Page 17 of Savage

And at that moment, with the scent of her skin in the air and the memory of her lips still lingering, I stopped pretending I had any self-control left at all.

7

TAMARA

Icouldn’t sleep. The bed was comfortable, the room was quiet, and the door was locked. But none of that mattered. Not when my thoughts kept spinning.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw medical charts and redacted files, patients’ names I’d never find again. My chest ached like I was holding my breath and forgetting how to let it go.

I finally gave up and slid out of bed. Padding across the room in nothing but Talon’s shirt, I wrapped my arms around myself and stared out the window. I didn’t know how long I stood there before I heard the door open behind me.

I stared out at the trees as Talon stepped inside the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. When I turned to look at him, I saw that his shoulders were tight, his jaw set, and his hair looked like he’d run his fingers through it a dozen times.

Then his gaze landed on me and dragged down the length of my body. His eyes turned even more intense. Practically burning.

My knees went weak at his look, and I gripped the window frame to hold myself up.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stood there, fists clenched at his sides as though he was trying to hold himself back.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I whispered.

His eyes were storm-dark now, heavy with heat and something deeper as he took a step forward. Then another.

“I keep telling myself to go slow,” he muttered, as though he was talking to himself more than me. “You’ve been through too much. You need time. Space.”

I swallowed hard. “But?”

His chest rose on a sharp inhale. Then he exhaled through gritted teeth. “Fuck it.”

I barely had time to blink before I was in his arms. His mouth crashed down on mine and stole every thought from my head. My lips parted, and his tongue swept inside.

Nothing about his kiss was soft or tentative. It demanded everything.

It didn’t take long for me to melt into him. As I clung to his shoulders, Talon angled his head to deepen the kiss. All I could do was hold on while he devoured me.

His hands slid down to my hips and gripped hard, dragging me against his chest like he couldn’t stand even an inch of space between us. I gasped, but the sound disappeared into his mouth.

Our tongues tangled, and his teeth nipped at my bottom lip before he lifted his head to stare down at me. “If you need more time, you gotta tell me now, baby.”

I was overwhelmed by how fast everything was happening, but I knew what I wanted. So I didn’t hesitate to say, “I don’t need anything except you.”

A groan tore from his throat, and then I was swept off my feet. He carried me across the room as though I weighed nothing. One of his hands fisted the back of my shirt—theone he’d given me the first night—as though he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go.

He laid me on the mattress like I was something precious, even as his eyes burned with sensual intent. Then he trailed his mouth down my throat, and my heart pounded with need.

When he pulled away, I let out a small whimper.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’m not going anywhere. Been holding back since the second you walked into that bar. Not gonna waste my chance now that I have you under me.”

He stripped his leather vest and shirt off in one rough motion, and my gaze swept down his broad chest to take in the black ink on his right shoulder, side, and hip. When I met his gaze again, his eyes were full of heat. “I’m glad you finally stopped.”

His hands tugged at the bottom of the shirt. The one I’d slept in since I got to the compound.

I arched my back off the mattress to make it easier for him to rip the material over my head. After he tossed it on the floor, his gaze focused on my chest. My breasts ached, nipples pebbling under his stare.

“Fuck, baby. Your tits are so damn perfect.”

He lowered his head, and his beard scraped against my skin as his lips wrapped around one of the stiffened peaks. My fingers delved into his thick hair, and I shivered against him when he sucked my nipple into the back of his mouth.

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