Page 90 of Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger

Shit.

His eyes search mine, looking for some kind of deceit. But there’s none to be found. I’ve never been so honest with anyone, not even myself.

“Marianne.”

My palms are sweaty, and my heart hammers, but I steel myself and look into his eyes. “Kai,” I say. “I’m not naive. I know what I’m getting into. Please don’t be the one who tries to protect me or decides it’s too dangerous for me. That choice is mine to make. And I’m not backing down.”

His expression changes; something akin to awe flashes in his eyes as he studies me.

An unexpected laugh bubbles within me, bursting forth before I can stop it. “You look surprised.”

His lips curl into a half-smile that’s both disarming and tantalizing. “I am…” he says. “You’re the first person to ever surprise me in a good way.”

“Because I want you?”

His eyes close, and his shoulders relax. “Because you want me for me. Not money, not power, just the man.”

Well, he’s quite the man.

I watch, heart pounding, as the mysterious criminal bares his soul before me. When he opens his eyes, he kisses my knuckles with so much affection I giggle.

“I don’t deserve you, Marianne,” he breathes, the sound of my name in his uneven voice sending thrills spiraling down my pelvis.

“Let’s agree to disagree,” I whisper. “Kiss me again.”

His eyes widen before a predatory glint overtakes them. He growls, the sound vibrating through me with a feral intensity. His entire weightcrashes into me. My arms swing around his broad shoulders, and our lips collide. Hard.

The heat of his skin seeps through my thin pajama fabric, and I pant against his lips.

His mouth moves to my neck, planting searing kisses down my throat while his fingers sink into the plumpness of my thighs.

“Kai,” I breathe out, a mix of desire and desperation.

His body slams against mine with a pressure that makes me squirm.

Our kiss is not a question but an answer. An answer to the unspoken torment we’ve both endured since our paths entwined.

A salvation.

His hands roam my back, tracing the outline of my spine with a soothing and scalding touch.

I respond to him with an urgency that matches his own, my hands finding their way into his hair, pulling him closer as if I could merge us into one being.

The kiss gets deeper, and I moan.

He pulls away and holds my gaze—his mesmerizing green eyes peering into mine—committing every detail of our connection to memory.

His strong hands move down my stomach, waking blissful tremors in the depths of my foundation.

“Just tell me,” he whispers against my neck while untying the ribbon of my pajama shorts, “if you want me to stop.”

I bite my lip. “I want this.”

“That fucking pull between us has me under a goddamn spell,” he murmurs. “And I don’t want to rush it or make you isolate yourself in your mind.” His tone lowers at each word, and I’ve never feltso connected to the present, to myself. “You’ll stop me if you need to, right?”

I take a shaky breath. “Yes.”

With careful fingers, Kai slips my pajama shorts off my legs so slowly that I feel the trembling of his fingertips on my skin. My eyes shut.

---