Page 36 of Leather & Lies

“Lie to yourself all you want, sweetheart.” His free hand slides down my side, possessive and sure. “Your body knows the truth.”

I buck against his grip, but he just presses closer, using his weight to hold me still. The rough wood of the wall scrapes my back. Every point of contact between us burns.

“You arranged all of this.” I manage to keep my voice steady despite the way his thumb is tracing maddening circles on my hip. “The trail, the timing, the ride before the storm, the clothes in that trunk. You’re just playing another one of your games.”

“You think I planned for you to kiss me?” His laugh is dark honey poured over gravel. “That was all you, little hellcat. Your choice. Your surrender.”

“I didn’t?—”

“No?” He releases my wrists but doesn’t step back. Instead, his hand slides up my bare stomach, mapping my skin like territory he’s already claimed. “Then push me away. Tell me to stop.”

I should. God, I should. But my hands fist in his shirt instead, pulling him closer.

A crack of thunder rattles the windows. The storm is directly overhead now, wild and untamed. Like the need clawing through my chest.

Jackson’s hand finds my breast, and coherent thought vanishes. He knows exactly how to touch me, the perfect pressure to make me gasp. To make me arch into his palm like a cat begging to be stroked.

“Look at you.” His voice drops to a whisper. “Fighting yourself harder than you’ve ever fought me. Let go, little hellcat. Let me give you what you need.”

“What I need?” My laugh is shaky. “Or whatyouneed?”

His fingers tighten, not quite painful. A warning. “What makes you think they’re different?”

Before I can answer, he kisses me again. Slower this time, deeper. Like he’s mapping every corner of my mouth, learning my taste. His other hand tangles in my wet hair, holding me right where he wants me.

And god help me, I let him.

The storm rages outside, but in here, something more dangerous is breaking loose. Something that feels terrifyingly like the surrender he demands.

His mouth leaves mine to trace fire down my throat. When he finds that spot behind my ear that makes me whimper, I feel his smile against my skin.

“I’ve wanted you for so long.” His voice is gravel and sin. “Watching you work those stallions. So fierce. So fucking fearless.” His teeth scrape my pulse point. “Knowing all that wildness would be mine—mine to claim, to worship.”

The possessive growl in his voice should anger me. Instead, it pools hot and liquid in my core. I’m slipping, drowning in sensation. In him.

“I’m not one of your animals.” But my hands are already working at his shirt buttons, desperate to touch skin.

He catches my wrists again, grip just shy of bruising. “No. You’re so much more dangerous.” His eyes are midnight dark, pupils blown with need. “And I’m going to enjoy breaking you so much more.”

A whimper escapes me—need and defiance tangled into something feral. Something that makes his control slip, just for a heartbeat.

That’s all I need.

I surge up, using his grip on my wrists for leverage, and bite the cord of muscle in his neck. Hard.

His curse is explosive. He spins us, slamming me back against the wall with enough force to drive the air from my lungs. One huge thigh shoves between mine, pinning me in place.

“You want to play rough, little hellcat?” The darkness in his voice makes me shiver. “Be very sure.”

I grind against his thigh in answer, shameless and demanding. His control snaps.

The kiss is brutal this time. His hands are everywhere—tangling in my hair, skating down my sides, gripping my hips to pull me harder against him. Each touch brands me. Marks me as his.

Thunder crashes outside, but I barely hear it over the roar of blood in my ears. Over my own desperate sounds as he works his way down my throat, my collarbone, the swell of my breast.

“I need—” The words tear free before I can stop them.

He stills. “What was that?”

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