Page 138 of Restless Hawke

Cool.

Professional.

She did itall,knowing that as soon as the final hand was dealt, she was fucked either way.

Whether she won or lost, Satriano would know what she had done—and that’s worse than him potentially losing the money. It was a statement to him that she was taking her life back, and Satriano isn’t the type to let anyone just walk away.

But she did itanyway.

That was the first hint that maybe she hasn’t beencompletelyfull of shit.

A glimmer of hope that at least a fraction of what we shared might have been real.

The longer I watched her play, the more it began to feel like maybe I had made a mistake in not listening to her, in not letting her explain more that day in Vegas.

And when Savage handed me this card and said she left, I read the words and felt like my chest was being ripped open, like I was being splayed alive by her and her words.

Becausegood God, I want to believe them.

Racing through the casino, all I could think was that itcouldbe real.

Lunging for the door before the limo pulled away, I prayed for it to be unlocked so I could get my answer before she left for good.

And now, despite every reason she can’t be trusted, with my mouth on hers, that little moan slipping from her lips, I can’t deny the fact that Ido, even if I shouldn’t.

I trust her.

She came here today andprovedthat whatever happened to bring us together, it wasn’t all an act.

What we shared that night in Vegas wasreal, as real as anything I’ve ever experienced in my life, and if I ignored that because I got hung up on my own pain and embarrassment and anger, I don’t know that I would ever be able to forgive myself.

So, I have to forgive her.

The same way Atlas did me for something equally awful that I did without any excuse except my own selfishness and idiocy.

And so, I release it.

I let it go.

All the resentment and anger and loathing I felt since she revealed the truth in Vegas. I replace it with the all-consumingneedI have for this woman.

The limo moves onto the main street, and I angle Allegra’s face, trying to reach the places she would never let me before, that I could never get to with the barrier of lies between us.

And she opens for me so sweetly, gliding her tongue along mine, gasping and clutching at the front of my suit.

I let the card fall to the seat so I can drag her up and over me until she straddles my hips across the seat. She whimpers slightly, settling her core along my hard cock, and her heat sears me even through my pants. The fabric already starting to dampen.

“No fucking panties again, huh?”

She grins against my lips, wrapping her hands around my neck and gripping me as tightly as I do her hips. “I’m not in the habit of wearing them anymore…”

I tunnel my fingers into her hair and tug her head back, holding her away from me for a moment, locking gazes with her. “Why? Because you were hoping a moment like this might present itself?”

Her gaze softens.

The intense haze of lust fades, replaced by a sincerity that stops my heart.

She shakes her head. “I never thought a moment like this would be possible. I never believed for a second that you could forgive me for everything I did.”