Page 70 of Branded Betrayal

No matter what happens between us today, I know there’s no future for us. And even though I’d burn the world for her, it doesn’t mean we’ll end up with the happily ever after.

But she doesn’t know that yet.

And right now, the last thing I want to do is confess all the fucked-up wrongs I’ve committed against her.

I need her. All of her.

To mark her, claim her, and tell her she’s mine.

At this moment, she is.

Her tentative hands slide up my chest. Maybe she’s wondering which version of me she’s getting right now. She can see through the hardness, the only one who can break through it all to reach the man I used to be, the man I want to be again.

I back her into the wall and crush my lips against hers, unable to fight the pent-up desire for another second. She digs her fingers into my back as I part her soft lips with my tongue. Our teeth crack together, tongues tangling in a frenetic dance that promises chaos of the most erotic kind.

She kisses me back like she’s been starving for this. Like six years apart didn’t do a damn thing to fizzle the connection between us. Her body remembers mine . . . the way she arches into me, the way her fingers find the spots that drive me crazy.

I fist her hair, giving it a gentle tug, and she rewards me with a gasp that has my cock nearly tearing through my jeans.

And speaking of jeans, I need to get hers off. Now.

But fuck, I don’t want this to stop.

I delve deeper into her hot, greedy mouth, parting her legs with my knee. She drags her hands through my hair, her heart pounding hard, vibrating against my chest as she grinds against me. I wonder if she can feel mine pumping in time with hers.

Without breaking the kiss, I lift her into my arms. A sharp pain shoots down my right side. But it fizzles out fast when she wraps her legs around my waist and rubs herself against me all the way to the guest room off the foyer.

I haven’t even gotten her clothes off yet, and I’m already damn close to eruption.

Six years is a long time to pine for someone. And when that someone is finally all over your cock, it’s hard to keep control.

Savvie undoes me like no other, which makes her dangerous in so many ways.

I kick the door closed behind me and lay her on the mattress. She slides a hand down the front of my face, her eyes foggy with lust.

“I love it when you look at me that way,” I say in a ragged whisper. “Don’t ever stop.”

I kiss her again, long, hard, and deep before I drag my lips down the side of her neck. Her tiny mewls are like the sweetest music. Christ, I’ve missed them so much. I never thought I’d hear them again.

I bite down on her pulse point, sucking the flesh, marking her. When she looks in the mirror later, I want her to know exactly who she belongs to.

Who she always belonged to, even if she didn’t realize it.

I slide off her flannel shirt, slipping my fingers under her tank top. Her skin quivers at my touch.

Raising herself off the bed, she pulls the top over her head, staring at me through lowered lashes.

“I hate that I still want you.” Her voice is a soft whisper.

I pull back just enough to really look at her. Her lips are swollen, her eyes dark with desire. She looks at me like I’m not a monster. Like I’m still the man she fell in love with.

And my God, I want it to be true.

“Tell me to stop, and I will,” I say, even though the words taste like poison on my tongue.

Her hand slides to the back of my neck, stroking the back of my hair. “Don’t you dare.”

I don’t need to hear anything else.