Page 23 of Bed of Thorns

“I’ll spare you the gory details.” He laughed bitterly. “My father has many secrets, Mercedes. He’s damn good at lying, which is why my mother is dead.”

“Wait a minute. I thought your mother died of cancer.”

His look of uncertainty shifted to one of determination. Still, something seemed off about his memory.

His laugh continued. “That’s what he wants you to believe. That’s just one of the many lies he told your mother.”

I thought about the first time my sweet mother had brought Fernando to our house and introduced him. She’d already seemed very much in love. Had he conned her all these years? Yes, it was more than just possible. He’d managed to have her believe he was a decent man. Lying was easy for him.

I gripped Edmond’s arms, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “Is my mother in danger?”

He tipped his head, lifting his hand and almost cupping my face then changing his mind, curling his fingers instead. “No. I don’t think so. It would seem your mother is happy to look the other way. She is no threat to him. In fact, I believe my father loves her, which burns me deep inside.”

“How can we prove you’re innocent?”

“We are not doing anything. I will. It might take time, but it will happen. I have plans.”

“Edmond. You have your whole life ahead of you. Let it go. Too much time has passed.”

This time, when he reached out, he didn’t hesitate. He cupped my face and brushed his thumb back and forth across my lips. “Sweet, beautiful Mercedes. There are some aspects of life that can’t be ignored. There’s a balance in this world, a place where karma often rights wrongs. But not in this case. There’s no one who can help fix this evil.”

“But you.”

He nodded, lowering his head and pressing his lips across my forehead. The same swell of emotions and desires swept through me, my stomach in knots as my throat closed. I’d never felt so suffocated before, incapable of thinking rationally.

“Yes, my love. I will fix all the wrong things in my life.” He slowly peppered kisses along my cheek, nipping my earlobe then slowly shifting his lips to my mouth. I clung to his arms, leaning into him as I’d done the night before. His scent was delicious, woodsy and masculine, the exotic spices more intoxicating than before. For a few precious seconds, I allowed myself to become lost in him, the man I’d secretly loved for years.

His love. The words were wonderful, yet he didn’t know me.

As he shifted his hold to my chin, lifting my head, he breathed across my face, the heat creating goosebumps dancing down my arms. “Come with me.”

“Where?”

“A special place. I can protect you there.”

The few words brought me back to his earlier statement. “I’m not in any danger.” But was that the truth? I was no longer certain of anything.

“Yes, you are.”

“I can’t come with you, Edmond. I have a life here.”No, you don’t. You need to leave.Why was I shutting him out when all I wanted to do was flee as far away from this awful place as possible? What I couldn’t do was tell him what had happened. Never.

“I’ll give you an incredible life, one with passion and love, light to the darkness. I promise you that I’ll give you the world.”

I wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms and say yes, but there was no future for us. There couldn’t be.

Could there?

As if sensing my confusion, he captured my mouth, pulling me close to his chest. I ran my hand through his short, cropped hair, the silky touch tingling my fingers. The taste of him was just as incredible, yanking away all rational thoughts.

He slipped his tongue inside my mouth, both entwining together as the kiss erupted into the same level of heat and fire as I’d experienced the night before. He growled into the moment of passion, the sound like a beast finally released from his cage.

After lifting me onto the counter, opening my legs and easing between them, he yanked up my tee shirt, sliding his hands underneath. The feel of his touch as be brushed his fingers up and down my back was like flames licking my skin, making me feel so alive. I wrapped my legs around his waist, interlocking our bodies together.

He exuded raw power, his actions becoming rougher than the night before. Every sound he made was guttural, the husky whisper swirling around us in a twister of want and need. The roughness continued, his tongue taking mine, the extreme heat spiraling out of control.

When he jerked me forward until my bottom was half off the counter, he eased back, nipping my lower lip, pulling the tender tissue into his mouth.

I pressed my palms against his chest, kneading my fingers, longing to touch him. Him. The very one I’d thought about for far too long. Him. The one man I couldn’t have. Him. His touch. His lips. His tongue. His cock.

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