Page 58 of Dublin Rogue

How do I answer that? It makes me feel safe… closer to you… a little naughty…

“It’s very comfortable. You don’t mind, do you?”

He makes a grunting sound low in his throat and pegs me with a heated look. “It might be caveman of me, but it feels a bit like being invited into your bed even when I wasn’t.”

I swallow. “We both know it wouldn’t take much to change that, but I appreciate you giving me a little space to think.”

He dips his chin. “I’ve never felt a pull like this, Laine. It’s as excruciating as it is exquisite. I want to push. I want to strip you naked and learn the smell and taste of your skin, but I know once I do, I’ll never be able to let you leave.”

Fire licks the inside of my belly and warms my core. Would that be so bad? Flirting on the fringe of organized crime left me vulnerable, but if I were part of the power structure, men wouldn’t break into my bedroom at night to shoo me out of my life.

They’d have Tag to contend with.

Something dark flashes in his eyes. “You like that idea.”

“You’re imagining things.”

I move to roll out of the bed, but he lunges across the covers and pins me to the mattress. “No. I definitely did not imagine it. There’s something about staying here with me that you are warming to. Tell me and I’ll make it a reality.”

With his weight pressing me into the mattress, there’s no mistaking the hard length of his cock straining for me. “You don’t know me, Tag, and there’s a good chance if you did, the mystery would wane, and your interest would fade. Been there. Done that. Had the empty bed to remind me night after night that I’m just not all that.”

His gaze darkens. “I’m going to kill the bastard.”

A rush of self-consciousness hits and I squirm to get out from beneath him. He’s too strong, so I get nowhere. “Forget it. Forget I said anything.”

“I won’t.” He’s angry, but I’m not sure exactly why he’s so angry. When I stop fighting against his hold, he eases back and throws the comforter to the side. “The woman I’ve gotten to know over the past three days is confident and self-assured. She’s powerful and knows what she wants.”

In life, yes, but not behind closed doors. “I don’t want to think about him. Not here. Not with you.”

Tag holds my gaze for a long moment and then nods. “Don’t give that asshole one more moment of power over your self-worth. He’s a fool and not a real man at all.”

Logically, I know that, but there’s always that little part of me, that insecure girl that wonders what I could’ve done differently to hold his attention or to inspire his passions.

“Laine, look at me.”

It takes me a moment to brace myself for the intensity of Tag’s gaze but when I do, the anger is gone, replaced by heat and hunger.

“Even if the two of you ended up in different places in your marriage, him stepping out and making you feel less about yourself shows his weaknesses, not yours. Don’t give any man the power to tear you down.”

“I’m fine, Tag. Honestly.”

He looks down the length of my body, my legs bare beyond the hem of his t-shirt I’m wearing. “Aye, you are more than fine. So, lay back while I take a moment to prove that to you.”

Starting at my feet, he kneads between my toes and presses a kiss to the pad of my foot. “You’ve got the legs of a high-heeled warrior, your calves toned and built for strutting your stuff.”

I moan and flop back onto the pillow as his massaging hands pay homage to my feet and legs.

“And look at these thighs. My god, they’re beautiful. Not so skinny that I’d worry I’d break you like a twig, but sturdy enough that I can see us hiking the Cliffs of Moher and then me laying you down in a patch of heather to spread them to have my way with you.”

He caresses my thighs—kissing them with a reverence that I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced, nipping the sensitive flesh as he makes his way up to the crux of my body.

“And this pussy. Mmm, you’ve got the prettiest pink folds and the loveliest scent. If my life were my own, I’d do nothing but keep you naked and on your back so I could spend my days feasting on you.”

Goosebumps rise across my skin as a shiver races down the length of my spine.

Easing back, he shoves the fabric of his t-shirt up my ribs and over my head. My hair falls free from the collar and his gaze follows the mahogany tresses down to the peaked tips of my breasts.

“And look at those lovely ladies.”

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