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“There’s nothing to explain. It doesn’t matter anymore. You can’t sign the papers without putting yourself in even more danger. I get it. So it’s done. It’s over. As soon as Preacher can figure out how to make all this go away, I’ll do whatever is necessary to set you free. If I could find someone to take your place, I would. But no one else wants me any more than you do,” she said, nearly shouting.
Then she clamped her lips together and wrapped her arms across her waist like she was trying to hold herself together. She took a step backward, away from him. “So. It’s fine. It’s…whatever. I’ll figure out another way.”
She took another step, and he reached out and grabbed her, ignoring her surprised squeak as he hauled her to his chest.
“You think I don’t want you? Even after what happened at the store?”
She opened her mouth to respond, but he grasped her hips and pulled her against him, letting her feel just how wrong she was.
He kept one hand at the small of her back, keeping her pressed tightly to him, and his other hand snaked up the back of her neck and into her hair. “Any man who says he doesn’t want you is either lying to himself or to you,” he said, nipping at her bottom lip. “And I’m doing neither. Not anymore.”
He gripped the back of her head and crushed his mouth to hers, pouring every ounce of pent-up desire into his kiss. When he finally broke away, they were both breathless. He stared at her, chest heaving, and then nodded, decision made. She yelped but didn’t fight him when he bent and tossed her over his shoulder before going into the house.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her hands scrambling at his back. She was probably trying to brace herself, but all she succeeded in doing was grabbing his ass multiple times. He picked up his pace.
“We’ve got some things to discuss,” he said. And they’ddiscussthem until she learned the lesson good and well.
His life was about to get way more complicated than he knew how to handle, but he was going to show this woman exactly how much she was wanted if it was the last thing he did.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nora didn’t know what to think when Adam had tossed her over his shoulder. Well, first of all, she didn’t knowhowhe’d tossed her over his shoulder. They were nearly the same size, though he did have a good deal more muscle on him than she did. But he managed to carry her into the house and up the stairs to her room without breaking his stride. Giving her a very enticing view of his backside the entire way.
Given their destination, she could work out for herself why he’d brought her here. But she still didn’t quite believe it. Or know what to do about it.
He set her on her feet and didn’t give her even a second for either of them to catch their breath. The man was apparently fully loaded and ready to ride once he made a decision, because before she could even steady herself, he was on her again, his hands delving into her hair, pulling it loose from her braid, while his lips ravished hers.
“You think I don’t want you?” he said, breaking away from her just long enough to pull his shirt from his pants. He didn’t bother to unbutton it but yanked at the material, sending buttons flying all over the room.
Then he was back, both hands cupping her face while his mouth moved feverishly over hers.
“Darlin’, I’ve wanted you from the moment you dropped a body at my feet. And I knew you were mine from the moment you tossed that bar of soap at me in the bathhouse, trying to get a look at what I was packing.”
She laughed. “That is not why I tossed it at you.”
He grinned and kissed her again. “If you say so.”
He kissed her until her knees were ready to buckle, and then he sat her down on the bed, bringing his waistband right to her eye level.
“This is how badly I want you,” he said, the strain of his trousers leaving no mistake of it. “I want you so badly it hurts. I think of you every waking second of the day and dream about you every time I close my eyes. I’ve tried to fight it for both our sakes, but nothing I do is going to get you out of my system.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her, bracing his arms on either side of her. “Because I don’t just want your body. Though make no mistake, I want to worship every beautiful inch of you, and if you let me, then I will spend every damn day thanking the merciful Lord that there are so many of them.”
She laughed, though it sounded like more of a sob. It was too good to be true. Like some cruel joke. Any second now he’d jump up and run away laughing.
Instead, he leaned in closer. “But it’s not just your beautiful body I want so desperately, Nora. It’s your beautiful mind.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Your beautiful smile.” He captured her lips, giving her a lingering kiss so tender, it made her ache. “Your beautiful heart,” he whispered, kissing her just below her collarbone.
He looked back into her eyes. “It’s you. All of you. Every beautiful, strong, stubborn last inch of you.I want you. Need you.”
She gazed into his eyes, trying to detect the lie. The angle. The ulterior motive.
Instead, she saw the sincerity, the yearning…and something else she wasn’t ready to believe yet. Somethingheprobably wasn’t ready to believe yet, either.
“Tell me you want me, too,” he whispered against her lips.
She brought her hands up to cup his face, her thumbs stroking across his cheeks. “And what if your past catches up to you?”
“Then we’ll deal with it.” He gave her a one-shouldered shrug. “The sheriff seems to have done all right. He’s been left alone. His wife is safe. He even has a child. If Desolation has truly been a haven for him, maybe it could be for me also. But what about you?”
