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The sheets rustled, and I dropped my gaze to the floor, searching for my shirt so that I couldn’t be tempted by the sight of her naked body. I barely managed to tug the cotton material over my head before her gentle heat pulsed against me. Her small hand closed around my clenched fist.
“Don’t go,” she requested softly.
My eyes snapped to hers, focusing on their multifaceted shine to avoid looking at her tempting body. “You have to get ready for work,” I said, biting out the words. I needed her to release me, or I’d lose control again. I’d do something that we might both regret.
Like tossing her back down on the bed and making her scream my name while she came against my tongue. My mouth watered at the prospect of tasting her, of making her whimper and beg for the release that only I could grant her. I would claim her in every way, give her so much pleasure that she’d never so much as think about another man.
She lifted her hand and caressed my face, her fingers sliding over my damaged flesh to thread through my hair. I released a long sigh as the tension unwound from my body at that simple, tender touch. Allie drove me close to madness, but she could also soothe me like nothing else.
The power she held over me should terrify me, but my selfish desire for her was too keen for me to care.
“I…” Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink, and her long lashes fanned her cheeks as she dropped her gaze in shyness. “Last night was…” She licked her lush lips, and her glittering eyes lifted. Her luminous gaze punched the air from my chest. “I want to see you tonight. I have dinner plans with my friends, but after that, will you come over?”
The slight tension around her mouth and the tentative hope in her tone broke me.
“Yes.” I cupped her nape, and her head dropped back so that I could brush a kiss over her lips: a tender promise. I couldn’t stay away from her any more than I could stop breathing.
Her small hands caressed my chest, not quite pushing me away. “I really do have to get ready for work,” she said huskily, the words laced with regret.
My lips ghosted over her forehead, the only contact I could allow myself without completely losing control. “I’ll see you after.”
With that fierce vow, I tore myself away from her. I could wait a few hours before having her in my arms again. Allie was my new addiction, but I had to be strong enough to resist her when necessary. No matter how badly I wanted to cage her in my arms and keep her in bed with me all day.
Besides, I had work to do. I had to find the evidence I needed to blackmail Ron Fitzgerald, so that I could earn back my birthright. My father had given us all a deadline to impress him: one more week, and I’d be reduced to little more than an errand boy if he opened the books and chose to deny my place in the family.
The prospect awoke a spark of my usual fiery rage. It singed my heart, reminding me of my duty as the too-tight skin around my scar tingled with the memory of my shame.
Never again.
I couldn’t reconcile how I would take down Allie’s father without losing her forever, so I shoved that particular worry from my mind and focused on my mission once again. I drew on my rage like armor, shielding me from her allure.
I didn’t allow myself to look at her when I stepped away, wrenching myself from her influence over all my senses. If I saw her naked body, I wasn’t sure if I’d have the strength to leave.
So, I kept my eyes on the door as I stalked away, ignoring the way her sharp intake of breath knifed through my chest. I’d have her back in my arms soon enough, and I’d soothe away any lingering sting at my abrupt departure. I would make her melt, until she forgot everything but me. She wouldn’t be able to ask any questions about my family or my vendetta against her father if she was too busy screaming my name and begging for release.
I gritted my teeth and stepped outside, the morning sunlight doing little to chase away the chill that’d settled over my skin in the absence of her gentle warmth.
ALLIE
I was about to take my second bite of heavenly lemon cheesecake when my phone chimed in my purse. All thoughts of the delicious dessert and the wonderful Italian meal I’d just shared with my friends were shoved from my mind by a jolt of anticipatory excitement. I should’ve been alarmed at the thrill that made my stomach flip at just the prospect of a text from Max. Despite my awesome besties, I’d been increasingly antsy to finish dinner and return to my dark protector: the possessive, domineering man who’d given me more pleasure than I’d known was possible.
