Page 37 of Trust

“Of course,” she sputtered, hoping he couldn’t read the dirty thoughts crowding her brain. “Other than being bathed in the foulest smell, I’m right as rain.”

“Well, I’m not.”

Not able to resist the uncertainty in his voice, she looked up. “Really…why?”

“Because I don’t know how to turn back time.” He slowly ran his finger down the slope of her shoulder. “I’m standing in front of the most desirable woman I’ve ever encountered. Nearly naked. And I can’t do a damn thing about it because I listened to the damn demons in my head that said I wasn’t ready. Or sane enough.”

“Oh, Zane…”

“If I could take back the words, I would.”

She told herself not to make more of the moment than there was. He was probably just experiencing a raging case of lust like she was. “It’s fine…”

“No, it sure as hell isn’t.”

The sincerity in his tone made fingers of heat bloom below her belly button. “I came on strong and…” Seeing his head lower and mouth hover made the rest of her sentence disappear. She held her breath as his lips almost grazed hers.

“Liv, do you think you might give me a second chance?”

“At what?”

“Us,” he said quietly.

The idea of there being a them made her brain stutter. “Is that even a good idea?”

“Yes,” he said against her mouth. “I’d like a shot at seeing if this crazy thing running between us is the real deal.”

“As in a real disaster?” She filled her lungs with air. “I think a short lusty escapade that will leave us both satisfied and relatively unscathed is a much better option.”

“Yeah, that’s not going work for me ‘cause once we turn on the tap, it’s likely going to be near impossible to shut off.”

“You never know.” She framed his mouth with her hand and nipped his bottom lip. “We might spend a couple of hours tearing up the sheets and never need to be in one another’s company again.”

“Do you think that’s all it’s going take?” He let his blunt finger graze along her rib cage and then move over the lace decorating her almost sheer bra.

“Maybe.” Heart hammering in furious beats, desire blurred her vision as Zane moved his hands confidently across her skin.

Could he be the one to welcome her hidden desires? The ones she’d kept an incredibly tight leash on. The ones that included wild, messy sex. Bared teeth and pulled hair?

A thing so raw and real that it would stain her skin until the end of time.

“Can you deal with the fire between us?” he asked quietly.

She splayed her hands on his chest and stepped back, trying to slow her galloping heart. “I don’t think it’s me that we need to worry about.” She dug her nails into the slab of muscle that covered his chest. “After all, I’m not the one who ran away.” Zane’s lush mouth pinched, and she didn’t think yelling checkmate would be welcome.

“I’m gonna give you that one, but I need to know if that was a yes or a no. Because I want a clear answer before I let myself off the leash and imprint my body on yours.”

Hunger bled from his words, and her cool vanished. She stepped close enough for their feet to touch. “Fooling around wouldn’t be the worst way to spend the afternoon.”

“Not by a long shot.”

Keeping their eyes locked, she accepted that gravity had been pushing her toward him from the moment they met. Squeaking, she felt his large, warm hands lift her like a leaf and deposit her carefully on the small bench. “What are you doing? We have to scrub off the stink.”

“In a minute,” he gritted out. “I need to get my mouth on you and give you a proper hello.”

Going soft and wet between her legs, a short hysterical giggle escaped.

Biology was so simple and damning.

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