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"Look at my eyes, Ruby. I'm serious. I'm forty-one fucking years old. I'm way past playing games. I want to be with you. I mean it."

He was too close. Close enough I could smell cedar and tobacco on him. Close enough I could see the tiny bloodshot threads in his eyes.

"But those dangerous people..."

"I'll handle it." He said it like iron. "I'll keep you safe. I'll kill every threat before it gets near you. You just need to trust me, Ruby."

"So now, Ruby," his eyes churned with heat intense enough to drown in, "unlock the door."

It was a gamble with no way back.

Mom's bitter curses still echoed. Reason was screaming alarms. But looking at this man bowing his head to me, seeing the unguarded defeat and honesty in his eyes, that last thread stretched tight in my mind all night finally snapped.

I reached up, shaking, and slid the chain off.

The door swung wide.

Before I could even step back, Marcelo strode in, arm sweeping around my waist, yanking me hard against his chest!

The velvet box thudded onto the entryway rug.

"You infuriating little brat..."

He growled low, burning lips crashing down on mine with brutal force!

This kiss had no prelude, no gentlemanly testing. Pure unleashed hunger and release after too long restrained. His tongue forced my teeth apart. Cedar and dry tobacco flooded me with overwhelming male intensity.

"Mmph..."

I tried instinctively to push his shoulders, but the moment my fingers touched the hard muscle of his back, all resistance dissolved into a broken whimper.

I gave in. Hands sliding up his spine, clutching tight to the cool silver-gray hair at the back of his head.

Feeling my response, Marcelo made a rough sound deep in his throat. His arm around my waist tightened suddenly, lifting me clean off the floor. His leg hooked back, hand slamming the heavy door shut behind us!

Click—the lock caught.

He ravaged my tongue while carrying me through the narrow entryway in long strides, pressing me down onto the narrow old sofa in the living room.

The springs groaned under the weight.

Marcelo knelt on the sofa edge, hands braced by my ears, staring down at me. The dark fire in his eyes was burning reason to ash. His lips dragged from the corner of my mouth down my jawline, finally burying in the hollow of my neck, breathing deep.

"Do you know what you're doing, Ruby?" His voice was sandpaper on rough wood, breath ragged. "Push me away now, and I'll leave. If you don't, you won't be getting out of bed before dawn."

I lay on the rough fabric cushions, chest heaving. The forest-green neckline had already slipped to one side when the coat came off, exposing flushed skin and the tattoo on my right collarbone.

I looked at his handsome face so close, at the near-obsessive hunger in his eyes.

"Don't leave."

I whispered, lifting my arms to wrap around his neck, fingers brushing through the frosted hair at his temples. "Fuck me, Marcelo."

That sentence was the spell that released the beast completely.

Marcelo's eyes went black. He dropped his head and bit down on the tattoo at my collarbone. Sharp pain mixed with electric numbness flooded my body instantly. I arched involuntarily, letting out a soft cry.

His movements lost all restraint. Long, skilled fingers found the back of my dress. The zipper tore open with a sound embarrassingly loud in the quiet room.