Page 28 of Act of Passion

She put her cheek to his upper chest. “Can’t we just let this be what itis?”

Malik frowned. Was she rejecting him? No woman had ever done such a thing before. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not. He did know that her answer wasn’t acceptable. “I bet Edee would tell you to move in withme.”

Brooke laughed. “No. She’s commitment phobic. She’d run with me as quick as she could to save me from a life with just one man. That freaks her out big time. And should you somehow manage to sway her to your side, you’ll find I’m not so easy to convince. I’ll live with someone, someday, probably. If I ever get married or something like that. I never really gave it a lot ofthought.”

“So you’re saying you’d live with me if we were married?” heasked.

“You are so weird.” She took a deep breath. “I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life. And while I very much want to see you again, I’m not expecting you to commit to me or have me move in withyou.”

His lion tried to push up, wanting to dominate the situation and make her understand she was his. The damn suppression drugs were making him think irrationally. What was he doing asking her to move in with him? And why the hell was he entertaining marryingher?

She washuman.

It would never work orlast.

At some point, she’d notice he wasn’taging.

The idea was insane. When he opened his mouth to say as much, something altogether different came out of him. “Marry me. Move in with me. We’re meant to be together. My house has plenty ofroom.”

Brooke snorted and rolled off him, going to her stomach next to him on the bed. “For a guy who claims he’s not much into hanging around for the next morning, you’re going out of your way to dispel that theory,” she said, gifting him a smile. “I should say yes and then force you to hold up your end of it all. Somehow I think you’ll run in the other direction the minute this goes from pillow talk to areality.”

He rolled onto his side and began to rub her back lightly. “One way to find out. Sayyes.”

She grinned more. “Okay, yes. Let’s get married and move in together. Hurry up, if we get dressed now we can try to find somewhere to marry us. Ooo, can it be on camelback?”

“Yes,” Malik said, excitement racing through him. He made a move to get out of the bed to get dressed but she caught hiswrist.

“What are you doing?” sheasked.

“Getting ready to take you and marry you on the back of a camel,” he said, as if it was self-explanatory.

Brooke lost it, laughing so hard that she stopped makingnoise.

His ego deflated. The woman thought he was joking? He did not joke about marriage or commitment. In fact, the topics were as far from funny as one could get in his mind. The very idea of such things used to sicken him. He only slept with as many women as he did because he required it. And with Brooke, he’d only be with her. He wouldn’t need anotherwoman.

“If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself claimed,” he said, before stiffening at his ownwords.

A mocking laugh came from her. “Oh yeah. Shaking here. Claimed? Like baggage at anairport?”

“Like mine for eternity,” he said, reaching down and stroking himself, the fierce need to mount her sweeping over him. He leaned and kissed her shoulder, his gums burning with the need to shift and allow his lion teeth toemerge.

Brooke glanced down the length of him. “Do you ever getenough?”

“Of you? No,” he said, kissing her shoulder once more. “Have you had enough ofme?”

“This is going to sound really weird, and I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but I’m not sure I could ever have enough of you,” she confessed. “Is this normal? I think we’ve already established that I don’t have anything to compare this to, but it seems intense. Really friggin’intense.”

Itwas.

“That being said, I’m not agreeing to move in with you or marry you,” she said with asnort.

Malik slid up and over her, the entire length of his body covering hers. He used a knee to spread her legs and Brooke lifted her backside, as if sensing what he and his animal needed. He needed to dominate. He needed to know she wasn’t really rejecting him. He needed to mount her. He needed to taste her flesh while hedid.

He kissed her back, trailing a line down it to her backside. Malik nibbled playfully at her ass cheeks, wanting to be buried between them, but he knew she wasn’t ready for that yet. He continued planting kisses down the back of her thighs, to her calves and then to herfeet.

She giggled as he kissed the bottom of her foot. “Thattickles.”

He licked it, making her jerk and laugh more. Her light energy and happiness was infectious. She made him feel young again. He nibbled his way back up her, biting her ass cheek slightly harder than before, causing her to gasp. He kissed the spot he’d bitten and then took hold of her hips, lifting her off the bed more. He went to his knees and gripped his cock, stroking it, lining up with her wetcore.

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