Page 5 of Concerto of Crows and Cowards

“You taste so good,” she moaned. “Touch me.”

His hands came around her, and he pulled her against him. She groaned into his mouth and he drank in the sound. His tongue dueled with hers and he growled as her fingers threaded through his hair and tugged him closer.

“Please, please,” she chanted, and he was helpless to deny her.

His knees were weak and he couldn’t seem to find his balance. She was going too fast—racing too hard to the end—and he wanted to take his time now that he finally had her where he wanted her. Their rhythm was off, and he tried to pull back and shake some sense into his head.

Max knew he needed to get control of the situation because she clearly wasn’t. He placed several kisses along her collarbone and then kissed his way up her neck to the lush mouth that had tempted him from the first time he’d seen her. Her top lip was fuller than the bottom and utterly bitable.

“Look at me, baby,” he said. Her nails dug into his arms and it was the sweetest pain he’d ever felt.

Her eyes opened and he had to kiss her again. She was stunning. Her face was flushed and there was a glow about her he hadn’t seen in much too long. The green of her eyes was vibrant, and she looked like a woman ripe for loving. But he knew her like he knew his own soul, and this wasn’t how he’d dreamed of their first time together.

“Don’t stop, Max,” she cried. “Don’t you dare stop.”

“I won’t be a substitute for anyone else.” His breath was labored with his restraint, but he made sure he got his point across. “I’ve wanted you too long. And if you’re coming to my bed it’s because you want to be there. Because you want me.”

She shook her head in confusion and tears filled her eyes. His heart broke at the sight of her tears and all she’d had to endure, but he couldn’t do this. He wouldn’t do this. He’d waited too long for her to see him as a man. As something other than a friend.

“It’s okay if you don’t want me,” she said, pushing at his chest. “But maybe you could have told me before we got to this point. Now I’ll just have to find someone else.”

She struggled against him harder as the tears fell, and she swiped at them viciously, but it was like a dam had broken inside of her and nothing was going to stop them from falling.

“Don’t make threats, baby. We’re past that now.”

“It’s none of your business, Max. If you don’t want it, no big deal. Someone else will.”

He clamped a hand on her leg to keep her from running, but she wouldn’t look at him. “It is my business. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you, but you weren’t mine to have. And I haven’t waited this long to be some itch you can scratch because you’re still grieving for someone else. When you come to my bed, there won’t be anyone between us.”

A choked sob came from deep inside of her as she struggled to get up. He released her leg and she bent down and scooped up her shirt from the floor.

“This is your fault, Max,” she said, pulling the shirt over her head. She turned and headed for the door as fast as she could. “You’re the one who made me feel again, and now you’re not man enough to follow through with what you started. Well, to hell with you. Have a nice life in Texas.”

He waited until she got to the door and jerked it open before he called out to her. She froze, but didn’t turn to face him.

His body throbbed with unfulfilled desire, and his heart felt as if it had been stomped into the ground. But she didn’t mean what she said. She wasn’t the kind of woman to sleep with just anyone. He knew a part of her had to trust and care for him deeply for her to go as far as she had. But he wanted more. He wanted all of her and he’d meant what he said. He wasn’t going to be a substitute for Donovan.

“I’ve made you feel again,” he said. “Remember that it was me when you’re alone in that cold apartment. And when you’re ready to live for real, you know where to find me.”

She didn’t look back as she stepped out of his house and his life, and when the door closed with a quiet click, he felt the emptiness of not having her near like a fist to the solar plexus.

“Well, hell,” he said. He punched the wall with enough force to leave a dent.

Chapter One

Present Day

“I’m on the roof,” Max said. “You’ve got to be my eyes.”

“I’ve got you in my sights,” Eden Kane said through the tiny bud in his ear. “You’ve got about a minute and a half until the two Secret Service agents make their way back around the house next door. Otherwise you’re clear.”

“Plenty of time.”

His rubber-soled shoes helped him keep traction as he slid down the sharply pitched roof to the small window on the top floor. Black gloves kept his fingers from being torn to shreds, and the black mask over his face and the matching clothes helped him blend in with the night.

The climb up the side of the Dallas mansion had been the hardest part—not to mention a former president lived in the house next door, and on a night like this, when unfamiliar cars and people lined the street, security was at a peak.

The climb had tested his strength and endurance tenfold, and he was glad he’d pushed himself so hard through rehab. Even now, his leg was aching and he’d had to stop for a few seconds to catch his breath once he’d reached the top.

---