Page 71 of Marked

His warm, smooth flesh moved against her carefully, his hands still on her back, frozen.

She swept her tongue between his teeth and his deep, guttural groan shook her body.

Pulling away, she stared at his perfect bow-shaped lips, the fine slant of his nose, and his eyes that had once appeared dark and soulless but now struck her with something else...

Uncertainty.

“This isn’t a thank-you,” she breathed.

Her words broke whatever spell he was under. His fingers wound into her hair, and his other hand caught the small of her back, hefting her up so her legs straddled his waist.

Need pulsed through her, and she pressed her mouth to his again.

CHAPTER 18

Cole’s body throbbed with lust. Christ, he needed to keep his hands off Sophia but there was no chance of that now, with her sleek legs holding his hips, her sex inches from his cock, and her breasts plastered to his chest. Her sweet scent intoxicated him, spinning his head into circles and casting away all rationale.

Her arms were hooked behind his neck and her tongue sank greedily into his mouth. He needed to touch her.

If he had half a brain, he’d deposit her feet back on the floor and get the hell out of there.

A mewl sounded from her throat, as if she sensed him pulling away. “Cole?” His name slid off her tongue like condensation on a beer bottle.

“Mmm,” he said, stifling the grunt at the back of his throat.

The only thing that would put him in a pissier mood than usual would be walking away from Sophia right now. Hot and heavy. Turned on and all fucking female.

She drew her head back an inch and batted her eyelashes. “You don’t want me?” Her dark hair fell over one shoulder, and already her lips were full and flushed from his kisses.

He mouthed a curse. Reaching beneath her ass, which hovered below his navel, he tugged on his rock-hard cock, pressing it against the inside of her thigh. “You think I don’t want you?”

A pink tinge touched her cheeks and, hell, a bit of satisfaction lit her golden eyes. “Why are you holding back then?”

“’Cause I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.” There. He’d said it. And dammit to the fires of hell, he’d meant it.

He didn’t want her wet slit if it was offered out of pity or gratitude. And Jesus, that bothered him even more. Because days ago, he wouldn’t have cared what got him inside Sophia. Or any other woman for that matter. Not that he manipulated his way to get sex—he didn’t have to. But he sure as shit wouldn’t have cared what their reasons were as long as they were willing and ready.

Now for some reason it bugged the hell out of him to think she felt she owed him something.

Her face softened, and she brought her palms to his cheeks. “The only thing I’d regret is not being with you.”

All the saliva left his mouth.

She might be too shaken from the events of the night to fully grasp her actions. Too desperate for physical contact and comfort to give a damn about who kept her warm.

“I need you, Cole.” Her voice jumped, and vulnerability pulled at her words.

Screw it.

If she wanted him, he’d make damn sure it was a night she wouldn’t forget. “Bella’s asleep?”

She nodded eagerly.

Spikes of desperation lit his veins, making him want to fuck her right here. Right now. And not waste the two minutes it’d take to get her to the bed. Keeping her in his arms, he went to the bathroom door and shut it. Without a word he returned to the counter, only this time placing her on the ledge.

His fingers stung with the urge to yank off her pants and drive into her. But he couldn’t. He needed this release as much as she did—maybe more. And if he wasn’t careful, he could hurt her or scare the shit out of her.

“Don’t hold back,” she said softly, her eyes heavy, as she tugged him closer.

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