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She had just found love. She didn’t care if he returned her feelings or not, she just wanted him to be okay.
Joe glared down at her and made her feel so small. But she held her ground.
“And why would I trust you?” He looked so intimidating. “Damn it, Rose, you almost got us both killed! If you had just stayed out of it, nothing would have happened. I can’t keep you safe this way. It just… it won’t work.”
They glared at each other with fire in their eyes for a long, tense moment. Rose’s cheeks were flushed, and a lock of strawberry-blonde hair fell over her eyes as she clenched her fists. “So what’s the point, Joe?” she breathed, anger still thick in her voice. “I read your files, I break your encryption in half, and I nearly get us killed in a firefight. If I’m so much trouble that you have to handcuff me to a goddamn hotel bed, why not just fire me?” she taunted without thinking. The second her bluff left her mouth, she immediately regretted it. She managed not to let it show.
His gaze bored into her, something more than human in those golden eyes as they fixated on her, and it was only then that Rose saw the deep, longing hunger in them.
He sighed. “I… I can’t. I can’t fire you.”
“Because I know too much?” she asked bitterly.
Unexpectedly, he closed the gap between them, he was over a head taller than her, and Rose felt her face go beet-red as his strong hands gripped her curvy hips. “Because,” he said in a low rumble, “you’re absolutely irresistible, Rose.” He pulled her in against his chest, pressing his lips into hers, kissing her hard.
She froze. His kiss was rough, forceful and dominating and took her breath away and it was more wonderful than anything she’d imagined. As she let out a breathy, low-pitched moan into the kiss, she melted in his arms and her knees weakened. She wanted to say something but she found herself returning his kiss. Her world swam around her as the impossibly hard-muscled man towering over her pressed her back onto the bed, forcing her to sit as he put one knee on the bedside. Her hands went up to his chest, groping at his exquisitely chiseled body, loathing the shirt that kept her from feeling it firsthand. She reveled in the sensation of his hands exploring her, and with a gasp, she realized that he was pulling her shirt off, tossing it aside and leaving her exposed.
It had been so long since she’d been exposed to a man. Her reflexes told her to cover up, to wrap her arms around herself.
She wasn’t made for this rough-and-tumble world of espionage and intrigue. She was totally out of her element. What was she doing here, in front of him of all people, this obscenely gorgeous man?
“What am I going to do with you, Rose?” he whispered between kisses, his voice thick with lust. “I shouldn’t have let you into my life in the first place and you wouldn’t be dragged into this mess. You have kids. You should have lived a normal, safe life. But I’m so selfish. I want you for myself…”
“It’s not for you to decide what best for me,” she countered. “I’m an adult and I’ve decided I want to meddle in your mess.”
“You’ve made a bad choice.”
“Maybe. You don’t know that. I followed my heart this time and I’m content with that.”
He watched her hungrily. She had never been so turned on in her life.
Don’t you dare change your mind, she screamed inside. I want you.
Joe seemed to be restraining himself. She realized she was like prey before him, his eyes holding her paralyzed for a moment as he waited. Rose knew he was waiting for her to make the move—she had to invite him to claim her.
“If I let you go, would you leave this room this instant? Run. Flee. As far as you can. I’m not who you think I am, Rose. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” His question was a mere whisper, but she heard him loud and clear.
“No.”
“I’m giving you one last chance. There’s no going back after this. We still could go back to … normal, like it used to be. We won’t talk about it anymore.”
“I don’t want to!” Her eyes flared. “And don’t you dare pretend that this never happened.” We’ve gone this far…
“Oh, Rose.” His whole body was tense, though, and oh, how he wanted her! There was no mistaking that look.
But Rose wanted this. She needed this. With a trembling hand, she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the side.
He moved in, swift and fluid, looming over her on the bed and bringing his mouth close to her ear. “You’re a naughty girl, Rose,” he remarked out, his voice husky. “You should have run from me.”
What came next was a storm of sensation. His mouth went to her neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin as he mouthed her, her jaw hanging open as he explored the sensitive, exposed flesh. A greedy hand tightened around her breast, a thumb toying with her stiff, hard nipple while he savored the feel of her, of every part of her exposed body as he climbed further onto the bed, pressing her onto her back as he ravaged from the small angle of her neck to where it met her jaw. He yanked aside the rest of her clothes, leaving her bare under his predatory gaze.
“I’ve thought about you, Rose. A lot. Fuck, day and night, even,” he told her, and it sent a shiver of delight up her spine, “from the moment you walked into my office, I wanted to claim you. I wanted to push you against those walls, bend you over my desk, rip your panties and take you from the beginning. You have no idea how much I fantasized on having you like this…”
“You bastard,” Rose whimpered. Her body burned hot. Delicious aches thrummed from her naked sex. “You know you could have had me any time you wanted. You know I like you.”
Love you.
“You’ve been more than a handful,” he growled, hands grabbing at her harder and greedier as his mouth moved to her breasts, “I wanted to see just how far you could go.”
