Page 11 of Proof

I didn’t want gentle or any of that other shit.

I didn’t want a lot of things in that moment.

Most of all, I didn’t want him to stop, which was exactly what he was planning to do because he was loosening his hold on the back of my neck.

I left the past behind me and didn’t give one cent about the future. I wanted here and now. I wanted time to stop. I wanted to know what it was really like to be kissed, but I didn’t want just anyone to show me that. I wanted it to be Cass. Ithadto be Cass.

A few guys had tried to kiss me as they’d fucked me, but I’d always turned my mouth away because it had always felt strangely wrong to allow that level of intimacy.

Nothing about what was happening in this moment felt wrong, so as Cass began to pull back, I followed. I took control of the kiss. It should have felt awkward and weird because I’d never kissed any of the guys I’d been with before my life had gone to hell. Even my first boyfriend, who’d been more of a fuck buddy than anything else, hadn’t kissed me.

So why did it feel so natural now? Why did it feel like I’d been doing it my entire adult life? Why did Cass’s soft groan as my tongue mated with his make butterflies dance in my belly? Why did I feel hot all over?

The answer was that I didn’t give a shit. I’d been given a taste and now I wanted the whole bottle.

I threaded my fingers through Cass’s soft hair and angled his head so I could take full possession of the kiss. My entire bodyfelt ready to go off like a rocket, but there was one particular part of me that was nearly there.

From a kiss.

Fromhiskiss.

I forced myself to break the kiss long enough to draw in some much-needed air. I was already pulling Cass’s mouth back down to mine when he whispered, “JJ.”

It wasn’t that he said my name… it was thewayhe said it that had reality slapping me in the face. His voice was soft, sweet, needy… relieved.

He might as well have followed Sully’s example of how to get my attention. A bucket full of cold water and a couple dozen ice cubes.

I shoved Cass backwards.

Hard.

Only he didn’t have far to go because at some point when I’d taken control of the kiss, I’d taken control of him too because his back was plastered up against the side of his car andIwas the one pinning him there.

“Oh, Jesus,” I croaked as I stepped back and wiped my hand across my mouth.

Thankfully, Cass didn’t say anything or try to take me into his arms again. I couldn’t read his expression at first but there was no missing the moment when whatever thing had caused him to kiss me in the first place disappeared. His face hardened as he glanced at the hand I’d wiped my mouth with and then he was gone. In his car, tires squealing, engine roaring.

Gone.

Sharp, blinding light hit my right eye and then my brain was on fire as flames licked along my scar. It was all I could do to remain standing. I had no awareness of anything but the agonizing pain in my head. There was no image this time, but it didn’t matter. I knew the cause.

I had no idea how long I stood there for or if anyone drove past me. It could have been minutes or hours before the stabbing pain behind my eye eased enough for me to take stock of my surroundings. My gun still lay on the shoulder of the road, the clip a few inches away. My jacket, which the hot sun had turned into my own personal oven, was rumpled and pushed off my shoulders just the slightest bit. Had I done that or had Cass?

Fuck, what difference did it make?

My phone began vibrating in my jacket pocket, but I didn’t answer it right away. I needed to get my shit together first. I laughed harshly. It was a little late for that. I’d just made out with the man who’d killed a federal agent, the witness he’d been assigned to protect, and the innocent child who’d been too young to really understand what was happening. Cass had murdered all three in cold blood, but he’d fucked up when it had been my turn. He’d left a witness.

Though I really hadn’t been much of one. Cass’s bullet had seen to that.

I grabbed my gun and put the clip back in. I searched out the bullet that Cass had ejected from the chamber and added it to the clip.

An approaching car had me pulling myself together so I once again looked like the professional I was supposed to be. I was surprised to see that it was the SUV I’d been riding around in for the better part of a week.

“I told you not to come back for me,” I grumbled when Axel stepped out from behind the steering wheel.

“And I told you to call me in five or Iwouldbe coming back,” the good-looking guy responded. The man should have ticked all of the boxes on my roster of guys that I wanted to fuck for real.

He wasn’t on it.

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