Page 63 of Filthy Hot

“I had to go through that with Xavier to know what I did not want. To be able to see people differently and choose differently for my future.”

He shakes his head once, lowering his forehead against my own as he closes his eyes. I feel his breath wash over my face, and if I could choose a moment where he slowly slid inside of my body, it would be this one.

He’s so close, yet I want him closer—always.

“You didn’t,” he whispers. “You didn’t have to. You were always the good one, baby. They preyed on you. They hurt you to take from your soul, to feed theirs. They are the worst of the fucking worst, and you, baby, are the best parts of them all. They hate that shit.”

“How do you know?” I ask on a whisper.

He laughs softly as he shifts his head from my forehead and down slightly so his lips touch mine. He doesn’t deepen the kiss immediately. Instead, he continues speaking.

“Because, Kyle, you’re the fucking best thing that’s ever happened to me, so I know you were to them, too.”

His kiss is hard and perfect.

GNAW

Kyle fallsasleep on my chest after I fuck her again because I can’t be this close to her and not fuck her. I can’t close my eyes, though. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep again. I know for a fact that I will never sleep peacefully again.

There is no way around that.

I have to always keep one eye on this woman in my arms in an attempt to keep her safe.

There is a knock on the door what feels like moments later. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I realize that it’s hours later. The knock sounds again. I throw the blanket off my legs, stand from the bed, and move toward the door.

Tugging it open, I come face to face with a very pissed-off-looking Rim.

I arch a brow, not making an attempt to move out of the room in any way. He growls, jerking his chin toward the hallway. I still don’t move, and that’s when he lets out an angry-sounding exhale but finally speaks.

“Those fucks are here,” he snaps.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” I mutter. “There could be quite a few fucks that could be here.”

Rim’s gaze flicks down to his feet, then he lifts his eyes to meet mine, and I watch as they widen. It’s at this moment that I realize I’m standing in front of him completely naked, dick and balls swinging for the whole world to see.

Instead of talking about my dick, which I know Rim is thinking about at the moment, I shift the conversation back to the fuckers who are here, considering I have no clue who he’s talking about.

“Who is here, Rim?” I ask.

He jerks his chin again, then snorts. “The Southern Mafia.”

“The Southern Mafia, or Talon from the Southern Mafia?”

Rim clears his throat, leaning forward slightly. “Talon, and ten men.”

“Ten?” I ask.

“Fuckers,” he states. “And they want to see you.”

Taking a step backward, I give him a smirk. “Then they’ll see me,” I say. “But they’ll see me in pants. I’ll be down in just a few minutes.”

I close the bedroom door and grab my jeans from the floor, and my cut. I don’t bother with a T-shirt before I slide my cut on, then shove my feet into my boots. What I don’t forgo are my guns, two of them, and a knife in my boot.

Walking toward the bedroom door, I reach for the handle and look over my shoulder at the bed. She’s there, sleeping peacefully. The promise that I made to her, to myself about her, is the promise I will keep.

She will be safe.

Nothing and nobody will ever touch her again.