Page 83 of Protect Thy Enemy

And I let him.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Holden

Iknew she would taste sweet.

But I wasn’t ready for this.

Her lips part under mine, soft and warm, but the fire in her kiss ignites something darker inside me. My hand fists in her hair, tilting her head back, forcing her to let me take more. She doesn’t fight it, not this time.

She fits against me too perfectly, her body soft and pliant under my hands, and it takes everything in me not to lose control and rush this. But if I only get tonight, I’ll be damned if I don’t savor every second.

Her fingers dig into my shoulders, her breath hitching when I press her harder against the wall. I don’t think she realizes what she’s doing, how she’s unraveling me one touch at a time.

Her head falls back, and I take the opening, trailing my mouth down her neck, nipping at her skin just hard enough to leave a mark.

She gasps, her body arching into me, her hands pulling me closer like she needs this as much as I do.

“Holden,” she whispers, and it’s my undoing.

I pause, my forehead resting against hers, my breath coming hard and uneven. I don’t want to stop, but I need her to know.

“I heard you,” I murmur.

Her eyes snap to mine, wide and unsteady. “What?”

“That night,” I continue, my thumb brushing her jaw. “In your room.”

Her breath stutters, and I can feel her tense beneath my hands.

“I heard you,” I repeat, my voice dropping lower. “Whispering my name while you touched yourself.”

Her lips part, but no sound comes out.

“You didn’t know I was there,” I murmur, my hands sliding down to grip her hips. “But I heard my name fall from these sinful fucking lips as you fell apart.”

Her cheeks flush, her eyes searching mine, and for a moment, she looks like she might push me away. But then her nails bite into my skin, her breath quickening as she presses her body closer.

The tension snaps.

I capture her lips again, harder this time, taking what we've danced around far too long. She moans against my mouth, and the sound goes straight to my dick, every ounce of control I had left obliterated.

My hands roam her body, slow but possessive. Staking a claim. She’s mine tonight. No mission, no cover, no pretense. Just mine.

Her legs wrap around my waist, pulling me closer, and I grind against her, letting her feel exactly how much I want this.

“Is this what you went to that bar for?” I growl, my lips brushing her ear. “A quick fix? Blow off some steam? But you knew that wouldn’t be enough.”

She doesn’t answer, her head tilting back as her lips part in a gasp.

“Answer me,” I demand, my hand sliding under her shirt, my palm skimming the heated skin of her stomach.

Her breath hitches, and she grips my hair, tugging hard enough to make me groan. “You’re such an asshole,” she mutters, her voice trembling but defiant.

“The asshole you want, the one youneed,” I counter, my mouth trailing down her neck, my teeth grazing her collarbone.

Her laugh is shaky, breathless. “Shut up and keep going.”