Page 37 of Pain in the Axe
She spun, her chest heaving and her face flushed. It would have been sexy as hell if I hadn’t been on the receiving end of a verbal assault.
With a finger in my face and a shaking hand, she continued her tirade. “You broke me, asshole. You tossed me aside for your true love. Your fucking trees.”
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. What the fuck kind of nonsense was she spouting? “You think I’ve been thriving over here?” I growled. “Take a look around, Dragonfly. I never recovered from losing you.”
We stood, staring each other down like angry bulls. Blood surged through my veins. My brain was in overdrive, and my body was ready to jump out of a plane or climb a mountain. That’s what this woman did to me. She wasn’t just a danger to my heart; she was a danger to my central nervous system.
I kept my focus locked on her, unblinking. I wouldn’t concede in my own house. We’d been having a pleasant evening until she’d escalated to name-calling. I could compartmentalize. I was a fucking adult, after all.
But my resolve slowly slipped away as I got lost in those molten brown eyes.
“It would have been better if you had just hit me with your truck—”
She cuffed the back of my neck hard, cutting me off, and said, “Fuck it.” Then she was pulling my lips down to hers.
Her kiss was angry and demanding and full of every emotion coursing through me. So I kissed her back, making sure she knew who was in charge.
She gripped my hair with both hands and in an instant, all my anger morphed into pure lust.
Our tongues tangled, and our hands squeezed and grasped as we kissed with wild urgency. God, her mouth was pure perfection. There was nothing timid or inexperienced about this woman. She was showing me exactly what she wanted, and I was more than happy to give it to her.
She pulled back, panting.
“You’re a really fucking good kisser,” she growled. “Makes up for your shitty personality.”
“I like you better when your mouth is busy,” I countered, pushing her back against the wall and pressing my lips to hers again.
Chapter 10
Chloe
“Danger. Danger,” my brain was screaming as I let him manhandle me.
When he traced a path down my neck with his lips, any delusions I had about stopping this flew right out the window. His touch lit me up inside, making me wild and hungry and reckless. His lips were firm, and his beard scratched at my face in the most delicious way. Those giant hands were all over my body, consuming me. He was so warm and strong and solid. I arched my back as he moved to my secret spot. The one spot below my ear that had a direct line to my clit.
How long had it been since I’d let go? Since I’d done something stupid?
This was undoubtedly very, very stupid, and yet it felt so right.
I’d spent the evening alternating between feeling simmering resentment and genuine affection for this man. How could he infuriate me so much one second and then hypnotize me with his tongue the next?
This was so bad. But fuck, it felt so good. And I couldn’t say no to the good right now.
I pushed on his chest and he pulled back, breaths sawing in and out of his lungs. This make-out session was hot and all, but I’d jumped him, so I should stop this, apologize, and get out of here.
He didn’t want me. He couldn’t. But the way he was looking at me, the heat in those eyes, and the way those big, strong hands currently gripped my ass said otherwise.
“Stop overthinking,” he commanded.
Fuck. How did he know me so well? I was having a full-blown argument with myself in my head.
He dipped closer and caged me against the wall. “Tell me what you want.”
What did I want? There was no way to explain it when I truly had no clue. My body and brain were screaming at me, and I couldn’t make sense of all the feelings swirling inside me.
I arched my back and dove in for another kiss, but he pulled back.
He trailed his knuckles over my jawline, sending a shiver through me. “Consent is sexy, Dragonfly. I need you to say the words.”
