Page 45 of Guarded Hearts

Burying his nose in her hair was a terrible idea, but he wasn’t willing to stop himself from doing it. Her body molded to his, her breath warm against his neck.

“When my brothers find the person who’s after you, we’ll come back.” He couldn’t promise that Layne wouldn’t share his bed every night they were in the exotic locale, but he could—with complete certainty—promise that he would keep her safe.

* * * * *

Oh god. Why was Carson’s I’ll-protect-you act so hot? Layne’s insides should be quivering with fear, not with desire.

And a private jet? She only knew a handful of people who owned a jet, and she only worked with the wealthiest clients.

He tightened his arms around her. His chest shouldn’t make the perfect pillow since it was nothing but chiseled muscle, yet she couldn’t think of a better place to rest her head.

The throb of his heart beneath her ear eased some of the panic that had risen inside her the moment he told her about the flowers.

Stems. If she was creeped out before, now she was terrified.

But in the safety of Carson’s arms, she didn’t experience that terror for more than a few seconds. His sexy, alpha I’ll-kill-to-save-you energy replaced it.

She leaned into him. He banded his arms tighter around her.

All those love words she’d just read in his last letter whirled through her mind, leaving glittery gold sparkles—of what she could no longer deny were born of love—around her heart.

When she tipped her face up to his, her breath caught. The intensity blazing in the depths of those gray eyes dizzied her. Passion and need crashed in.

She dug her fingers into his scalp, dragging him down.

Their lips crashed together. His coarse five-o’clock shadow scraped over her sensitive skin. Nipples puckering at the heat emanating from his chest, she kissed him back with everything she had inside her and then some.

The old desire between them was like springtime compared to the scorching late-summer heat they shared now.

With a rumble of need, he planted a hand on her ass, hitching her against the steel of his cock.

She rubbed against him without a care in the world. The worst had already happened between them when they lost each other. Anything else she could live with.

As he backed her up against the wall of her study, she sucked in a sharp gasp. He trapped her with his big body, and there was no place she’d rather be.

He plundered her lips. Sank his tongue deep inside her mouth and swept it over hers until she was moaning. The pulse of want between her thighs made her thong panties slick. She wiggled closer, rocking into his stiff length.

“Take me. Here. Right now.” Was that even her voice?

She sounded like she would beg him to claim her.

She sounded like she would follow him to the ends of the earth.

She would.

Clutching at his broad shoulders, she dragged him closer again. Their mouths fused.

In some unspoken pivot, their rough passion faded to a gentle one. He walked his fingers up her spine, inch by inch, taking the hem of her top with them. She angled her head to receive the tender, nibbling licks, kisses and bites that drove her just as crazy as the rougher version.

With a forceful rock, he pinned her hips to the wall with his own. Stripping her top off, he ducked his head and began kissing her neck. Each swirl of his tongue and pull of his mouth drew a louder moan from her.

Suddenly, he lifted his head, stared straight into her eyes, grabbed her wrists andshovedthem over her head.

Pinning them to the wall.

Her pantiesflooded. Her insides melted.

“Don’t move.” His order showered warm sparks over her senses.

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