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“Got it,” she muttered, picking up her pace. Her steps grew quicker, more urgent.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Darren called out.

***

Krystal swiped the spare hotel keycard Darren had managed to get for her and quietly let herself into the suite at the Blue Orchid Bar.

The room was eerily silent.

She stepped inside cautiously, her eyes scanning the space. No sound. No sign of movement. The lights were low, the air toostill. Her steps quickened as she moved deeper into the suite, a sense of urgency growing in her chest.

Her heart pounded as she glanced around the suite—empty.

Then suddenly—arms wrapped around her from behind. Warm lips pressed against the side of her neck, kissing softly, almost desperately.

Startled, Krystal gasped and tried to pull away, her elbow swinging back to hit whoever it was—until she turned and saw him.

Lorenzo.

His face was shadowed, brows furrowed deeply in tension, eyes rimmed red and heavy with exhaustion. Every line on his face spoke of a storm raging inside him. His hands slid over her waist with a trembling urgency, and it only took a second for Krystal to realize something was very wrong.

He looked... intoxicated.

“Krystal?” he murmured, voice husky, gaze intense and burning as it dropped to her lips.

Before she could utter a word, his mouth was on hers—fierce, desperate, and hungry. He kissed her like a drowning man coming up for air.

His tongue flicked out, wet and teasing, slipping between her lips to explore delicate strokes. He traced the curve of her mouth, licking and biting hungrily at her lower lip, sucking it between his teeth just long enough to make her pulse quicken, then releasing with a sharp nip that left a delicious sting.

She stumbled back and fell down, her back hit the bed, and he followed, pressing into her, his lips devouring hers again and again. Full of ache, of need, of longing he couldn’t speak.

Krystal’s breath hitched as his mouth moved with growing urgency, lips pressing and parting, tongue sliding over hers in a heated dance that pulled every nerve taut with sensation. He bit down lightly, then harder, on her lip, teasing and claiming it as his own, making her knees weaken.

Then his mouth drifted down to her neck. His tongue teasing wet circles on the sensitive skin just below her ear. He sucked gently, leaving bruising marks, his teeth grazing and nibbling in between, biting down softly to mark her with proof of his need.

His hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer, while his lips and tongue continued licking, biting, sucking, igniting sparks that ran wild under her skin. The combination of sharp bites and lingering kisses made her dizzy with desire and craving, caught between pleasure and pain in the most intoxicating way.

As his hands moved all over her body and his weight settled on hers, her breath caught.

She tried to push at his shoulder. “Lorenzo...”

He didn’t let go.

His mouth dropped to her throat, leaving slow, heated kisses that made her head go light.

“Lorenzo… we shouldn’t stay here. It’s not safe,” she whispered, cupping his jaw and forcing him to look at her.

He hesitated, his arms still tight around her.

Taking advantage of the moment, she slipped out from beneath him and stood. But he wasn’t ready to let her go. He grabbedher hand, pulling her back into his chest, his lips crushing hers again.

“Krystal…” he groaned against her skin, his mouth moving down her throat, voice husky and wrecked. “Please…”

That low, desperate plea nearly broke her resolve, but she fought the heat rising in her.

She forced herself to pull away and tugged his hand. “Come with me,” she said quietly.

Dragging him down the hallway, she led him to another suite—the one she’d reserved earlier. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, pulling him in behind her.