Page 81 of Stars in Halo

To the light of the small LED lamp flickering above her and the sensation of a muscled, thick arm wrapped around her.

Xion.

He was tucked in behind her, his face in her neck like he was breathing her in.

When she shifted, his arms tightened.

With a sigh, he curved his body even closer, giving her his heat, his strength, his security.

She closed her eyes at the bliss of it.

No wonder she’d rested like a baby in utter peace.

She nestled in, luxuriating in his hold.

Until her eyes flew open once more, and memories of the last few days hit her.

A wave of guilt washed over her.

Her actions had led to the man embracing her being thrown to the wolves.

He’d undergone an agonising experience because of her.

Now, she and Xion were in a world of emotional angst.

They’d liked one another other; damn, they’d slept together and had the best sex of her life.

Their brief affair had been pure bliss till her brothers intervened and ruined everything.

Fokk, how would they navigate their escape, feelings, betrayal, and the wariness and tension that had risen like a wall of ice between them?

She had no idea.

She peeked at him, lying so close she could see every eyelash.

Was he thinking of her like she was of him?

Because she was still yearning for him, her soul still aching and burning with desire for him, her body thrumming anytime he was close.

Since his kidnapping, though, she sensed his fury directed at her and her family.

She hoped by now he’d worked out she’d been forced into this position and that she’d still wanted to back out regardless of her safety.

To gain back his favour again, he’d need to see her true heart.

No more lies and dishonesty, she promised herself.

It didn’t help that she was also beset with a lack of confidence that he’d have any feelings for her other than a passing fancy.

She was nobody’s prize, from her children to her choice of profession and her family’s criminal background, in light of Xion’s career as a man who upheld the law.

Hell, he had every right to want to wash his hands off her altogether.

Still, she held onto a tendril of hope, which stemmed from how incandescent their lovemaking had been.

How it had lifted her soul to a new dimension.

How he now was wrapped over her, his sensual as fokk body heating her backside, with one thick thigh between her own.

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