Page 54 of Desperate Vows

“Wow.”

“There’s more. She’s got proof Franklin had a hand in Gianna and Dad’s death.” No, I haven’t seen the photos, but I knew she was telling the truth. If she said she had it, she had it.

Ari cursed. “Enough for us.”

“We need that meeting with Jason and Gabriele. We need to end this. No more little girls hurt by Franklin and Marco.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Ari exhaled. “How’s married life?”

“It’s not as bad as I thought it’d be.”

Ari cursed again. “Anna is a pain in my…She’s annoying and infuriating and?—”

“I think someone has a crush.”

“Shut up. This isn’t a crush. She’s a spoiled, entitled little girl who just drives me crazy.”

I heard him. I also saw it from her side. “Man, she didn’t want this. It was pushed on her. One minute she’s single, and the next, she’s getting married. Give her a break.”

He scoffed. “It’s not like I wanted this either.”

“No, and I’m sorry it has to be this way, but it does. Try to make it work so you aren’t miserable. Okay?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I’ll get the meeting set up. Be careful. Once Franklin and Marco get word, it’s going to get really dangerous.”

“I know.” I turned, and Claire walked into the living room, smelling like honey and vanilla with wet hair and the sexiest pajamas ever created for a woman. “I’ll talk to you later.” I clicked end and smiled.

She drifted over to me and threw her arms around my waist. “That was wonderful.” She set her chin on my chest as she looked up at me. “Thank you.”

How many times was this woman going to test my character tonight? “You’re welcome.”

“I can run you a bath if you’d like.”

“I think I’ll have a quick shower. Food should be here pretty quickly.”

She lifted on her toes and kissed me. “Okay. I can wait for it while you do that.”

I didn’t know what it was, but that sweet little gesture tested me even more. I lifted her by the waist and sat on her on the counter. “You’re the sexiest librarian I’ve ever met.”

Rolling her eyes, she giggled. “Whatever. And I’m not a librarian. I stole stuff from the office of the French mafia boss. Now, would a librarian do that?”

“Maybe.” I touched my lips to hers. “Could be undercover.” I kissed her again, this time letting my lips linger on hers.

“Like double-o reading stacks.”

I white-knuckled the counter and dropped my forehead on her shoulder. “I’m struggling here, Claire. Now that I know what happened, I don’t want to push?—”

Her cheek pressed against mine. “You’re not taking anything from me. I’m giving it to you. That’s the difference. I wasn’t thinking very nice thoughts about you when you stalked toward me in the restaurant.”

I jerked back. “What?”

Claire brought her fingers to my face, running them over my eyebrows, along my jaw, and tracing my lips. “You were the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on. I wanted you to want me. I’d never thought that about anyone.” She smiled. “You rescued me from that house. Marco would have had me. You’ve held me while I cried, twice. You ran me a bath and took a generous amount of time finding towels that were in plain sight. You washed my face.” Nuzzling my neck with her nose, she took a deep breath as she brought her gaze to mine. “I want to kiss you, and I want you to want to kiss me.” The last word was barely out of her mouth before her teeth bit down on my bottom lip. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her legs around my waist, and she pulled me flush against her body.

Every ounce of blood in my brain drained into the lower half of my body, and there was zero left to manage my actions. I sank my hands in her hair and crushed my lips to hers. I wanted her. I wanted her mind, body, and soul. I wanted all of her. All the time.

Somewhere in the deep recess of my consciousness, I realized that I shouldn’t heft her off the counter and take her into the bedroom for way more than kissing, but I sure wanted to. There was a point in my life I would have said to hell with a woman’s history. I was her present.

I didn’t know when that switch flipped for me, but I wanted more than that with Claire. I wanted her past, her present, and most of all, I wanted her future. I wanted it all.

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