Page 27 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

He clutched the book. This…this part of their story…was just beginning.

But they had a war to win before they could even dream of a happily ever after.

Still, he was going to take every second he could get.

* * * * *

Juliette smoothed her hands down the delicate lace of the pale pink teddy and studied her reflection. The soft blush hue made her skin glow and the lacy bodice hugged her curves, sheer in all the right places, leaving just enough to the imagination.

And hopefully just enough to ruin Theo Malone’s self-control.

Her heart thudded with a mix of nerves and anticipation. She wasn’t used to this—playing the seductress, teasing a man who could command a room with a look. But she wanted to. For him.

She stood in the middle of the master suite, her chest heaving from the effort to contain her excitement.

He tapped on the door once and let himself in.

When he turned and saw her, everything in him stilled.

She let the strap of her lingerie slip down one shoulder.

“My, my,” he drawled, eyes hooding. He took a step toward her. “What’s this?”

“A little present for you.”

His eyes darkened instantly, raking down her body like a flame consuming her every inch. “Pink lace?” His voice was low and gritty. “You’re trying to kill me.”

She took a slow step forward, then another. “I was aiming for ruin.”

She wanted to ruin him for any other woman.

“Tonight, that pink lace is going to be shredded on the floor next to my bed,” he growled.

In one stride he closed the distance between them and backed her against the wall, palms braced on either side of her head. “You know what you do to me?”

Juliette’s breath caught as his body pressed against hers—solid, hot, barely restrained. She tilted her head back, her voice barely a whisper. “Why don’t you show me?”

He didn’t hesitate. His mouth crashed over hers, hungry and wild. She moaned, fingers fisting in his shirt. Then he tugged at the delicate lace strap with a snarl.

“I love this,” he rasped. “But it’s coming off.”

Juliette gasped as he grabbed both sides of the teddy and ripped, the sound of lace giving way sending a thrill through her. Her back hit the cool wall, but she barely felt it—not with his hands all over her, mouth dragging heat across her throat, her chest, lower.

“Theo—”

“You put this on for me.”

She felt his ragged voice rumble over her skin and moaned.

“You know what that means?”

“What?” Her eyes fluttered shut as he eased his hands over her hips.

“That you’re mine.”

Her eyes popped open. For a long heartbeat, they stared into each other’s eyes.

Each other’s souls.

He lifted her effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist like they belonged there. He kissed her as he stripped off his clothes. He groaned against her mouth as he whipped a condom out of his wallet and tore into it like it was a thin thread tethering him to control.

His lips only left hers once to roll the condom over his thickened shaft. Then he was entering her in one powerful thrust, pinning her to the wall, giving her nowhere to go but closer.

Every movement was controlled chaos—rough, perfect, consuming. She dug her nails into his back, needing more. Needing him. His grunts echoed in her ear, his breath hot at her temple.

The view of the lake through the window blurred as her world narrowed to the man owning her body with raw, unrelenting purpose.

Pleasure spiraled fast and wild. The tight clamp of her inner walls around her lover drew a groan from him, and she let go with a gasp, shattering against him. He followed with a guttural noise, holding her tight, forehead pressed to hers as they both panted like they’d run miles.

For a long moment, the world was silent. She only heard the beat of their hearts and the feel of his body still inside hers.

Then Theo kissed her—softly this time, reverently.

“You good?” he murmured.

She smiled, boneless. “Better than good.”

“Bed,” he muttered, carrying her like she weighed nothing. He laid her down gently on the king-sized mattress piled with pillows and crawled in beside her, grabbing the blanket to cover her bare skin.

They lay there tangled in each other’s arms, staring out the massive picture window. The lake shimmered silver under the moonlight and over the mountains in the distance.

Her head rested on his chest, one hand drawing slow, lazy circles there.

“I don’t know what to do with this,” she whispered at last, her throat tight.

“With what?”

“You.” She looked up at him, feeling as if he’d pried her open in ways music never could. “How you make me feel.”

He threaded his fingers in her hair. “You don’t have to do anything with it.”

“I feel like I’m breaking rules I didn’t even know existed. Like I’m…trespassing on something that isn’t mine.”

Theo’s dark brow furrowed. “You think you don’t belong here?”

“I think this…us…it wasn’t part of the plan. I didn’t even believe there was anything to be afraid of. I didn’t want a bodyguard in my life. But being with you…it changed all that. Now I’m not sure what happens when the danger is gone.”

He twisted his gaze away and stared at the ceiling for a long beat. “I don’t know either,” he admitted. “But I know this—” His jaw flexed. “You’re not trespassing. You’re…carving out your own place. Here. With me.”

Juliette blinked fast as emotion swelled. “I don’t want it to end, Theo. This—us—this house, the ranch, Serenity, the music… It feels like the first time I’ve ever actually lived.”

Theo hovered over her, searching her eyes for so long that she lost herself in the gray depths of his.

“Then don’t think about the end. Not yet,” he grated out.

When he kissed her softly, she gave herself up to the sensation of his lips claiming her in ways she never knew possible. After it ended, she burrowed closer to him, letting the warmth of his body and the quiet of the mountain retreat seep into her bones.

“I can’t believe you ripped my lingerie,” she mumbled against his shoulder.

Theo chuckled, his voice deliciously deep. “I’ll buy you a hundred more.”

“Only if you help me pick them out.”

“Oh, I plan to. But fair warning,” he said, lips brushing her ear, “I won’t be letting you wear them long.”

She laughed softly and turned to press a kiss to his chest.

Outside, the wind rustled through pine trees, but in that room, with the fire of desire burning between them and the lake shimmering beyond the window, Juliette had never felt safer.

Or more his.