Page 66 of Hearts at War

Roarke had given me no reason to fear him.

“No.” I held back the incredulous laugh that wanted to burst out with my reply. “No, Roarke. You don’t scare me.”

“But you are scared,” he concluded. “Is someone after you?”

Yes. By sneaking out and leaving David the way I had, I could count on him always chasing after me. With the nature of his narcissistic and abusive personality, he would never give up on making me bend to his will again.

I couldn’t say that. It was too big of a truth. Too wide of a topic. And it was too dauntingly scary of a conversation that I wanted to avoid it forever.

Banishing my ex from my mind wouldn’t happen. The things he’d done and said would scar me forever.

In this quiet, private moment with Roarke, though, I wanted to be greedy and selfish to not think about what I was running from.

For the first time in many years, I was confident I could be safe to simply live in the moment. To be present. To appreciate this, right here and now.

I bit my lip and shook my head.

“Heather?” he prompted.

No. No more talking. I leaned in, meeting his gaze as I came close enough to kiss him. Pressing my lips against his gave me a repeat hit of desire and need. This simple brush of our mouths, so warm and soft together, was enough to quiet him.

But not for long. He lifted his hand, cupping my face, but it wasn’t just a possessive hold to keep me close. He used his strength to hold me back so he could peer into my eyes. “Please. Meet me in the middle, Heather. I can tell something is intimidating you.”

I shook my head, standing to close the distance between us. One kiss wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to satisfy my lust for him. It wasn’t enough to cool this attraction that cranked up the tension between us. And it wasn’t enough to get him off his goal of talking.

No more talking. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He furrowed his brow, staring at me like he was trying to search for an answer I wouldn’t freely give him.

“You don’t want to talk about it,” he said, echoing me. It should’ve been a question, but he stated it.

I shook my head, swallowing hard.

“What do you want?” he asked, lowering his voice to a husky rasp. His hand slid further back, threading his fingers in my hair. The slight massaging touch sent shivers racing over my skin, and I licked my lips.

“This?” He lowered his mouth to me, closing them over my lips and kissing me deeply. It wasn’t a forceful push, a demand to yield. Instead, he teased and tortured, prompting me to acclimate to his dominating pressure.

When he broke the kiss, we were both panting hard.

I swallowed again and nodded, staring into his light green eyes and praying he could read the need there. I had no business wanting him, but I was helpless to resist him.

“Yeah,” I whispered, lifting my hands to his face. The beard was gone. A faint stubble covered his face now, and I appreciated how much better I could see him. How the light facial hair gave me a chance to feel him.

“This is what you want?” he teased as he put his hands on my hips and pulled me closer. I smacked against him. His groin to my low stomach. His hard chest unyielding to my breasts. And my lips sealing against his perfectly to give me another rush of heat and need.

Yes, this was what I wanted. No more talking and just his demanding mouth bruising mine.

I moaned, raising my arms to drape them over his shoulders. He smoothed his hands from my sides to holding me over my back, trapping me close. Flush like this, there was no escaping the heat that grew between us. Arousal claimed me and shut off all thoughts. With this bliss under his lips, parted so I could find his tongue and duel for a taste, my worries ceased to matter. My concerns fell to nothing, and all I could do was feel. All I wanted to do was feel him and bask in this sharp switch-off of my worries and woes.

I cinched my arms tighter, using the closeness to pull myself higher for a deeper, sounder, wetter kiss. His responding growl thrilled me, goading me into getting another one. The idea that I was the woman to make him grunt and growl like an animal was wild. The thought that I could have this power, this possibility, egged me on to taking all he offered.

“Fuck, Heather.” He panted, whipping his hot breaths on my cheek as he reared back. He didn’t go far, though, trailing sloppy, sucking kisses down my neck that made my pussy throb that much more. “Look at us. Look at this.”

I didn’t want to open my eyes. It would be too much of a distraction. Staying behind my closed lids, I could stay in this hazy, vague spell of his touches and kisses that electrified me inside out.

“You want this?” he asked again, sucking below my ear, at the tender spot where my jaw ended.

I gasped, pushing against him and needing more friction to match what his mouth did. My skirt wasn’t thick. Just simply maroon cotton, but I damned every layer between us.