Page 22 of Awakened by Sin

She heard the rumble in his chest before he laughed. She tipped her head on his shoulder so she could watch. One hand stroked her back while the other sifted through her hair. The polite reserve was gone, and the easy affection was back. She soaked it in.

He looked down at her, green eyes filled with mirth. Heat unfurled in her stomach and spread. Memories of their hookup flashed through her mind—Marcus holding her against the wall, the feel of his cock stretching her, and the image of his ass flexing as he thrust into her … She breathed in his musk and that scent that made her mouth water with need.

Marcus ran his hand down her cheek. “You have a scratch here.”

“Cactus.”

Amusement faded. “You’re safe now.”

Her fear was morphing into something else, something she welcomed. For the first time in years, she felt a pang of hunger that had nothing to do with food. After being so close to death, the need to reassure herself that she was alive overrode everything else, even fear. Marcus was the only man who had been able to rouse an iota of passion in her since Vinny passed. On a night of uncertainty and death on the horizon, she needed this.

“Cold?” Marcus asked and looked around for a blanket.

“Not for long,” she said.

“What?”

She kissed him. Marcus stiffened. She clasped his face, delighted by the simple pleasure of feeling his smooth skin beneath her tingling palms. Why hadn’t she noticed before how soft his lips were? That they were perfectly shaped? He pulled back, and she followed and gained access when he opened his mouth to speak. Her tongue swept in. Fuck. He tasted like … She rubbed her tongue against his to get a better sample.

Firm hands on her shoulders pushed her back until their mouths parted with a smack. She was panting as he held her away from him. One of her hands were locked in his hair, the other cupped the side of his face.

“Stop,” he said in an unsteady voice.

“You taste like classy sin.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I don’t know why I didn’t notice the first time.”

His face closed down. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

She shifted and felt the hard ridge in his pants. He wanted her and didn’t want a replay of their last hookup. Neither did she. Last night, when she killed that soldier, she made a decision. She decided to live. Vinny was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. She could either live the rest of her days in misery or enjoy the pleasures life offered. Her eyes roved over Marcus Fletcher. He was definitely a pleasure to look at, but she would enjoy him even more if he was inside her. This was the longest she had been celibate since she was fourteen. She shut down after Vinny died, and now, she was awake and ravenous. She watched the hypnotizing rise and fall of his chest for a few seconds and savored the simple sight. Marcus was alive. She stroked her thumb over his bottom lip and had the pleasure of watching his pupils dilate. He was warm, responsive, and all male.

“You’re drunk on adrenaline and fear,” Marcus said in a gravelly voice and gripped her hips to push her away.

She rocked her hips on his erection, and his teeth came together with a snap.

He glared at her. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

She didn’t care why Gavin trusted him. He’d had ample time to abduct Nora or kill her for holding a gun on him, but he didn’t. He held her while she cried, and now, he was trying to save her from making a mistake he thought she would regret. She looped her arms around his neck and sucked on his earlobe.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?”

She brushed kisses along the sharp line of his jaw. “For putting you in that position that night.”

He tried to pull away, but she clasped his face and did what she wanted to do that night in the bathroom. She brushed gentle kisses over his face.

“When Vinny died, I did too,” she whispered. “I’ve been taking care of other people, so I didn’t focus on what I don’t have.” Words she couldn’t have spoken a week ago were coming out of her mouth. She couldn’t stop if she wanted to. “I’ve been a walking zombie. Not really tasting what I eat, not really feeling anything. I thought I’d be better off dead. I didn’t want to live in a world without him.”

“I shouldn’t have—”

She slanted her mouth over his. He opened his mouth, and she took. Her hands dug into the back of his neck as his taste hit her starving senses. Classy sin. She moaned and shifted restlessly against him. He groaned into her mouth and leaned back.

“Carmen,” he panted. “You … we can’t …”

He tried to stand, but she couldn’t allow that. She shoved him into the couch.

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