Page 57 of Hart Breaker

After glancing down at my boobs, his eyes meet mine again, and he blinks a few times. “You have me so twisted up inside, but on the flip side, I have never seen anything as clearly as I do this. It sounds fucked up, but there it is.”

“I just broke off an engagement. I’m not jumping into a relationship.” I reiterate, and he starts to talk, but I stop him. “You want no lies? Me neither. I hate them. But I do have a secret that I should tell you.”

He nods as he looks me over with more appreciation than any man ever has.

“I knew exactly who you were after walking out of the bathroom. You were our number two pick, and my introverted ass was determined to go on stage and announce your name because you are every girl’s fantasy. If there was this connection you think there is, you’d have remembered me.”

“So, I failed a test I didn’t even get a chance to study for, while I was shitfaced, and you’re not letting me retake it?”

I shrug. “I mean, yeah. It was a one-night thing.”

“I won’t accept that.”

“Then accept that I am not going to let another man shatter my fucking self-confidence by cheating on me, and you will, Hudson; they all do.”

“Pisses me off you think that, but it doesn’t scare me off.”

“It’s not a damn challenge.”

“I’m not them, but they are part of you, and I accept that I’m going to have to show you what a real man is like, because shitbags like them had the privileged before me. We’ll get through that, and then”—he makes an explosion with his hands—“unstoppable.”

“You’re not hearing me.” I stomp my foot.

“I’m hearing you just fine. You’re not hearing me.” He steps to me, takes my face in his hands, and whispers, “I’m going to kiss you.”

“This is a really bad idea. We?—”

A moan escapes me when his lips touch the base of my throat.

“You got your fantasy; it’s only fair you let me have mine.”

A trail of searing kisses travels up my neck, jaw, behind my ear, and finally lands on my lips. Warm, soft, but firm lips skate across mine, then back again, this time parted. My heart is pounding against my chest so hard I guarantee he feels it. And when he takes my hand and holds it to his chest, it feels like he can read my mind and is answering my question. This is really happening.

I grip his sweat-damp tank top, my back arching when I feel the steel nipple piercing. So hot.

I don’t even realize we’re moving until I feel the cold glass against my exposed skin. His tongue slides inside my mouth, and a growl escapes him.

When my tongue meets his, he presses his entire body against mine, and the feel of his hard length against my belly causes white-hot flames to ignite inside of me.

His hands travel down my shoulders to my waist, and he lifts me up, never breaking the kiss, only deepening it.

But then, the click of the door has me pushing him away.

He pulls me against him and kisses my forehead. “I’m so far from done with you that I’m almost certain one lifetime isn’t going to be enough.”

VEGAS / KNIGHTS

Riley

“You sure you’re okay?” Mom asks for the hundredth time, but now she’s pressing the back of her hand to my forehead. When I look up at her, she holds her hands up. “I’m sorry. I just?—”

Tears fill my eyes and begin to fall immediately. “Stop being sorry. Please, Mom, just stop.”

Her blue eyes widen as she nods up and down. “Okay, I will. I?—”

I hate that I’ve made her this person with me when she’s different with Luke, Jackson, and Lauren. “I’m sorry. Me. I’m so sorry.”

“Sweetheart.” She looks around the giant party bus and whispers, “It’s okay.”

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