Page 5 of Savage Promises

“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Lennox,” Shane says, but there’s no warning in his voice. Just need.

I boldly stare at him despite the way my knees are knocking together. “I know exactly what I want.”

“Fuck,” he curses for the first time. He’s usually very proper around me. “I’ll give you that kiss. Me. Because...” He cups my cheek. “Because I’ve wanted it, too. I only wantyou. And I’ve hated myself for wanting to feel your lips on me.”

A shiver bolts down my spine, my breath catching as Shane’s words sink in. He wants me, too? But... Hehateshimself for wanting me?

My fingers curl into his shirt, like holding on to him is the only thing keeping me grounded. A slow, dizzying burn spreads through my limbs. My heart slams against my ribs, every pulse a drumbeat offinally, finally, finally.

“Then stop hating yourself,” I whisper, my voice shaking as I tilt my chin up to bring our lips level and oh-so close. “Stop fighting it.”

“You’re so damn innocent.” He grips my hair in a near-painful hold, his breath ragged against my mouth. “And mine. You’refuckingmine.”

Shane kisses me and everything juststops. I swear the air between us crackles like a live wire. His lips are warm and strong, softer than I imagined. I press into him and let Shane set the pace, opening and closing my mouth in sync with his. He’s so damn gentle at first. Tentative.

Theneverythingchanges.

With a sexy little grunt, Shane deepens the kiss. His tongue swirls with mine, and my entire body trembles with a sensation I’ve never felt before.

I feel his heartbeat pounding in rhythm with my own, suggesting that Shane might want to take this further. But am I ready for more?

His big hands slide down to my waist, pulling me ontop of him. I’m sandwiched between him and the steering wheel, my legs splayed open across his thighs. Even in tight jeans, I feel a bulge in his pants rubbing against my center while his mouth devours me.

I see stars as an ache blooms between my legs.

“God, Lennox,” Shane moans. “Your mouth makes me want to fuck you right here, right now.”

His confession leaves me speechless, my body painfully tight with want.

But the distinctive sound of gunfire wrenches Shane away from me. He turns his head in the direction of the jolting noise at the end of the block and his jaw drops.

My gaze follows his. The powerful gaits of his older brothers and the red hue of their hair in the moonlight are unmistakable. They’ve got someone in their grasp. It doesn’t mean anything to me until a familiar slope of shoulders is thrust into the glow of a streetlamp.

My father.

My stomach drops as Dad shifts from side to side. His face twists in a scowl as he argues with Griffin Quinlan, the second oldest brother in Shane’s family. The tension between them is visible even from a distance. There’s faint yelling and clenched fists. Whatever I’m seeing isn’t a deal or a drop-off.

It’s a warning.

Shane’s body goes rigid against mine. The mood and our stolen moment shatter, reality crashing back like the tide.

“Ah, bloody hell.” Shane swiftly maneuvers me into my seat, his mask back in place. “Christ, I’m sorry. This was wrong.”

Tears well in my throat. “What? Why?”

He shakes his head, his voice breaking. “Because a Quinlan can never be with a Donnelly.”

Shane revs the engine and doesn’t say another wordto me as he drives off.

The silence thickens for a new reason, coiled tight like a thread holding a boulder and ready to snap. Shane’s jaw flexes, the muscle ticking.

I steal a glance at him, but his eyes stay locked on the road, his expressionless face carved from stone. Once again.

He brings me back to my house. But he stares athishome. Quinlan Manor sits there in the foggy distance. The beacon of his family’s power must remind him of who he is and his responsibility to the Quinlan legacy.

“Don’t say a word about this, Lennox. Forget this ever happened.”

Forget this ever happened?