Page 84 of Property of Anchor

I raised a brow.“You like when I’m mad at you?”

He leaned in, lips brushing my ear.“I wanted to fuck you right there on the bar the second you called meGrantin front of everyone.”

My breath hitched.“Maybe I’ll get an attitude more often then,” I whispered.

He growled low in his throat and lifted me off my feet.One arm locked under my thighs, the other firm against my back.My arms went around his neck automatically as he carried me across the room.His mouth found mine mid-step, and the kiss was rough, messy, and hungry.

By the time my back hit the bed, I was breathless.

“You drive me insane,” he muttered against my lips as his hands skated down my ribs and gripped my hips.“You know that?”

I looked up at him with my chest rising and falling fast.“Maybe a little bit of crazy is what you need.”

His mouth curved into a wicked smirk.“Doll, I needyou.All of you.”

He kissed down the column of my throat, his breath hot and heavy against my skin.My head tipped back, a soft moan escaping me as his hands slid under the hem of my tank top.His palms were rough, and the contrast sent goosebumps skittering across my body.

“Take it off,” I whispered, tugging on the bottom of his shirt.

He leaned back just enough to shrug off his cut and yank the shirt over his head, tossing it to the side.Then he sat up to watch me peel my tank top off, doing so slowly and deliberately.His eyes burned into me, and I felt the full weight of his gaze as I laid back, heart pounding.

He hovered above me.His expression softer now.

“This, us, it’s more than I ever saw coming,” he murmured and brushed my hair back from my face.“But I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”

I reached up and touched his cheek.“Then stop talking and kiss me.”

His mouth found mine again, slower this time.Deeper.His kiss wasn’t a question; it was a promise.That I was his.That I was safe.That no matter what storm rolled in, we’d be standing side by side.

We took our time, exploring each other like we hadn’t already memorized every line and curve.Every sigh, every shiver, every breath between us felt amplified by what we’d been through, what we were still facing.Maybe we didn’t have forever, but right here, right now?

We hadthis.

When he finally sank into me, it was with a reverence that stole the air from my lungs.We moved together in a rhythm that felt inevitable.Like gravity.Like fate.

My hands curled against his back.His name slipped from my lips like a prayer.

And when it ended, when we collapsed in a tangle of limbs and breath and whispered promises.I felt like I had been completely unraveled and put back together by the man who now lay beside me.

Anchor’s arm came around me and pulled me into his side.Our skin was slick with heat, and our breathing still uneven.

“I’m not letting anything happen to you,” he said against my temple.“Not now.Not ever.”

I traced my fingers over his chest, right where his heart beat steady and strong.“I know.”

And I did.

Anchor

God damn, Pearl could get an attitude, but fuck if I didn’t love it.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Pearl

Hot dogs.

That was the first thing I smelled when I stepped back into the common room of the clubhouse.The place had a weird charm somewhere between rustic biker bar and woodsy lodge.Anchor had one arm draped around my shoulder as we made our way in, and I wasn’t surprised to see nearly every club member already grabbing paper plates and cracking beers.It was early evening, the sun just beginning to dip behind the tree line, and the haunted house was scheduled to open in an hour.

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