Page 101 of Born Savage

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “You’re a soldier with honor, a son who loved his family, an amazing friend, and the greatest protector I could ever have.”

He took a deep breath, holding it for several seconds.

As I walked closer, I stripped off my clothes, tossing the items aside with caution. The times before I’d experienced nerves, but nothing like what I was feeling right now. My heart was in my throat, my pulse keeping me lightheaded. Before I hadn’t cared what he’d thought about me. I’d simply been fulfilling a craving and I’d assumed so had he.

This was different. This was personal. Being with him made me feel incredibly vulnerable, a reminder of how inexperienced I was with sex, passion or any of the strong emotions threatening to push me into tears. I’d never had such strong feelings before. Not under any circumstances. With him, everything was different.

When I was wearing only my panties, I stopped less than a foot from where he was standing. There was a distinct crackle between us, a tether of some kind that was even stronger, thicker than before. I could barely breathe from how nervous I’d become, my face completely flushed from embarrassment. This wasn’t the first time he was seeing me devoid of clothing, but as with everything else, it felt more important. Or so that’s what furrowed deep inside.

I slipped my fingers under the elastic, slowly pushing the thin material down my legs. My eyes never left his and with every passing second, his breathing became even more erratic. Rage fisted his hands, his nostrils flaring and his appearance was even more warrior-like than before.

While his physique had been altered, enhanced by science, nothing had changed with the man inside. The one with a heart of gold. Maybe I was making too much out of how I was beginning to view him, but Wrath’s words and voice continued to linger in my mind.

Now only inches away, I shored my shoulders as I tilted my head. He took another deep breath, this time holding the air in his lungs as he placed his flexed hand across his heart.

“So fucking beautiful.”

“You make me feel beautiful.”

The three little words brought more joy than he could understand, yet I felt another moment of raw, ragged emotion that finally overwhelmed me. A single tear fought its way past my lashes, slowly crawling down my face.

I’d thought the man incapable of feeling much of anything beyond duty and anger, but seeing the concern flickering through the dim lighting in his eyes stilled my heart. With a tenderness I was only beginning to understand, he rolled his finger through the tear, bringing his hand to his mouth.

Never blinking. No other movement.

As soon as he slipped his finger into his mouth, I was finally able to breathe. Deep, nontoxic breaths. One after the other. Maybe that’s why the trepidation fell away, exposing only the strongest desire that refused to be denied.

The action was nothing that would ordinarily draw my attention. Maybe because I’d never allowed myself to feel anything other than the most basic desire. But the tenderness, the blatant intimacy was everything. My heart swelled. I couldn’t understand love in the capacity of being with someone who could complete and protect me, but his reaction meant everything.

Rage pulled his hand free, immediately tracing my mouth. The heat he exuded was incredible, my body as wired as my mind. I placed my hand on his chest, marveling in the tingling sensations that never seemed to grow old. While unexplainable, this time I didn’t try to shove them aside.

His trail continued, the tip of his index finger moving from one side of my jaw to the other before following the line of my neck. Every breath he consumed was labored, stripping the oxygen from the room. I couldn’t seem to stop shaking and when he cupped my face, pulling me closer, tiny stars burst across my field of vision.

For all the times I’d shoved him away, all the excuses used and necessary to keep my heart locked away faded the minute he dropped his head, his lips touching mine. I dug my fingers into his skin, moaning into the electric kiss. He wrapped one arm around my waist, crushing me against him.

As he swept his tongue into my mouth, the lightheadedness only increased until I was fearful I’d fall if he dared let me go. Somehow, I doubted he had any intentions of doing so.

The kiss was sweet and tender, then as the seconds dragged on, his hunger exploded along with mine. I longed to feel his naked body pressed against mine but didn’t need to rip the towel away. As it slipped past his hips, my mouth watered in an almost desperate longing to taste him.

I reached for his cock, more frantic than I’d been, but he pushed my hand away, even breaking the kiss. We were both breathless, his slight growl keeping me on the very edge of hunger.

“What’s wrong?” I tried tugging my hand free, but he wrapped his fingers around mine, pulling my knuckles to his lips. The sensual move as he rolled his lips across all four was so unexpected I gasped.

“Tonight, I please you as I should have done the first night, princess. Tonight, I seduce you as every beautiful woman deserves.”

There were so many sides to the man, his complexities igniting a fire while still managing to drive me crazy. I wasn’t certain which powerful guy I preferred. The one refusing to follow any rule, acting as if he was king of the world. Or the one who gave me a sense he would die to protect me.

He captured my mouth once again, this time lifting me off the floor. As he held me, I wrapped my legs around his massive thighs, squeezing my legs. My pussy ached, so wet I could barely think clearly. Then again, what was the point in doing so? So I could think about the horrors of the world, the dangers and what we’d continue to face in our travels?

None of that mattered, only the here and now.

The way he devoured my mouth kept me on the sweet precipice, the heat between us becoming explosive. All I could do was tangle my fingers in his hair, savoring his natural scent laced with whatever soap we’d been lucky enough to find and use.

He carried me toward the bed, easing me down with such control and gentleness I was floored. Our lips remained locked together, a beautiful reminder passion existed in many forms. When he finally pulled our lips apart, his dark chuckle sent a thrill through me.

Very slowly he crawled onto the bed and the look on his face was unreadable, but keeping prickling heat sweeping through me.

Whereas when we’d had sex before, I’d felt completely in control. I’d been the one to allow his touch, his kisses. I’d been the one to say when, shoving him aside when I’d satisfied my needs. I’d been the one to ensure he, and the way he electrified my body, meant absolutely nothing.