Page 23 of The Wages of Sin

“Hopefully, that proves that you don’t have to worry about me running off to talk to the cops,” I said, cutting him off abruptly as I quickly wiped at my cheeks.

He nodded once as he silently rose from the bed, keeping eye contact with me the entire time. I couldn’t help but shift back and forth of my feet, uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

“I trust you,” he said finally, but I didn’t feel much relief. There was something about that stare of his that made me feel like I could collapse at any second.

And he would catch me.

No.

No softness. No hope. Just one foot in front of the other. Get through this day…then the next…then the next. That’s all there was.

“That bandage is waterproof,” I said, already feeling myself starting to break down. I started inching backward toward the door. “So, you can take a shower if you like. You’ll be sore after the lidocaine wears off, so I advise against any strenuous activity today, but otherwise, you should be fine.”

“Thank you, M—“ He stopped himself. “I can’t call you Mary anymore. What’s your real name?”

I shook my head. “I can’t tell you.”

“Yes, you can.” He was so tall and his legs so long that it only took him a couple of steps to close the distance between us. Suddenly, I had to crane my head back to keep looking him in the eye. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know,” I said, and strangely, I meant it. I couldn’t explain it, but somehow, I knew it was true. “But it’s not just me I’m worried about. Knowing who I am could put you in danger. Hollis will cut through anyone to get to me. He’s cold-blooded and powerful.”

Icy blue eyes burned into mine. The muscle running along his jaw jumped and tightened. For the longest time, he didn’t say anything. Not until he finally raised his hand and ran the back of his fingers down my cheek.

“So am I.”

Then, all the air rushed out of my lungs when he wrapped his arms around me. One hand curled around my waist, the other reached up to cradle the back of my head.

And then he kissed me.

Chapter Eight

KIERA

I’d never been kissed like that. Not ever.

No one had ever held me with such intensity before. Never pressed themselves against me with such urgency. Never pressed their lips to mine with such pure, unadulterated hunger.

It was overwhelming.

My head spun, trying desperately to surface from the tidal wave of sensation that had swept me out to sea, but it was impossible.

All I could feel was him—his hands, his mouth, his bare chest. In that moment, he was the only thing that existed. The heat radiating off his body, the friction of his skin, the taste of his kiss were the only things that were real.

And I couldn’t help but want more.

Before I knew it my arms were around him, holding him just as fiercely, just as tight. Clinging to him like my life depended on it, I found myself kissing him back.

It was madness. I knew it. But God help me, I didn’t care.

It didn’t matter that I didn’t know the name of the man kissing me senseless. It didn’t even matter that he clearly made his living through violence or that he’d practically confessed to being a felon just minutes before.

All I knew was, in that moment, it felt like he was saving me.

I’d been treading water for too long, barely making it from one day to the next—merely surviving. I’d forgotten what it was to feel.

But in this one kiss, it all came rushing back to me.

I could feel my blood rushing in my veins. Feel every beat of my heart pounding against my breastbone. Heat swelled up inside my chest before spreading out through the rest of my body—my arms, my legs, my breasts, my…

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