Page 132 of Stone Temptation

“The pain motivates me.” He looked up, those peepers of his bloodshot. “I want my brother back. I want my parents to stop hating me. I want our cocktail bar to open, for our lives to be…” He trailed off, picking up his glass by the stem, knocking back the cocktail in one.

“Luke…”

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Never go to bed in an argument with the people you love. Try not to dwell on petty crap. It gets you nowhere. I did and then Finn was gone.” He refilled his glass. “I’ll stop now.”

I joined him on the other side of the bar, stroking his back. The contact stole my next breaths, heightening my emotions further.

Stop…

“I meant what I said, Luke. I’ll do what I can to help you. I’m here. I want to be here. I really, really do.”

He twisted his body to face me, his back pressing into the edge of the bar. “You do?”

“If you’ll have me. And this ain’t the booze or the marking talking. This is real. This is from here.” I tapped my chest. “I want more of you. I want…I want you.”

Those cerulean gems in his head bore into me, robbing my lungs of air. “Asher…”

Heat rose between us, the air taking on a new vitality.

His hands greeted my forearms, his lips parting as he stared and stared and stared.

Were we about to kiss again?

THIRTY

Luke

Spellbound.

Intoxicated.

All of the above.

That was me as I faced the gargoyle, his eyes trained on my mouth. His excitable breaths were a sumptuous breeze on my face, carrying the sweet clouds of the Cosmopolitan.

“Asher…”

Our mouths moved closer, my hands sliding to his substantial biceps wrapped in leather.

He wants me…

“I want…”

His big body closed the gap between us, almost flush with mine. Lips almost meeting, the point of no return almost crossed.

Did he really mean those things he’d said to me? Did he really have my back? Did he really want me?

So tired of thinking, of analyzing, I gave in to him as well as my own longings.

“I want you, too.”

The tension shattered as our lips met in beautiful heat. He took hold of my face, probing me with his tongue. Softer this time, no rough edges. My skin sizzled with incredible sparks, forcing me to push harder into the kiss.

He liked that, moaning like the rumble of thunder.

Forget everything.

Let him take you…

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