Page 11 of Taming Trickster

"You...you really think so?" she whispers tremulously. "Even after everything that happened to me tonight?"

I don't answer with words. A man like me… We speak more with actions than pretty words.

Cradling her face in one rugged palm, I simply lean down and capture her plump lips with my own.

Rose doesn't pull away from my sudden kiss. In fact, to my surprise, she melts into me, her soft lips moving against mine. This slight, fragile creature is kissing me back with an unexpected hunger that has my cock throbbing in my jeans.

What am I doing? This girl is barely more than a kid - innocent, traumatized, seeking safety and protection. And here I am like some lecherous old biker taking advantage of her in a moment of vulnerability.

Summoning every ounce of willpower, I tear my lips from hers with a ragged gasp.

"Rose, I...I shouldn't have done that. You've been through enough tonight without me forcing myself on you too."

Instead of looking affronted or revolted as I expected, Rose simply gazes up at me with those soulful blue eyes.

"You didn't force anything! That was...I wanted that as much as you did."

My jaw goes slack as I struggle to process her words. She wanted to kiss me? This beautiful, delicate wildflower of a girl actually desires a rough, burly bastard like me?

"You don't know what you're saying," I rasp, taking a stumbling step back to put some distance between us. To fight against the overwhelming urge to yank her curvy body flush against mine. "You're hurting and vulnerable right now. I should be focusing on making sure you're safe and comfortable, not taking advantage..."

"Then help me feel comfortable," Rose cuts me off in a breathy murmur. She takes a step closer, her warm breath puffing against the scruff of my beard. "Help me to finally feel something other than terror and panic after what I've been through."

Those big innocent eyes are suddenly hooded, shimmering with an unmistakable yearning that has me frozen in place. This isn't just some kid looking for comfort.

Rose wants me, all of me. Rough edges, merciless past, and all.

A low, rumbling groan tears free from my throat. Who am I to deny her?

I snake an arm around her waist and haul her up against me, pinning her to the wall. She gasps at the sudden movement, breath catching, but there's no fear in those half-lidded eyes as they meet mine.

Only hot, blazing desire.

Our lips crash together again with bruising force. The hard plains of my body pin Rose in place, letting her feel every rigid inch of me, including the thick length of my arousal grinding shamelessly against her thighs.

This is madness. Insanity. I'm a fool for letting things go this far with a girl I just met under such volatile circumstances.

But as Rose's tiny fingers tangle desperately in my hair, holding me to her, I can't find a shred of regret or restraint left in me. Only the burning need to lose myself in her sweetness and make her forget the world, if only for a little while.

My hands roam freely over the swell of her hips, the dip of her waist, the flare of those lush curves begging to be mapped and worshipped. Rose arches into my questing touch with a soft whimper that has me throbbing achingly against her belly.

Rational thought has abandoned me entirely. All that matters is sating this fierce, primal craving to make this girl mine in every sense of the word. To stake my claim and protect her with the same feral intensity I'd fight off any threat.

Looping my arms under the swell of her thighs, I hoist Rose up in one smooth motion until those endless legs wind around my waist. She gasps at the sudden movement, clinging to me as I carry us down the hallway toward my bedroom.

With a low growl, I place Rose onto the rumpled sheets, taking a moment to drink in the sight of her. Fiery tresses splayed out in a halo, those big innocent eyes dark with want and plump lips already looking deliciously ravaged from our kisses.

"God, you're beautiful," I rasp, letting my gaze rake over the delicate swell of her breasts straining against my sweat. "So goddamn pretty and perfect and all mine..."

Before I can pounce on her again, devouring that milky flesh with my lips and tongue, Rose's small hand presses against my heaving chest. Her eyes are suddenly unsure, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"Trickster...wait," she murmurs, cheeks flushing prettily. "There's...I need to be honest with you about something first."

I tense instantly, my lust-fogged brain struggling to catch up. Does she have a secret? A dark truth about herself or her situation that could change everything?

Of course, that's my damn luck. I should have known better than to rush into intimate territory with a fragile thing like Rose before learning all the facts. Before my brothers had a chance to properly check into her background and situation.

For all I know, she could be some kind of plant sent in by a rival crew to lure me into catching feelings. Or maybe she's got some other sordid history that means getting tangled up with her would be a risk to the club.

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