Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(83)
A weight settled on her chest and the pulse at her throat fluttered so fast she felt light-headed. She nodded. Or at least she tried to, uncertainty and fear making the simple motion a Herculean feat.
“Wherever you’re goin’ in that head of yours, come back.” His lips quirked in a cocky smile. “We’re ballsy bastards and not all that interested in rules outside our own making, but we’re not mafiya. I only bring it up to give you an idea of what we’re capable of. Their mindset—their tenacity and focus—is what we share. We’ve built a good life that provides for the people we love. Sometimes that means we play nice and color inside the lines drawn by other people, sometimes we don’t. But whatever decisions we make, we make them based on our own code. On honor. No plays are ever made that might hurt an innocent.”
“So, it’s just business? Investments and connections?”
He held her gaze, silent and watchful. “Unless one of our own needs something more. Then all bets are off.”
“Knox, please don’t—”
His mouth slanted across hers, silencing not just her words but her swirling thoughts with his all-consuming kiss. Lips, teeth and tongue, he worked her mouth until every vestige of worry disintegrated, leaving her pliant and primed for more of his touch.
Still, he kept his fingers twined with hers, his weight pressing into her palms. Only when she moaned, bucked her hips against his and tried to slip her hands free, did he surrender the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers. His breath huffed heavy to match hers, a beast who’d not only chased, but snared his prey. “You trust me?”
“Yes.” No doubt. No matter the atrocities she knew Ruslan was capable of or what fears she harbored deep, there was no one alive she trusted more than Knox.
He lifted his head and met her stare head on. “Then trust me in this. Trust me to know what we’re capable of and to keep you safe. To make you free.”
There were no words, not in English or her own tongue, worthy of the emotion swelling inside her. But she could show him. Could put everything she felt—every hope, dream and fear—into this moment and offer her surrender. “Knox?” she asked softly, a careful whisper against the room’s silence.
In lieu of an answer, he tipped his head to one side and cocked an eyebrow.
She tugged her hands and surprisingly, he released them, letting her frame his face within her trembling fingers. “I think I’m done talking.”
One second. One blisteringly perfect second, and his whole demeanor changed. A caged tiger faced with freedom and poised to pounce. Yet instead of the consuming attack she’d expected, he pressed a soft, reverent kiss to her lips.
Weeks, they’d spent every night together. Tussled and explored each other’s sexual desires with an endless, ravenous appetite. Always after, he was gentle. Attentive and present in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to be at first, but during sex, he was always aggressive. Demanding and bold to the point their play sometimes ran deliciously rough.
But this was different.
Special in a way that went beyond words and tapped into the deepest part of her.
Back and forth, he skimmed his lips against hers, his breath mingling with hers for a delightful new level of intimacy. While his kiss was infinitely gentle, the air around them zinged with a supercharged energy that left her skin prickling in the most delectable way.
Coiling her hands around the back of his neck and lifting her head from the mattress, she tried to deepen the kiss.
Knox pulled away, not enough to ease his weight, but enough to rob her of his heavenly taste. Of all the expressions she’d seen on his face, this one was new. A trace of the vulnerability he’d shown the night he shared his past, but overshadowing it was a resolute solemnness. A vow given even before he spoke. “I’m not rushing this. Not tonight. What I want to give you, what I want to show you, deserves more than that.”
Even after all the ups and downs of the day, her stomach still managed a swoop and twirl to rival an amusement park thrill ride and her breath caught in her throat. She smoothed one hand along his jaw. “Whatever you want. You lead and I’ll trust you.”
His eyes flared at that, the same greedy expression of a covetous man who’d just stumbled on a cave full of lost treasure. He covered her hand with his, squeezed, then pushed back and sat on his heels, using his hold on her hand to pull her upright with him. In one smooth move, he gripped the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up and over her head.
The room’s chilled air settled against her exposed skin, raising goose flesh in its wake, but it was the awe behind the way he looked at her that stilled her thoughts. Like he was seeing her for the very first time. Experiencing the beauty of the two of them together from a whole new perspective. He skimmed his fingertips along the upper swell of one breast. “I should have known that first day.”
“Known what?”
He lifted his gaze to hers. “That you were different.” Taking his time, he peeled her bra straps off her shoulders, traced a teasing path from her rib cage to her spine and unsnapped the clasp. Not once did his eyes leave hers. “Just looking at you made me stupid. Made me want to forget I ever had a past. Forget all the hurt and throw my rules out the window.” He peeled the silk free, tossed it to the floor and guided her to her back. “I should have known you were mine.”
Mine.