Page 171 of Saving Her

“You’re right. I couldn’t get away from you fast enough.” He looms over me as I press into the cold plaster, foot to foot, almost nose to nose. “Because you’re in my fucking head, Penny. You’re under my goddamn skin. I can’t help you when I’m like this.”

Every inch of me thrums, wanting to attack and succumb in equal measure. “I’m sorry I’m such a burden.” I grind my teeth. “But I’ve been saying that from the start.”

“Stop.” He growls the word, so close to me. So painfully, agonizingly close his breath brushes my mouth. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

He stares at me, the intensity climbing into my chest. Every part of me reacts. My heart. My pulse. Everything except my mind which goes blank.

I’m dumbstruck over what to do, caught speechless under the heavy weight of yearning.

I want too much from this man. His guidance. His attention. I want it all.

“Mindless,” he murmurs as he swoops forward, smashing his lips against mine.

I gasp into the kiss, my palms instinctively pushing his chest, my nails digging deep to stop the attack. But as fast as my panic arrives, it flees, allowing a crazy clarity to sink in.

My pushing turns to grabbing. My digging fingers cling. I scramble to find a stronghold to withstand the madness, yet all that remains is warmth and frightening exhilaration.

He punishes me with his mouth, his hands clutching my hips.

I’ve been forced to kiss before. But I’ve never kissed like this. Never when my body demanded more connection than the force could provide.

I should hate this. Instead, it feels like home. I revel in his warmth. I succumb to the hard press of his chest against mine and the determined lashing of his tongue.

Then, as forcefully as his kiss arrived, it vanishes.

He retreats. One step after another. Again.

Revulsion consumes him just like it did the last time. I can see it.

I slump back against the wall, my fingers raising to my lips as if the touch will soften the burn. “Did you do that to shut me up?” I ask, breathless.

“For the love of sanity, Penny. You’ve got no idea what’s going on here.” He rakes his hands through his hair. “Don’t you get it?Thisis why I left.”

He stalks back toward me, body tense.

I shrink into the wall, a little nervous. A little scared. But it’s not of him.Neverof Luca. I’m frightened of how much I want him.

“This is exactly why I had to get out of here. Because you’re still petrified of me.” He shoves his hands against the wall at either side of my head, caging me, the rapid rise and fall of his chest animalistic. “Because all I can think about is wanting you more than my next breath, yet you scamper away from me.”

“I don’t scamper—”

“Yeah, you do. And you should, because what I want to do to you is far from good, Penny. I want to fuck you within an inch of your life. If I had my way I’d shatter all your progress by taking what I want. What Ineed.So don’t for a goddamn second think I want you out of here, because having you near me is all I’ve wanted from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

I suck in a sharp breath. Unblinking. Unmoving.

He chuckles. Grins. Neither are kind. “See? Now do you understand?”

No, I don’t. It doesn’t make sense.

“You’re lying,” I whisper.

“No, I lie every time I keep distance between us. All I want is your body on mine. I lie when you go to bed at night and I pretend I don’t want you sleeping beside me. I lie every goddamn day pretending I’m not obsessed with you because I know I’m not good enough, gentle enough, fucking calm enough.”

He creates a whirlwind of emotion inside me. A tornado I’m stuck in the middle of. “You’re not making sense.”

He grinds his teeth, his shoulders bunching. “I ran because I can’t quit noticing how incredible you are. You might be oblivious to your gorgeousness, but believe me, I’m not. I’ve had a front-row seat to the recovery of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I get tortured on the daily by her strength. By her fucking unshakable determination to get up every time she’s knocked down. And as fucking perverted as it feels after what you’ve been through, my dick takes notice, too.”

I lean further against the wall, attempting to distance myself from my confusion.

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