Page 129 of Risky Passion

No one was there.

Good.

I moved quickly, my bare feet making almost no sound as I padded up the hall to Tory’s door. My heart was beating way too fast for a guy who’d faced down worse odds than this. I stood there, hesitating, until I realized I was overthinking again.

Just knock, Jaxson.

I tapped lightly.

No answer.

I waited, then cracked the door open, guilt already pooling in my gut.

“Hey, Tory,” I said softly. “It’s Jaxson.”

The room was dark, but the faint scent of soap and something sweet and familiar floated in the air . . . Tory.

A muffled sound came from the bed, and I stepped back.

“Sorry,” I said quickly, retreating.

“Jaxson?” Her voice was groggy, soft, but unmistakably friendly.

I froze in the doorway. “Yeah, it’s me. I, uh . . . just wanted to check if you’re okay.”

In the dim light, she sat up, her hair falling over her shoulders in loose waves. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and before Icould take a step closer, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around me.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close, and something inside me shifted, something warm, unexpected, and long overdue. Holding her felt right, like it was exactly where I was supposed to be. The knot in my chest unraveled, and for the first time in forever, I didn’t just feel okay, I felt damn near invincible.

“You okay?” we both asked at the exact same time.

She giggled softly, and damn, her laughter was like a balm I hadn’t known I needed. It was light, a little breathless, and completely disarming.

She reached for my hand, her fingers sliding into mine, and gave a gentle tug.

“Come here,” she said, leading me back to the bed.

My damn mind skipped to the part where we tore off each other’s clothes and got messy all over again. I forced myself to focus and stay in the moment, but it wasn’t easy . . . not with her sitting so close our thighs brushed, her fingers still laced with mine. And then there was her scent; soft, clean, and utterly her. It wrapped around me, making it damn near impossible to think about anything else.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, keeping her voice low. “We saw the footage of the warehouse. It must’ve been terrifying in there.”

I shrugged, downplaying it. “Onyx and I have been through worse.”

Her fingers tightened around mine. “Maybe, but still . . .”

I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I nudged closer, draping my arm over her shoulder and pulling her against me.

I felt like a damn high school jock on his first date; awkward, overthinking every move. I had never felt this way around a woman before, and it rattled me. Then again, Tory wasn’t just any woman.

She was something more.

She was in my bones.

She tilted her head up, and the faint light spilling through the gaps in the curtain caught the golden flecks in her eyes, but there was something deeper there, something that made my pulse race.

Desire.

It wasn’t loud or obvious, but it was undeniable. Her gaze locked onto mine, and the room seemed smaller, like the world had narrowed down to just the two of us. She didn’t say a word, but the way she looked at me like she was begging me to kiss her, made my cock thump like a jackhammer.

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