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She shrugged. as though it was no big deal. and all of a sudden Tak appreciated the enormity of the weight Effie had been carrying around with her all these years. He understood why she didn
’t want anyone in her life. Why she felt as though she had to protect herself from any more heartbreak or rejection.
He wasn’t even aware of closing the gap between them but suddenly there she was, in his arms, looking at him with a curious expression. He tried to make himself let go but it was impossible. Her inexplicable hold over him wouldn’t allow it.
Effie watched, so still he didn’t think she was even breathing. Her eyes locked with his, as though she was searching for answers he didn’t want to give her, and he tried to block her out, stop her from seeing the truth. Stop her from realising just how desperately he wanted her.
He made to move away from her just as she twisted towards him. The contact rocketed through them both.
As her eyes widened with understanding Tak froze, very much afraid he was about lose his infamous control all over again. And that couldn’t happen. Whatever the attraction between the two of them, he certainly couldn’t give her what she needed. Hell, he would only detonate every rejection and insecurity she had ever had.
He dropped his arms, though it cost him dearly to do so. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said again, but this time he injected it with every ounce of the regret and empathy he felt after hearing her story. As though he thought an apology for his own actions could somehow make it up to her for all the people in her life who should have apologised to her but hadn’t.
‘Why are you sorry?’
The sweet, soft smile which curled her lips might as well have plunged into his heart and twisted it into a knot.
‘My past isn’t your problem.’
‘Then I’m sorry for those kisses.’
‘Sorry you kissed me?’ she challenged. ‘Or sorry you stopped?’
‘Don’t do this, Effie,’ he bit out.
His body felt supercharged, and he was all too aware that if he weakened, if he kissed her again, this time he might never stop.
‘You actually meant it when you said it was more about you than about me.’ It was a statement more than a question. A recognition.
‘Effie...’ It was a whisper carried on his hot breath.
She didn’t heed the warning. Instead she smiled, and it wrecked him like nothing he could ever have imagined. Then she closed the gap and lifted her mouth to his, and as the blood roared in his head like a waterfall, or a drumbeat deep in his veins, pumping around his body, he gave himself up to the intensity of the kiss.
It was madness, but he couldn’t bring himself to care...
* * *
There was no escaping it.
Not the kiss so much as the emotions which coursed through her as a result of it. And a heat so scorching it was almost white. Searing her from within and making her feel as if a thousand fires were all blazing inside her at once.
Everywhere.
Like nothing she’d ever known before.
And then Tak used one hand to cup her cheek almost tenderly, skimming the other hand down her body, his fingertips igniting every inch of her as it moved. She forgot every superfluous thought and merely revelled in the sublimity of his touch, his kiss, the way his eyes glittered with undisguised hunger.
He kissed her over and over, his tongue partnering hers in a sensual dance of their own, his teeth grazing her lips with just the perfect amount of pressure. He tilted his head for a better fit, a slicker fit. First one way and then the other, as if he needed to taste her thoroughly. Completely.
Effie had never felt so desired. Not that she knew how to show it, and she was all too aware of her inexperience, expecting Tak to be put off at any moment. But he wasn’t. He just kept kissing her, holding her, helping her to relax with every delicious glide of his tongue. And all Effie could do was grip his shoulders—his strong, muscled shoulders, which only played even more havoc with her spinning, somersaulting insides—and hang on for the ride.
Abruptly Tak lifted her up, carrying her easily back to the snooker table and perching her on it. She wasn’t sure what instinct made her wrap her legs around him, but there he was. The hardest part of him nestled against the softest part of her.
‘Better...’
His thick-voiced murmur only sent her insides skittering all over again. She wasn’t sure how she found a way to respond. ‘Glad you approve.’
‘Oh, you have no idea.’
