Page 109 of Black Sheep

“Where are we going?”

“My place,” is all he says.

I slide in. He shuts the door. I thought my head was spinning before. I had no idea.

Three blocks later, he catches my hand and raises it to his mouth. The open-mouthed kiss, followed by a slow lick of my palm, draws a low gasp.

And a curse from him. “We should’ve taken the limo. I could be balls deep inside you by now.”

My free hand caresses the butter-soft leather of my seat. “I like this car.”

White teeth flash in a carnal smile. “It likes you too. Very much.” His voice throbs with torrid sex. He starts to raise my hand again. His phone rings.

His body goes rigid, and the thigh he lays my hand on is iron hard with tension.

Letting go of me, he answers. “Ronan.”

He listens for a minute before his gaze finds mine. A subtle nod punches relief through me. “Glad to hear it. No, Troy will come around. And I’ll take care of Bolton.”

He stays silent for another minute before he exhales heavily. There’s determination in there. But also regret. “I can’t promise that, brother. So I won’t.” His voice is deathly rough. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

The screen goes black, and he shoves the phone into his pocket.

I’m almost too afraid to ask. “What did he want you to promise?”

His jaw flexes. “That everyone will come out of this…whole. Or at all.”

Terror blazes through me. “What…what are you saying?”

“That I’m not making promises. To anyone.” He reaches for my hand.

I snatch it away. “What happened to wanting more? To enough not being enough? Were those just words?”

He freezes for a moment before he traps my hand again. “I meant every single word. For however long we have, I want it all.”

However long we have.

I can’t think beyond those fatalistic words. Can’t think to a time in my future when Axel Rutherford won’t be there when he’s been at the front and back of my mind every single day since we met. Wanting vengeance kept him alive in my soul, searing him into the fabric of my existence in a way that bound us.

The thought that he won’t be…

I remain silent as we roar through traffic toward the Upper East Side. His jaw is still set as we cross the breathtaking lobby of his Park Avenue apartment building. The concierge’s deferential greeting is met with a tense nod. Axel’s stride is almost punishing as he hustles me into the elevator.

He’s on me before the doors are fully shut. Trapped against the elevator wall, I can only stare up at him as narrowed eyes rake my face to rest on my mouth. “The second I taste those lips I won’t be able to stop. So let’s deal with what’s running through that head of yours first, hmm?” Despite his words, his hips push into me, the thick rod of his cock making possessive demands, promising immeasurable highs.

My fists ball on his chest, and I push. I succeed only because he lets me. “What if I want that promise?”

He exhales. A muscle jumps in his jaw. “There are only three things you want that I can’t give you, Cleo.”

My freedom. His innocence. His word on this.

The first I should be fighting tooth and nail for. The lack of the second had until recently fuelled my vengeance. But it’s the third that’s dominating my thoughts now.

I’m beginning to lose all perspective, and I can no more lay blame for that on Axel than I can stop breathing.

What is happening to me?

I breathe in. Out. My soul still flails.

---