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“I’m telling you this because I trust you.”

“You do?” He knows I reached out to Calloway; how can he trust me now?

After a long pause, he nods. “I do.”

“Even after I told you I was going to talk to the detective?”

His jaw flexes with the reminder.

“You wouldn’t have told him anything that would harm me or Alexander.” He takes a slow breath, like it’s taking everything in him to keep himself controlled.

“No, I wouldn’t have.”

“You thought you were protecting me.” His voice takes on a darker edge. “Promise me you’ll never go behind my back again, for any reason. Not even if you think it will save me. Promise me.”

“You’ll believe me if I do?” How can he be so trusting after all the mess I’ve dragged him into?

“I will.” He gives a firm nod.

Holding his gaze, I say, “I promise.”

He leans the rest of the way in, kissing me. It’s a hard, unyielding kiss that removes any worry I held that he’d changed his mind about me. He snakes one hand behind my head, fisting my hair and pulling me from the wall.

He doesn’t break the kiss even when he scoops me up from the floor and carries me to the bed.

“You didn’t come to bed last night,” I say breathlessly when he drops me onto the mattress.

He’s already tearing off his jeans, and I’m busy wiggling out of my leggings.

“I didn’t get in until early this morning. I didn’t want to wake you.” He drops his shirt to the floor and crawls onto the bed with me.

Grabbing one ankle, he yanks me until I’mflat on my back. My shirt is barely off, and I’m all tangled up in it. He uses the moment against me. Lying over me like a blanket, he rips the thin material between my bra cups and takes one of my nipples into his mouth.

I moan, still tearing the shirt from my body. His teeth rake over me.

“You walked out on me last night.” I capture his face with my hands, dragging him up to mine. “I thought you left me.”

“I would never.” He kisses me, easily escaping my grasp. “Tell me again what you said.”

“About the detective?”

He growls. “No. Never talk about him again. The other thing. The important thing.” He kisses the bruise on my cheek, then the scar on my eyebrow, and the spot on my chin where Brad clocked me that first night.

He drags his hands over my thighs, spreading them as he sinks between. He’s pressed against me. I can feel the heat, the urgency escaping from his body and soaking into mine.

“I love you.” I grin when he pushes himself up to stare down at me. He doesn’t like having to wait.

It’s fun to make him sometimes, though.

“I love you, too.” He thrusts into me with a satisfied groan, like he’s been waiting his entire life for this moment.

I sink my hands into his hair, dragging him close enough to kiss him.

He fucks me slow at first with deep, dragged-out thrusts that drives my body into overdrive. Pleasure spreads throughout my entire body. My breath comes in short bursts as he thrusts harder and harder.

He buries his head in my neck, licking and biting down as he fucks me with more fervor. I pull back my thighs, opening for him, taking him even deeper.

He wraps his arms beneath me, pulling me to him as he plows harder still.