Page 117 of Marked

He caught her waist with his fingers, needing to touch her even if she hit him. Her breasts jiggled, and he let his gaze roam her body, from the tanned contours of her torso to her sleek legs and back up.

She didn’t budge. Didn’t reach for him. And Christ, he needed her to.

“I’m sorry.” Fuck. The acknowledgment was so flimsy it was stupid.

Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Why? You know I wasn’t holding you to anything. I didn’t expect or want anything from you that you couldn’t give.” A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye and his throat clenched.

“Babe, that’s not why,” he ground out.

“Then why? And why come back?”

He briefly lifted a hand to scrub his face. The hot spray bounced off his shoulders, and if he weren’t in such turmoil, it would’ve felt good. He couldn’t explain his actions. Couldn’t make things make sense.

“It was the only way, Sophia.” Defeat made his voice heavy. “I’ve spent most of my life dodging the law and killing people. I knew I couldn’t just walk away from you. I just—I don’t know how to say it. I can’t fucking live without you and you can’t live with me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He sighed. He was turning into a blubbering idiot. Never in his life had he needed to explain himself to anyone. Not like this. And he sure as hell had never had any feelings for a woman to wade through. “You’re already being watched by the police because of how Bella’s return was handled. Not to mention all the things you’ve done along the way to get her back. How could we ever be together? Not only would I end up in prison, but your involvement with me makes you an accessory. If you went to jail because of me—and had to leave Bella—I’d never forgive myself.”

Her face softened and she lowered her gaze. Her tongue rolled over her bottom lip. “You did this to start over?”

He gripped her hips tighter. “Yeah.”

“You aren’t going back to... your previous career?”

He lifted his gaze to the wall of the shower. He wasn’t good at making promises. Hell, he was probably even worse at keeping them. But he’d never again do anything to hurt Sophia. “I don’t know. I don’t want to. Is that good enough?”

One slim shoulder lifted, and a glimmer caught her eyes. “Depends. What’s happening between us?”

He let out a loose chuckle. Promising not to kill another person was difficult. Something he couldn’t do with conviction. But he’d sure as hell do everything in his power not to do something that would hurt or upset her. “I’m not sure I’m the one to answer that. But I can say that these last two weeks have been hell. When Kenneth took you, I wanted to kill every person in sight. I’ve never been filled with such rage and... fear. I was so scared I’d never see you again.”

She rested her hand on his cheek. “I knew you’d come for me.”

He turned his lips to kiss her palm. “That’s because I fucking love you.”

Her chin quivered. A laugh bubbled up from her throat, and she rose onto her tiptoes and kissed his mouth. “I love you, too.”

He caught the back of her head in his hand and deepened the kiss. He let his fingers wander over her body before catching one of her nipples and then moving his hand to her hot, wet sex. His fingers slipped between her folds, and she muffled a cry against his tongue.

Dropping to his knees, he eased her back against the wall. Water bounced off his back as he spread her thighs and covered her sex with his mouth.

Sophia gripped his hair as he moved his tongue leisurely over her slickness, sweeping inside then up to her clit in a constant dance.

Her body shook, and her heat filled his mouth. Her legs trembled against his shoulders as she came. Desire raged through him. He stood, caught her thighs, and hoisted her up. With her back against the wall again, he sank into her.

Another delicious moan came from her as she wrapped her arms and legs around him while he pumped into her. Her slippery insides stroked his cock, sending his nerve endings into a frenzy.

He fucked her harder. Her fingernails bit into his biceps and her lips went to his neck, kissing and licking his flesh until his moan matched hers. She came again, her insides clenching and throbbing around his shaft while his dick reached max capacity and sent him over the edge into an orgasm.

Sophia melted against him as he slowed his movements to enjoy the soft, tight cushion that held him in place. She pulled her face from his neck and touched his bottom lip with her thumb. “Will you stay?”

Happiness tugged at his heart, making his mouth work into a smile. “Good luck getting rid of me again.”

She chuckled. “I mean it. Will you stay with us? I started my leave today. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but we can move out of the city. Somewhere quiet, just the three of us?”

Delight flooded him. His heart tingled. Never in his life had he imagined having a serious girlfriend or a child.

Now he had both.

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