Page 14 of Desperate Crimes (Mergers & Acquisitions #6)

S he sucks in a shaky breath, then I press my lips to her earlobe.

I whisper, “This was always going to happen.”

Her entire body is trembling, shaking now.

I imagine her lips parted, her eyes wide, trying to see me through the dark but unable to.

“Why me?” she asks. “Why like this?”

She doesn’t understand yet.

But she will.

I let my voice fall, low and reverent.

“Because you were meant to be mine. And deep down you know it, too.”

I don’t touch her.

I don’t kiss her.

Not yet.

But I could.

The space between us is alive. Burning.

And she’s already starting to surrender.

Not with her words.

Not yet.

But with every trembling breath, she’s getting closer.

To me.

To the truth.

And soon?

She’ll never want to leave.

But I can't hold back anymore.

I came in here planning to wait. To watch. To speak to her in shadows, let the fear simmer just a little longer. Let the idea of me take root and twist inside her.

But the second I hear her body shifting on my bed like her skin is suddenly too tight, like she is already aching for answers—I know. It’s gonna happen right now.

My control snaps like a fraying wire.

I move without thought.

My hand reaches out in the dark, and the second my fingertips brush her ankle— skin to skin —I swear the air crackles.

She gasps.

Freezes.

But doesn’t pull away.

Her leg is bare beneath the silk robe, and I slide my fingers higher.

Slowly. Reverently.

Over the curve of her calf, the dip of her knee, the soft swell of her thigh.

Fuck.

She’s warm. Smooth. Real.

My pulse is a hammer in my throat.

“You’re trembling,” I murmur, voice like smoke.

I hear her swallow. Feel her breath falter.

“Because I’m scared,” she whispers.

Liar.

She’s turned on. Curious. Scared too, sure—but that’s not what’s making her thighs tense as my hand slides higher, stopping just beneath the hem of her robe.

“No,” I say, brushing my knuckles over the edge of lace underneath. “You’re not scared. Not of me.”

I circle my fingertips just beneath the hem, but I don’t go any higher just yet.

This is torturing us both, trust me.

“You’ve just been waiting so long, haven’t you? Poor little Princess.”

She sucks in a breath, and I know I’ve nailed it.

Then I shift my position. My other hand joins the first, fingers sliding along her waist, dipping over her hip, all the way to her thigh.

She sucks in a sharp breath. And I move both hands, slipping them under the edge of the robe.

I can almost see her ribs expand with every breath she takes now.

Fast. Shallow. Desperate.

She’s not stopping me.

Not even close.

“Say it,” I lean down and murmur right against her ear.

My lips barely graze her skin. And I know my cock is leaking inside my boxers.

“Tell me you’ve thought about this. About me.”

“I don’t even know who you are.”

A beat.

“You know, Princess. You’ve always known.”

And another.

“I—I thought you were never coming for me. That you were just gonna let me go, like a dream or a wish that never comes true,” she breathes.

And fuck, that’s it.

That’s the match against the gasoline.

My mouth crashes to her neck, pressing a kiss to the curve where her pulse races beneath skin.

She moans. Her head tips back instinctively and perfect.

I nip. Not hard. Just enough to taste her. To claim her.

Her hands search for me, clutching at my shoulders, then grasping the front of my pants.

“Open them, Princess. Show me what you want.”

She whimpers.

Actually fucking whimpers.

Her fingers tremble against the button like she doesn’t know whether to push me away or pull me closer.

“I told you,” I growl against her throat. “You were always mine.”

And now?

She’s finally starting to believe it.