton—” I broke off on a moan as his mouth traced my jaw, his stubble burning a path to my ear.
“You’re mine,” he rasped against my skin. “Don’t care what name you use or what story you tell. They can come at me with badges, bullets, whatever the fuck they want. You’re not leaving me.”
Possession vibrated in every syllable, and instead of terrifying me, it unraveled something I hadn’t realized was wound so tight. He already knew everything and wanted me anyway.
And there was no hiding from how much I wanted him right back.
His mouth crashed back onto mine before I could find my next breath. Rougher this time. Hungrier. The sound that tore out of me was muffled against his lips, my body bowing into his as though I hadn’t spent the past two years teaching myself how to hold back.
His grip on me changed, and I gasped when he pushed me back, my hips catching the edge of the table. He lifted me effortlessly and set me on top, my knees parting instinctively. He stepped into the space without hesitation.
“Jaxton—” My protest died when his mouth found mine again, swallowing every sound. His kiss was a command, and I obeyed before I even realized it, fingers clawing into his shirt, trying to anchor myself against the storm he built inside me.
The scrape of his stubble burned down my throat as he trailed lower, nibbling, before his mouth closed over the frantic beat of my pulse. My hands shook when I knocked his hat loose and dragged them through his hair.
“Jaxton,” I breathed again, softer this time, already desperate.
His answer was a growl against my skin. “Mine.”
I’d never experienced anything like this before, but that didn’t stop me from pressing closer. From wanting more as the chemistry between us exploded.
“Fucking hell, baby,” he growled. “Can’t keep my hands off you now that I’ve got you close.”
Knowing my secrets weren’t hidden from him must’ve emboldened me because I pressed his palm deeper against my hip and panted, “Then don’t.”
“You don’t even know what you’re asking for,” he rasped, eyes burning down into mine.
“Yes, I do,” I whispered, breathless with desire. “I’m asking for you, Jaxton.”
Heat flared in his gray eyes, then his hands were on my thighs, shoving my skirt higher, dragging me forward until the hard ridge of his jeans pressed right against my core. I couldn’t stop the moan that slipped free, or the way my hips rolled against him, begging without words.
The sound he made in response was lethal—like I’d snapped his last bit of control. His mouth claimed mine again, rough and relentless. My pulse roared in my ears as his hand slid between us, yanking at the thin barrier of my underwear. The snap of fabric breaking filled the room, and then his fingers were on me, sliding hard and sure through the slick heat that betrayed just how undone I already was.
“You’re drenched for me, baby.”
Without feeling an ounce of embarrassment, I clutched at his shoulders, my nails digging in. “Please—”
For a heartbeat, the silence stretched. His gaze pinned me, as though he was searching for something in my expression. He must have found what he was looking for because he dropped to his knees in front of me, hiking my skirt even higher. “Gotta make sure you’re ready to take me.”