After We Fall (Take the Fall, #3)(28)

“Why, because you’ve seen me much, much worse?” she asks, laughing bitterly.

I set the knife down and place my hands on the counter, leaning in. “I will never forget holding you that night, never forget the way I wanted to protect you from everything and everyone. It’s my job to protect people, but from the first time I met you, what I feel is so much more than that.”

“I don’t remember much about that night, but I remember you.”

“Is that one of the reasons why you pushed me away?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

She nods.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but—”

“It’s not your fault.” Pushing away from the granite countertop, I move to stand in front of Evangeline, ignoring the way my shirt is riding high on her thighs. “It’s not your fault.”

“Sure does feel like it sometimes.”

Gently, I frame her face with my hands. “It’s not your fault. I wish someone had told my mom that. I wish someone had helped her.”

Her eyes are shiny with tears. “I’m not a case for you to solve.”

“No, but you are a woman who needs protecting. A woman who needs a man to stand up for her instead of stepping on her.” Lowering my forehead to hers, I breathe in her intoxicating scent and admit what I refused to acknowledge all along. Until now. “I’m the man for the job. I’m the man for the long haul.”

“Stop saying things that sound so…good.”

I lean back a little. “It’s true. You need honesty, and I can’t get more honest than that.”

“If you can be honest, then I guess I can, too.” She rises up in her seat, her mouth finding mine with a practiced ease. I close my eyes, sliding my hands to the back of her head. She tastes of scotch and soda. Her tongue rubs against the seam of my lips and I part them, letting her in as I take our kiss deeper.

Her hands come between us, fingers tightening in my shirt as she pulls me closer. I let go of her head with one hand to explore her body, to run my fingers up her thighs, under the hem of her shirt, and around her hips to cup her ass.

The sweetest thighs I’ve ever had the pleasure to touch open wide, drawing me into the vee. My cock is hard, just from a kiss, just from touching her.

She moves restlessly against me and I pick her up, molding her to me. “Wrap your legs around me,” I order in a husky whisper.

Never have I had a woman obey me so sweetly. Apparently, Penn—the f*cking *—hadn’t ruined foreplay for her.

I carry her to the couch and lay her down before easing on top of her. I go slowly, giving her time to get used to my weight, to a man being so close to her, and to say no.

My hands sweep down her hot body, then back up again to cup the most perfect breasts ever created. I dip my head to kiss her neck. She arches beneath me, her hands clenching and unclenching as they grip my biceps.

“We still good?” I ask.

“Very.”

I suck at her neck, leaving a small bruise there. Satisfaction roars. I want to mark her, want to let every man know she’s mine.

My thumbs rub over her tight nipples and she moans.

“Evangeline.”

She opens her eyes. They are heavy, dazed with lust and desire. “Hunter.”

“Watch me.” That’s all the warning I give before I yank her shirt up and cover one lace-covered nipple with my mouth.

With a wordless plea, her fingers move from my biceps to my head, firmly holding me in place. As if I would go anywhere else in this moment.

I suck on the hard peak, scrape my teeth over it until she’s babbling for me to do the same to the other one. While I lavish her neglected nipple, I slide my hands down her flat stomach and under her lace panties.

A strip of hair greets me. I dip my fingers in her *, finding her hot and wet. Her body jerks and she moans my name.

I slip my finger inside her, then add another until she’s pushing against me. My thumb rubs at her swollen clit even as I kiss my way down her stomach. I push her panties to one side and lick her slit.

She nearly comes off the sofa.

“I got you,” I assure her before lowering my mouth once again.

Keeping my forearm across her abdomen, I hold her in place while she bucks against me, while she grinds her sweet * into my mouth. I’m not a man of many words when it comes to this, preferring to show what I can do instead.

I curl my fingers up and suck her clit into my mouth.

She screams my name and I watch her as she goes over the edge, as her beautiful body moves. As her lips part. As her lashes fall and she stops undulating against me.

“If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll return the favor,” she says faintly.

Although I’d love to have her mouth on my cock, there’s no way in hell I’ll have her return the favor. “Not this time. Besides, I want your mouth on me because you’re dying for a taste. When you can’t go another second without it, not because you owe me.”

It seems to take great effort for her eyes to open. “Really?”

I nod, kissing her sleek inner thigh. “Truly.”

She sighs thickly, but it’s a good sound. A sound I’d like to hear more often. “Would you mind if I took a little nap before dinner?”

“Not at all.” Painfully hard, I ease off of her and go to the linen closet to grab a soft blanket.