Page 110 of Saints & Sinners

Hunter’s hands gripped my thighs, anchoring me in place as his mouth moved with devastating precision.

Heat instantly bloomed low in my belly, spreading outward in waves.

I gasped, threading my fingers into his hair, tugging lightly, and he groaned against me—a low vibrating sound that only made the tension inside me coil tighter.

Every slow, deliberate stroke of his tongue pushed me closer to the edge, and I couldn’t stop the whimpering sounds that escaped my lips.

Hunter pulled back just enough to glance up at me, his lipsglistening. “I love it when you fall apart for me.”

I didn’t have the strength to form a coherent response. My head tipped back, and I was lost in the way he moved against me, relentless and patient all at once.

The fire crackled ahead of us, and as the pleasure finally shattered through me, it was like falling. It was... like gravity.

Hunter didn’t let go until I was trembling in his grasp, barely able to stand. Only then did he rise slowly, catching me before I could collapse entirely.

His lips brushed my ear as he held me steady. “I could spend forever learning how to make you feel like that.”

The words sank deep, curling around something fragile in my chest.

He wasn’t smirking at me when he leaned back just enough to meet my eyes. He wasn’t trying to tease me. If anything, he sounded as though he was making me a promise.

I swallowed hard as I leaned into him, completely undone.

The world could have ended at that moment, and I wouldn’t have cared.

I almost told him then.

I love you.

The words hovered on my tongue, but I buried them deep.

Not yet.

Instead, I tightened my hold on him and pressed the side of my head against his chest, letting myself fall even harder.

Chapter Fifty–Three

“We should probably head back,” Hunter muttered, clearly not wanting to move after we’d spent the past thirty minutes either talking or him between my legs.

The fire was dying down, its glow flickering low as reality crept back in—the ball, the competition announcements.

I nodded, smoothing out my dress and trying to adjust myself so I didn’t look like I’d just—God.

My hair was a lost cause as I raked my fingers through its curls, anyway, hoping it looked somewhat presentable. By the time we slipped back into the ballroom, the warm lights and loud chatter crashed over me, making me wish I was back in the quiet woods with Hunter.

Marnie was straight away in my face, pulling me back from Hunter. “Where the hell have you been?” she hissed. “I looked everywhere!”

I glanced back at Hunter, his eyes on me even as Silas and Brandon joined him.

“Oh,” Marnie muttered, realization dawning on her. “Oh, Grace, don’t tell me you...”

I groaned. “Marnie—”

“Nope! Just because I said I’m with you for anything you needdoesn’t mean I want details of your sexcapades.”

Before I could even try to defend myself, Nadael’s voice rose above the crowd, and everyone stilled.

“Attention, everyone!” she called, standing gracefully on a podium, her silver gown glinting in the light. “If you could all please remain where you are. The competition announcements are about to begin!”

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