Page 12 of Devil's Claim

Kruz was right there, standing like a godlike statue only a few inches away. The lingering scents of the incredible dinnercombined with the sandalwood, citrus, and spices of his aftershave. It was all just too much.

I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. They rolled down my cheeks quickly, my tongue catching a few, but there were too many and they were coming way too fast.

When my shoulders started to heave, he crowded my space and I tried, I really did to push him away. But I just didn’t have the strength any longer.

“I’m… sorry,” I managed, the torrent ready to flow. “I’m not usually like this. I swear to God. I just… You and… My thoughts… And that bastard. And…” I couldn’t continue. Even to a dangerous stranger with ill intent in mind, I must appear like a crazed, wounded animal. That’s what I’d felt like for weeks.

Worthless.

Wounded.

Angry.

God, I was so angry that I could easily kill someone. What a crazy thought. Maybe I could join Kruz in his illustrious career.

As usual, he was going to do nothing but stare at me, making me feel even more like a fool than I already was.

Instead, the big strapping man with the delicious accent took me into his arms. He wasn’t interested in my sobbing on his tight tee shirt. He lifted my chin with a single finger, darting those magnificent, deep eyes back and forth across mine.

“I know. Pathetic. Ugly. Worthless. That’s what I keep hearing. That’s how I feel.”

“You’re not pathetic in any way, Christine. You’re strong, one of the most resilient women I’ve ever met. And you’re incredibly beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have you in his arms and by his side. You will never be worthless. I never want to hear you say that again. You’re capable of doing anything you put your mind to.”

And just like that, the man who’d broken into my apartment with a gun in his hand, terrorizing me for hours, a dangerous criminal who could easily kill me, managed to do something no man had ever done before.

He’d made me feel wanted.

“You are so fucking beautiful, Christine. Do you know that?” he asked, his tone entirely different. As he rubbed his fingers across my cheek, the connection I’d felt before exploded into something else, something so carnal that my breath was stripped away.

Not only did I feel wanted, but I craved him more than I should.

More than was decent.

He smelled even more incredible than before. Like the forest. And sex. And sin.

The part of me that had always followed the rules and lived my life with decency in mind scolded me for wanting this.

Yet the woman who’d suffered so much over the past few months no longer cared about right from wrong. I leaned in as his thumb tugged on my bottom lip. Just for once I wanted to forget everything. All the horrors. All the hatred and anger. Just this once, I wanted to feel very much alive.

As he lowered his head, he whispered something in Spanish, calling me his little cake once again. That’s the moment I melted.

I wanted to taste him.

Every. Single. Inch.

He crushed his mouth over mine, grabbing a handful of my hair with one hair as he swept his arm under my bottom. As he pulled me against his chest, stars floated in front of my eyes. This was wrong.

So very wrong.

Then why did it feel so completely right?

His kiss was rougher than before, completely uninhibited as he ground his hips back and forth. The way he was holding me was possessive and demanding. It was easy to tell he wasn’t the kind of man to take no for an answer.

From men.

From women.

From anyone.