Page 98 of An Inconvenient Marriage
We stood toe to toe. His eyes boring into mine while my heart slammed against my rib cage like a beast wanting to break free from its cage. It was wild. It was loud. And it hurt.
I wanted to turn around and run away. But he’d trapped me in his gaze.
“Do you even know what you’re asking for?”
His words were hard, and when he lifted his hand to stroke my cheek, I expected his touch to be rough. It wasn’t. His fingers trailed over my skin, soft and delicate.
My already aching heart squeezed even more.
“We’ll cross a line,” he gritted out. “Going back will be impossible.”
“I know.”
A pained expression flitted over his features. “Crossing this line won’t change anything. I still can’t give you anything more.”
“I know.” My heart understood this, but somehow saying it out loud just made it more permanent. I didn’t like the feeling. “I’m not asking for forever, Zach.” I tasted it for what it was. A bald-faced lie. “You’ve already given more than you’ll ever realize.”
“Mierda.” He hooked a hand around the back of my neck and dragged my face to his. With his forehead on mine, he whispered against my lips, “What am I going to do with you?”
“Make me yours.”
His mouth was on mine not even a breath later. But before I had time to fully indulge, he broke the kiss and turned me in his arms. With my back to his front, he dug his fingers into my waist.
His tongue swept up my neck, drawing a shiver from my body, and when he nipped at my ear, I couldn’t stop a gasp from slipping out.
“I can’t promise I’ll be gentle,” he rasped. “Thoughts of being buried deep inside you have consumed me since the day you walked down the aisle in your black dress.” A kiss touched my skin. “Since your blue stare sliced a path through my soul.” Another kiss. “Since your touch burned its way through the darkness inside me.”
His fingers dug in deeper, yanking my body flush against his. He was hard, unbelievably so, and all I wanted to do was push even more into him. But his hold was so iron-tight, I couldn’t even move an inch.
“You’ve been driving me in-fucking-sane. Consuming me day and night. I’m afraid my hold on my control will snap.” He paused, and I heard the worry in his tone when he spoke again. “I don’t want to hurt you or be something you regret.”
He was talking about Henry. Without him saying it, I knew exactly what he meant, and he couldn’t have been more wrong. I could never regret even a minute with him. Every moment, every touch was tattooed on my heart for all of eternity.
But I could never tell him that.
I covered his hands with mine and slipped my fingers through his. “I don’t want gentle, Zach… I just want you. All of you.”
A muttered curse filled the air before he spun me around. I barely had time to process what was happening when his arm snaked around me and his lips were on mine. Bodies smashed together, his tongue did wicked things inside my mouth.
He kissed me with a hunger and urgency I’d never experienced before. And that was saying a lot since this man was well-versed in the art of kissing me stupid. He tasted and savored while his hands slowly trailed up my back toward my zipper.
The moment he reached it, he tugged it down in one swift motion. My dress parted, but even the evening breeze wasn’t enough to cool my heated skin.
Especially not when Zach growled, “I’ve been waiting all damn night to do this,” before hooking his fingers around the edge of the material and yanking it off. The lace and chiffon pooled at my feet at the same time as he stepped back to admire me.
I stood before him in nothing more than flesh-colored underwear, and yet he was staring at me like he wanted to drop to his knees and worship me. And maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what I wanted him to do.
But not now.
This wasn’t just about me. It was about us.
And he was still way too dressed.
Ignoring the warning burning in his eyes, I closed the distance between us and immediately started working on his shirt. “It’s not fair,” I mock-complained. “You get to look, but what do I get?”
The first four buttons easily gave way under my fingers, but before I started on the fifth one, I opened his shirt and pressed my mouth to his chest. And when he sucked in a deep stuttering breath, I did it again, just lower this time.
I then made quick work of the rest of his buttons and his belt and pants, too. As soon as it joined my dress, I reached between my breasts to unclip my bra, but Zach’s hand shot out, immediately stopping me in my tracks.
