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“Maybe you just hadn’t met the right person yet.” There was almost a tease to it.
Lightness infiltrating his tone as he continued to rock me.
“Are you always so sure of yourself?”
Letting go of a smooth chuckle, he massaged his fingers into the back of my neck and up into my hair, once again, tipping my head back a fraction.
His mouth was still right there, his striking face hovering an inch away. The words went raw as he whispered them near my lips. “There are some things I’m very sure about, Emery. I can’t wait to show you what they are.”
A buzz of need tumbled through my belly, my inside throbbing with perverse, defiant want.
I didn’t know how I managed it, but I gathered myself, regaining steadiness on my feet as I carefully unwound myself from his hold.
From his hold and those eyes and that body that I couldn’t allow myself to get lost in.
I attempted to clear the roughness from my voice, and I fiddled with the hem of my tank that I was pretty sure would forever be saturated with his scent.
“We can’t go there,” I told him. “Not again.”
He edged back, and I swore that chain he had attached inside me tugged. The man a magnet my body wanted to follow. His mouth barely hitched at the side. “Well, guess you’ll just have to remain my very best friend, then.”
Yeah.
That’s not what this was.
We both knew it.
But I couldn’t.
I couldn’t.
I finally pried myself away, and I headed back for the hall so I could escape to the safety of my room.
Only I paused at the threshold, hand reaching out to hold onto the jamb as I peeked back his way.
The man stood there in the lapping shadows.
A dichotomy of nonchalance and vehemence.
A clash of calm and violence.
So striking I was afraid he’d already seared a piece of himself inside me.
“Maybe you’re not my enemy, Kane,” I whispered. “Maybe you are exactly what she needs.”
Maybe there was a reason for this. Maybe Maci really did need him in her life, and I just didn’t understand it yet.
Emotion crested in those unforgettable features. “I will give everything in my power to make sure I am exactly that…what she needs. Will protect her with my life. With everything I’ve got. I promise she will always be safe with me.”
My nod was juddering, and I had to force myself to turn from him and jog down the hall and up the stairs.
A total battle of wills since the only thing I wanted to do was run straight back for him.
TWENTY-FIVE
KANE
I didn’t releasethe breath I was holding until I heard the faint click of her door echo from upstairs. If I got another whiff of that morning glory scent I’d be done for.