Page 69 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

“Fear is all I have left.”

“Push it away now. It’s useless.”

“I don’t know how.”

He stares at me for a moment, his fingers still caressing my jaw. Then he says, “I’ll show you.”

And before I can process his words, his lips fall against mine. There’s tenderness there, some anger, and a whole lot of frustration. I feel the passion and the tension that’s been building between us steadily over the past several weeks.

His fingers tighten around my neck, but for once, I’m not scared about being hurt.

Some kinds of pain can heal.

I press my body against his, grappling with the collar of his shirt, desperate to cast it aside. He seems to know what I’m thinking, because a second later, he pulls it off and throws it down on the sand.

Then his hands land on my dress, and he starts tearing it apart like a savage. Buttons pop, clasps come undone, fabric rips, and the sea breeze kisses my bared skin.

When we fall back against the soft, fine sand, I feel his hard length against my thigh. His fingers push aside the fabric of my panties and he explores the folds of my flesh.

I’m wet, trembling, and desperate to feel him inside me. My head is in tatters, utterly confused as to how we could land here after the number of detours we’d taken.

It doesn’t matter,Charity whispers in my mind.Fuck when you’re horny. Make love when you need to feel less alone.

His lips leave a trail of heat down my neck before landing on my breasts. I gasp with want as he rips my bra off and tosses it aside.

Then his lips fall over my nipple and my eyes close in rapture. I grip the back of his head as he sucks me into his mouth, unleashing a shiver that travels all the way down my spine before settling at my toes.

Before I can recover from the feeling, he pushes his cock inside me.

My eyes flash open and I catch a glimpse of the endless midnight sky hanging over us. The stars wink at me, and I shudder at the tentative happiness that’s sneaking into my heart.

Happiness is dangerous. Mostly because it can never last. Particularly not here. Not in this place. Not with this man.

But I can’t stop it.

Because I am weak, maybe.

Or maybe because I’m just sick of being so scared all the time.

So I part my legs further and invite him in.Push it away now,Phoenix told me.Your fear is useless.He slams into me—once, twice, again and again. Pleasure floods my senses and crowds out every other emotion that threatens to break the moment.

His body feels gigantic over mine, but I long for the heat of him. The strength of his hips, driving against mine.

I realize a second later that I’m moaning. I have no control over myself. He has me untethered. It almost feels like I’m flying. Like I’ve thrown off the fear as if it was useless ballast and I’m soaring up and up and up.

But when the orgasm looms on the horizon, the fear resurfaces immediately.

Phoenix notices. He doesn’t stop thrusting. But he takes my cheeks in one massive hand, presses his forehead against mine, and whispers in that hair-raising voice of his, “Stop, little lamb. Stop thinking.”

I can feel myself at that crossroads. Fear and overthinking lie in the one direction. I’m not exactly sure what the other path holds. Hope? Bravery? A future? I can’t be sure until I walk it.

For right now, I want to fly.

So I close my eyes and throw myself off the cliff of the moment.

Seconds later, I come harder than I’ve ever come in my life. He does, too. We ride the waves out together, clinging to one another as if we’re the last two souls alive.

His breath heats my neck as he sinks into me. I’m not sure how long we lie there. When he finally gets to his feet, I sit up in the sand.

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