The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(63)

“Shit. I’m sorry, Kate.” He dragged his hands down his face.

She tried to swallow her emotions, but they were running skin deep. “Do you want me or not? I’m so confused.” And what did she even want? Her mind was muddled, her feelings screwed up with everything that had happened to her in the last week.

He took a step back from her. “I can’t get you out of my head. Even with everything going on, I just can’t . . .”

She watched him for a moment, trying to anticipate his next move, and then she started to walk away from him. Through a long window on the other side of the room, she could see the lake, glinting in the moonlight.

He caught up with her. “I want you, Kate,” he said gruffly. He turned her to face him.

The pain in her eyes must have been obvious because he softened his grip and dropped his head. “Sex isn’t enough for me. It never will be.” She looked away from him and down at the oak floors.

He touched her face and tilted her chin up. “What if I want more?”

Could she believe him? “You don’t. You just don’t want to ‘share’ me with anyone else.”

“Of course, I don’t want you to be with anyone else! Seeing you with Ethan . . . slayed me. But I want you for more than that.”

She lowered her eyes, hating her body for trembling, betraying her emotion. She wanted to believe that he wasn’t speaking from some primal need to possess her.

Her breath hitched when he touched her mouth, rubbing his thumb over her lips.

Her fragile barrier was slipping. She tried to cling to it, but it was pointless.

She wanted him, too. To hell with her plans. She knew the moment they’d first kissed that she’d rather live an uncertain and unplanned life—if it meant having a heart full of love. She’d just been too afraid to admit it then.

She released a ragged breath, and then pressed up on her feet and found his lips.

He cupped her face with his hands and brought her closer to him, giving him better access to her mouth. He growled as her tongue slipped between his lips, searching for an even more profound connection.

She stumbled, but he held onto her. “Michael . . .”

He took a step back, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. He flipped on the light as they entered. He laid her on the bed and stared down at her.

She looked up at him in awe. He was the most incredible man she had ever encountered. She watched as he began to unbutton his black collared shirt. His hard body and gunshot wounds were exposed when he pulled his shirt off. His eyes never left hers as he maneuvered out of the rest of his clothing.

Naked, he moved toward Kate and took off her heels. He trailed kisses up her legs, and pushed her dress up, exposing her sheer white panties. She sat up so he could remove her dress. He slipped it off over her shoulders, revealing her strapless, white demi-bra.

He was taking his time—drinking her in and making her equally drunk with need. He brushed his mouth along her neck as he unhooked her bra and tossed it to the floor.

She murmured as he held his weight over her, pushing her back down, taking her breasts in his hands, massaging them—twisting and tugging on her nipples.

She gripped his back and arched her body when his mouth began to devour her breasts, teasing her with his tongue. His hand moved over her panties and dipped beneath the fabric, touching her sex with slow and deliberate movements. She was becoming almost painfully aroused. She reached for his cock and moved her hand over his long, hard length.

He groaned at her touch and released her nipple from his mouth. He captured her lips again as he pushed his fingers inside her. Her body tensed and shook with desire, needing more. He moved his mouth down her body and to her center. Her hips bucked as his tongue darted between her thighs.

Her nipples hardened, and she moved her hand over her own chest. She didn’t want to orgasm yet, but she couldn’t hold back. Her body exploded with the ecstasy his touch had built inside her after only a few minutes.

She motioned for Michael to flip to his back. She kissed his throat, and her mouth wandered over his pectoral muscles. Her lips moved down to find his happy trail and his hard erection. She kissed around the base and placed wet, sucking kisses on his inner thighs. She captured his hard on with her mouth, and he groaned.

She took almost all of him in one languorous swallow. He looked down at her as she tightened her mouth around him.

“I want you,” he said in a low, guttural voice a few minutes later.

And with one quick movement, she was on her back again, and he was braced over her. She hadn’t even seen him reach for the condom, he was so quick.

His eyes tore through her, making her feel so many emotions that she couldn’t think straight.

And then she felt him. He moved inside of her—slow at first, and then deeper and faster. He leaned down to kiss her as their bodies collided. His kiss rocked something free inside of her. She’d had her own walls up for so long that she hadn’t even realized they were there. She’d protected herself with lists and plans—never letting anyone in, but Michael had broken through, even if he hadn’t meant to.

And when their lips parted, he focused on her eyes, and she knew something was different about this time. The way he looked at her as they had sex—no, made love—it made her feel special, somehow.

Her body began to quiver and build again as he rubbed his hand over her wet center in rhythmic time with his thrusts. And then his head bowed as he found release.