Page 152 of Beautiful Lies

When we reach it, I can’t get inside fast enough. I damn near kick the door open and just about remember to lock it.

Once I do, my attention is back on her. The last time Isla came here, she handed me the contract and had that hate-filled look in her eyes.

It’s like I’m looking at a different person now. A different woman. One standing in the center of my world with the skyline glowing behind her like the city is bowing to her. And that look in her eyes—soft and open, wild with desire, brimming with…love…

It’s all for me.

Nobody’s ever looked at me like that before. If I could capture this moment and this feeling in a bottle, I’d do so and keep it forever.

“Knox…” Her pulse trips.

I press my mouth to her collarbone, tasting the heat of her skin. “Clothes off, Isla. Now.” The command slips out, rough and quiet. “Strip for me.”

Her breath falters, and her skin flushes, but her hands lift shakily to find the zipper on the back of her gown.

She keeps her eyes fixed on me as she slides it down. There’s a built-in bra on the dress, so when the black silk slides down her body, her gorgeous breasts spill free. Her rosy nipples are already puckered and hard with arousal.

Heat punches through me so hard I almost stagger. Jesus. I’m wrecked just looking at her.

The fabric pools at her waist before she pushes it further, letting it fall in a soft whisper around her feet. She stands there in nothing but a lace thong, black heels, and trembling need.

My blood spikes, every thought in my head disintegrating with the primal need to claim her.

Slowly, like a predator closing in, I walk her back inch by inch until she meets the cool glass wall behind her. She gasps at the contact, her bare skin pressing against it, nipples tightening even more from the chill.

“Can…anyone see us?” Nervously, she glances behind her at the city below.

“No. Only me, love.” I trail a finger down her belly. “And I want you right here. Against my glass. Where only I get to see you like this.”

A shiver rolls through her, and her thighs press together.

I brace one hand beside her head. “Look at you,” I rasp, dragging my gaze down her body. “Pressed up against my glass. You have no idea what you do to me.”

Her lips part, and she trembles. “Tell me. What do I do to you, Knox Vale?”

I catch her throat with my free hand and lean close so my forehead is on hers.

“You drive me fucking insane,” I growl, my mouth hovering above hers but not touching. “I don’t know what you did to me, but I can’t think straight. All I can think about is you. I can’t work. I can’t fucking breathe. Wanting you is the only thing that feels real.Mine. My girl.”

I brush my lips over hers, but her sudden grip on my shirt stops me from deepening the kiss.

“Are you mine, too?” Her voice trembles, barely a whisper, like she’s afraid my answer might break her.

The question rips through me. I feel it everywhere. Raw and brutal. Undeniable. There’s nothing to decide. Nothing to question. The answer is carved into me.

“Look at me and tell me what you see.” I hold her gaze, unblinking.

Her pulse kicks. “Sometimes my eyes deceive me, and I need to hear… I need to hear you say the words.”

I slide my hand to her jaw, forcing her to see the truth in me. “I’m all yours, Isla Vale. I’ve always belonged to you.”

The guard in her eyes slips, dissolving in a single breath. The last piece of her wall finally gives way, falling for me.

“Mine, too?” she speaks in a listless rasp, like she can’t believe what she’s saying.

“Yours, love.” My voice drops into something hungry and possessive, something only she’ll ever hear. “Always yours.”

I press my mouth to her neck, kissing the smooth skin slowly, so I can savor the taste, then I move down to her chest and lick the swell of her breasts.