Page 169 of Mud

But he stopped.

He raised his head way too soon.

His lips, warm and red and so fucking soft, were what was keeping me together right now. I held back from crying out in complaint only barely.

Taland looked down at me, our noses less than an inch apart, our chests rising and falling rapidly, becoming one before they moved back again. Our hearts beat at the same speed.

He looked tortured. Tormented. Eyes bloodshot and teeth gritted as he still tried to call to his senses. I’d given up on that fight, but he still had some common sense left, I hoped. Iprayedthat he would be the one to stop, to get offme, get out of this room or this building all by himself. Right now, before it was too late.

I betrayed you. I put you in prison. You’re forever wanted because of me. I am not to be trusted—all of these things that I couldn’t say with words, but I tried to say them with my eyes.

Please, please, please don’t let us do this.

Taland closed his eyes and growled low in his throat, his fingers around my wrists tightening so much he could break my bones if he wanted.

But he didn’t.

“Damn it, sweetness, you’re my fucking ruin.”

He kissed me again.

We were both doomed.

Taland let go of my wrists. I no longer even pretended to be thinking about doing the right thing. I didn’t try to call to the rational part of my brain—what brain?I just wrapped my arms around his neck, and wrapped my legs around his hips, and I wasn’t about to let go even if the end of the world happened right outside that window.

I kissed him back with my everything, the way I only ever did in my dreams and fantasies. Our tongues clashed and we bit into each other’s lips, and we tasted each other thoroughly like we’d been starved until this moment. The tension that had been in the air since he threw me on this bed only grew, but now it had a different taste—that of our desire.

Taland pressed his hips down on me and I moaned into his mouth, the feel of his hard cock against my throbbing center a miracle on its own. Iris, how I needed to feel him on every inch of my body. How I yearned to belong to him completely the way I used to.

“Taland,” I whispered, pulling his hair, but I wasn’t surewhether I was trying to push him back a bit or pull him closer. “Taland, clothes…” I barely managed to say before he claimed my lips again, moaning and growling, so damn sexy I was burning from the inside.

His hands moved lower, and he grabbed my boobs, squeezed hard, pressing his hips down on me again as he did. I rubbed myself against his hard cock faster while I pushed that heavy leather jacket down his shoulders. I couldn’t take it off all the way, though, because he refused to let go of me as we kissed, refused to get up and take these clothes off us faster, and instead slipped a hand under my shirt. He went up and under my bra, and closed his hand around my boob, squeezing and twisting my nipple between his fingers until I was seconds away from coming.

“So fucking delicious,” he murmured when my head fell back and my hips shot up and he continued to trail kisses down my neck and to my collarbone. “Fucking hell, sweetness, you’re just as soft as I remembered.”

A growl and his other hand moved under me, to my ass. He grabbed me and pulled me up as he pushed himself down so hard it hurt.

“Please,” was all I knew how to whisper, grabbing at his hair, pushing down his jacket until he finally let go of me and let me take it off completely. He still had a shirt on, and I had plenty of fabric on me, too, but it was one step closer, so I wasn’t complaining. Especially when both his hands were under my shirt and he was reaching for my breasts again, masterful fingers around my nipples, and his mouth closed on mine with a brand-new urge.

Fuck, he felt so good. It wasn’t fair that he could disarm me so easily, that I could throw everything away the moment I felt him on me. It wasn’t fair, but I knew that itwas going to be worth it, anyway. No matter what happened after,thisI would have in my memories forever.

“Let go,” Taland whispered, trying to push himself off me, but I refused to unlock my legs from around his hips.

“No,” I said, panicked—was he trying to kill me? Because I’d die for real if he stopped now.

“I need to take your clothes off, sweetness. If you don’t let me, I’ll have to rip them off you,” he said, that voice of his thick and dark and smoky, so fucking delicious.

I wanted to tell him,do it, rip them all to shreds!but then I’d have nothing to wear. I had no choice but to force my legs apart with all my will. No choice but to force my arms from around his neck, and let Taland rise to his knees, take his body away from mine.

It was torture, especially since he moved so damn slowly.

“Just get them off,” I urged, pushing myself up so he could take my jacket off, then my holsters and sheaths.

“We’re in no hurry, sweetness. Don’t rush me,” he said, taking the hem of my shirt and pulling it up. I eagerly raised my arms to help him get it off me faster, but…

“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve thought about this?” he whispered, slowly revealing more and more skin as he continued to pull my shirt up. With every new inch of me, his growl became deeper.

Finally, the shirt was off me and he threw it away. His eyes became even more bloodshot as he took in my boobs, ran his hands from my collarbone and down to them, squeezing over the bra.

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