Page 60 of Infinite

The other things annoying the fuck out of me are those shitty excuses for human beings thinking they own her, or can buy her for a price. “You told me you never wanted to depend on another man again,” I remind her. “What’s the difference here?”

All at once she bristles. “I don’t depend on them. They depend on me. The only thing I’m guilty of is being overcommitted to my job.”

“This isn’t work, Becca. Not when they’re expecting more from you than the normal nine to five.”

“I know.” She looks out toward the ocean. The waves are starting to slow their rough caress against the sand. Better weather is ahead, but I’m not sure there’ll be better times to match. Not with what the Singletons have planned with Becca.

“When I was in school getting my degree, it was all about making the clients happy, making them look good, and protecting them at all costs,” she says. “The profs and career professionals who mold and shape you don’t tell you about the white lies that have the potential to turn into storms, or what it takes to do a job well and still hang tight to what remains of your soul.”

“It’s not your soul I’m worried about,” I say. “That and your heart were always your most attractive traits.”

“Not my dual personalities?” she asks, motioning at her breasts as a bitter laugh escapes her pretty mouth.

“Now, don’t you go putting the girls down,” I say. “They’ve done the best they can to lead you right.”

We laugh, this time meaning it. But the conversation is too heavy. It doesn’t take much for that shame to return and make me see how much of her soul Becca’s had to protect. “Would you leave your job if it came down to it?” I ask.

Her face softens in a way that breaks my heart. “I would do that and more if it meant helping you.”

I move faster than I think is humanly possible, scaring the dog off her lap as I gather Becca in my arms. We fall back into my chair, kissing like it’s our last moment while our hands drag over our bodies as if time is all we have.

Each taste, each tease, is sweet and possessive. I brand her as mine with each flick of my tongue while her lips press mine hard, leaving no doubt I belong to her alone.

I don’t remember ever needing to kiss a woman like I do with Becca. I need every part of her, just not in the way that she thinks.

She clutches me, like she’s scared of what’s coming and that I alone can keep her safe. I hate her being afraid and reassure with my shielding embrace that no one will harm her with me by her side.

My rough fingers massage down her back. I want to feel more than the thick knitted sweater she’s wearing. She gasps when I slide my knuckles down her lower back, teasing her bare skin. She likes what I’m doing, not fully comprehending how much hotter I can make her.

She groans softly as my teeth graze over her throat and behind her ear. We kiss. We touch. We make out like the teenagers we were so long ago. I want her and want to do so much more. But I won’t allow things to turn to shit. Not this time.

I’m not sure how much time passes. But the change in position of the shadows against the terrace tell me it’s been a nice, long while. All we did was kiss and here we are, ready to take it to the next level. How did everything between us turn out as bad as it did when we shared all this sweetness from the start?

I cup her face, my desire reflecting in her glazed eyes and the way her breathing releases in quick spurts. “Why didn’t you tell me about Denver before I saw that ring on your finger?”

“I wanted to,” she whispers. “But things were already, strained, between us. I was stuck with this contract. I wasn’t expecting you that night and then . . . then you wouldn’t speak to me.”

“Did you tell Trin?”

She presses her lips, not wanting to admit what she does. “She kept a lot of our secrets. But I’m not so certain that’s a good thing. If she were more of a blabbermouth, maybe it wouldn’t have taken us so long to find our way back to each other.”

“I don’t know about that. You’re a stubborn little thing.”

She throws back her head, laughing.

My hands travel down to her waist and I give her hips a squeeze. “I want this, you hear me? I want us together.”

“I do, too.”She licks her lips, holding on to the taste of me a little longer. “I used to worry about it screwing up our friendship.”

“Becks, we did that just fine without getting together.”

She blinks back what I hope aren’t the start of fresh tears. “It’s been a shitty few years without you.”

“It might be a shitty few more years with me,” I tell her. I don’t want to think like I do, but I owe it to both of us to be honest. “Becca, if for some reason the Feds throw in some bogus evidence just to save face—”

“Don’t.” She tries to pull away from me. I don’t let her get far. “I don’t want to hear you talk this way.”

“Good. I don’t like talking this way. But Becks, as much as I’m innocent, as much as I’ll fight this, and as much as my team is swearing up and down that I’ll get off, if I am found guilty, I’m looking at a few years, minimum.”

---