Page 83 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

I open my arms as I stop in front of her and she sags against my chest, wrapping her arms around me. When she sensed Zane left earlier, we threw on our clothes and raced out of here. She still carries my scent on her skin, and that does something primal to my animal side.

My little bundle of sass and fire.

Mine.

But unlike Zane, I do not need to control or contain her. I merely want to provide her with anything she needs: support, protection, and life-altering orgasms.

With one hand laced under the fall of flaxen ponytail and the other roaming down her lower back to the luscious curve of her ass, I’m content to stay on this ride to see where it takes me. “Do you want me to come with you guys? Help nail down Jaxon?”

Scottie shakes her head, her cheek pressed against my chest. “No. You stay here and take care of Jack. But save me a piece of that cake and rustle up a can of whipped cream.”

A chuckle slips out of me, and I lower my cheek to the top of her head. “The cake, huh? I see where your priorities lie.”

She eases back from our hug and bites her bottom lip. “The whipped cream isn’t for the cake, big guy. It’s for later.”

I bend down and brush my lips over hers. “You got something on your mind, beautiful?”

Her grin is wicked and sends a jolt of adrenaline straight to my cock. “We were rudely interrupted earlier. I wasn’t finished exploring this chiseled body of yours—not even a little.”

She runs her hand under the bottom hem of my shirt and up the ridges of my abs. A rush of feminine arousal blooms in the airbetween us and heat builds at the base of my balls. “Careful, little miss. You’re winding me up to leave me. There’s no telling what state I’ll be in by the time you get back.”

The wicked smile she flashes and the mischief glinting in her eyes tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing. “Get the whipped cream, big guy. Whatever state you’re in when we get back, I’ll take care of you, promise.”

I cup her face in my hands, brushing my thumb gently over her cheek. “Be careful, okay? Don’t do anything too heroic. I want you in one piece.”

Scottie rises on her toes and our lips meet. The kiss is soft and lingers, her tongue sweeping against mine in an erotic dance. That arousal of hers fills my sinuses, growing sweeter, deeper. She presses the soft mounds of her breasts against my chest and sends her palm down the front of my pants to stroke over my body’s response to her. “Hold that thought.”

“You know I will,” I murmur, my lips brushing against hers as I smile. “If you take too long, I might have to take care of things myself.”

She laughs, the sound like a spark of warmth in the cold air between us. “I’ll be sure to get back before that happens. Burn for me, baby. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

I don’t doubt that.

She turns to leave, and I watch the sway of that perfect ass with a mix of pride and worry twisting inside me. I trust her skills, I do, but things might not go as planned and then she’ll be in danger.

As she reaches the door, I want to call after her, to insist that I go with her… but no. She doesn’t need another man hovering and running block for her.

She needs to know that I believe in her ability to take care of herself.

“You have your orders, big guy.” She chuckles as she leaves the room, but doesn’t look back. “I’ll be back before you even have time to miss me.”

And with that, she’s gone, leaving the room feeling a little emptier, a little colder. I stand there, my heart still racing from the kiss, the playful banter… but it’s the weight of her safety that lingers, like a heavy stone pressing on my chest.

I sigh and head to the kitchen. I’ll take a tray up to Jack, then I’ve got an errand to run. Pulling out my phone, I Google the location of the nearest supermarket.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Zane

The shadows of the rail yard close in around us, thick and oppressive, but the actual weight of the moment isn’t the darkness surrounding me—it’s the storm brewing within. I’ve got a flimsy grip on the rage simmering in my blood, my beast clawing its way out of me, demanding blood.

My hand drifts to the place I carved my chest—SCOTS. I would proudly wear Scottie’s name, but what the hell was I thinking? Of course it healed… I’m a Fondatori true-blood.

All my masochistic hacking did was leave a blood trail across the floor and risk me losing her forever. I can’t believe I attacked Tucker with a shard of mirror.

For fuck’s sake. If that wasn’t a wake-up call that I’ve lost my mind, I don’t know what would be. Not that it caused any damage. The giant brute just flicked me away like I was nothing more than a fly buzzing around his orbit.

What the fuck is that guy?

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