Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
This time I didn’t hold anything back. The kiss was raw and powerful. Addicting. It put everything else to shame.
Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she lifted onto her toes to meet me. It was stunning how quickly my breathing turned ragged, and I broke the kiss. But it was only so my lips could travel down to the bruise on her neck that Frey had left, the one that was almost gone.
The memory of the first moment I saw her flashed through my mind.
She was a sliver of a girl in a torn dress, who’d flinched when I touched her. She acted desperate for my touch now, like she couldn’t get enough of it, and warmth spread along my body. The magnitude of what she’d been through pressed down and probably drove her to me, and like a selfish asshole, I welcomed it.
My hands slid inside her jacket, caressing the warm curves of her and urging her deeper into my embrace. Her body fit so perfectly against mine, like it was made for me. Her mouth tasted like it was made for me too.
Our kiss was hungry and needy, and she shuddered as if the intensity of it were overwhelming.
I’d promised to keep her safe, and I’d done everything in my power to do so—and it hadn’t been enough. Frey had taken her. I’d gotten her back, but everything was falling apart.
I lifted my head and cupped her face. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and when she blinked, a single one escaped. Was it because of what she’d been through . . . or was this rogue tear for us? Last time I’d seen her cry, I’d been uncomfortable, but now it caused a deep ache in the bottom of my stomach.
I used the pad of my thumb to brush her tear away and kissed her again. This time, I did it slowly, thoroughly. It was full of longing, of all the things I wanted and couldn’t have, and at the end I let it taste like goodbye.
She must have sensed it. Her head came to rest in the crook of my neck, her skin warm against mine. I didn’t want to let her go, and it’d take everything I had to do it.
“Laurel.”
Her body went stiff in my arms. I’d pushed her away enough times that she knew it was coming.
“I can’t stay,” I said.
20
LAUREL
The kiss Jason had just given me changed things, and the idea of him leaving now was impossible.
“No.” I said it matter of fact, and again to make sure he’d heard me. “No. You said, ‘whatever happens, you stay with me.’”
His expression was pained. “I don’t want to go, but it’s not up to me. I’ve been relieved.”
The last time I’d seen him, he’d been wearing handcuffs, so whatever he’d done, I was sure it’d been bad. But he’d have to apologize or work something out, or plead with his boss, because I needed him. I’d lost my whole life, and I wasn’t ready to lose him too.
“Do you know whose voice I heard in my head tonight, telling me to escape? It was yours.” I clutched at his t-shirt, like I could stop him from leaving, and my voice went small. “I don’t want to do this without you.”
His beautiful eyes softened before he hung his head. He wanted the same thing I wanted, but he didn’t have the power to give it to me. And it was clear he hated that feeling of powerlessness as much as I did.
I placed my hands on the stubble lining his jaw, lifted his face, and kissed him. Softly, sweetly, trying to show him he couldn’t go. When the kiss changed into more, when my tongue was in his mouth and my hands trailed down his chest—
A short knock outside made me jolt. There was barely enough time to straighten and step out of his embrace before the door swung open and Bill strode in. I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and tried my best to not look like I’d just been kissing his agent.
It was like Bill knew anyway. He tossed my duffle bag onto the dresser top with a bit too much force, signifying his anger.
“Can you be ready to go in ten minutes?” he asked, his gaze avoiding Jason.
Yet that was exactly where my focus went. “Yes. Will you be ready then?”
“Well, no. He’s no longer assigned to your—” his boss started.
“I’m not going without him.”
The older man’s face went sour, and his attention finally turned to his marshal so he could deliver a glare. As if he thought Jason had put me up to this.
Bill crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s not an option.”
“Then neither is me going with you.”
Even though I barely knew him, he didn’t seem like one to respond well to threats. “You’re going to turn down the marshals’ protection, the only ones who can keep you safe.” His expression was fixed. “That’s a really great plan.”