Page 25 of Throttle All the Way

Her hands came up, clutching my wrist, but she didn’t pull away. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her lips parted as she stared up at me.

We were too close. The heat between us was electric, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t ignore the way my body reacted to her. Her scent, her warmth, the fire in her eyes—it all pushed me to the edge.

“Then show me,” she whispered, her voice a challenge and a plea all at once.

I hated my reaction to her in that moment, just as much as I wanted her. And I hated myself for what I wanted to do next.

MILA

The wall was unforgiving against my back, cold and unyielding, much like the man pinning me to it. His body was a cage, his hands unforgiving as they gripped my wrists, holding them high above my head. The sharp edge of his growl reverberated through me, making my knees weak even as my mind screamed at me to fight back. But there was no escaping Cipher. Not his strength, not his dominance, and certainly not the way he made me feel.

I hated him. I hated the way he looked at me, like I was his to control, his to command. I hated the way he invaded my thoughts, my body, my every breath. But most of all, I hated the way my traitorous body responded to him—how his touch ignited something dark and primal inside me, something I couldn’t control.

“Cipher,” I gasped, the word trembling on my lips as his head dipped closer. His breath was hot against my ear, and I swore my heart might explode from the way it raced. “What are you going to do to me?”

His lips brushed my earlobe, a taunting caress that sent a shiver down my spine. “What I should have done the momentyou walked into my life,” he murmured, his voice rough, almost feral.

His voice was a whisper of heat, an invitation for the darkness that he thrived in. I couldn’t resist him even if I wanted to. In one swift motion, he claimed my mouth in a bruising kiss. His lips were demanding, a clash of need and fury that left me breathless. He tasted like danger and sin, and I couldn’t help but moan against him, the sound betraying every ounce of resistance I thought I had.

I hated him. And yet I wanted him.

The contradiction burned through me as his teeth grazed my lower lip, sending a jolt of heat straight to my core. I arched against him, desperate for more, even as my mind screamed at me to push him away. My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer instead of shoving him off.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered against his lips, the words a traitorous plea. My voice was shaky, but there was no denying the truth behind it. I needed him. I needed this.

A dark chuckle rumbled from his chest, vibrating against me. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, Mila.”

“Then show me,” I challenged, my voice steadier now, tinged with desire. “Show me what I’ve been missing.

His eyes darkened, his grip on my wrists tightening as if he were trying to tether himself to control. But control was the last thing he wanted—I could see it in the way his jaw clenched, in the storm brewing behind his gaze. He was barely holding on, and I wanted to see him snap. I wanted to see him lose himself in me.

Fuck, I wanted this as much as he did. HIs fingers tangled in my hair, tugging my head back to give him better access to my neck. He trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses down the line of my throat, marking me as his. I could feel my pulse quicken under his lips, and he drank it in, relishing every reaction I gave me.

“Do you want this?” he growled against my skin. “Do you want me to fuck you until you scream?”

I was lost, nodding as my chest heaved with each ragged breath. “Yes. I need it, Cipher. I need you.”

I could feel my words shattering the last bit of resistance he had left. I was drowning in him, in the need that coursed through every inch of my body. He pulled me closer, pinning me tighter, grinding against me so I could feel the friction that was drove him wild.

“Fuck,” he groaned, his hips snapping hard against mine, forcing me to feel his hardness through our clothes. “You drive me insane, Mila.”

I pushed back against him, meeting each of his moves with equal desperation. I was lost in the rawness of it, in the dark desire that had been simmering between us. I’d never felt this need for anyone or with anyone.

We were a tangle of need and fury, consuming each other with every breath. I didn’t care about consequences, about what came after this. And all he cared about was claiming me, breaking down every barrier I had and taking me in every possible way.

“Do it,” I panted, my nails digging into his shoulders. “Take what you want from me.”

“Watch your mouth, Mila,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“I want to know. Show me, detective” I repeated, my chin tilting up in defiance. I was trembling, but it wasn’t fear that made me shake. It was anticipation. It was lust.

Something in him broke then. His free hand shot to my throat, wrapping around it with a grip that was possessive, almost brutal. He shoved me harder against the wall, his bodypressing into mine, and I couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped me.

“You want to see what I’m capable of?” he snarled, his face inches from mine.

His hands gripped the soft material of my nightgown, and he yanked it hard, ripping it off me. “You’ve been pushing me, Mila. Pushing me to the edge. Do you even know what you’re asking for?”

My pulse pounded beneath his fingers, a frantic rhythm that matched the heat pooling low in my belly. I shouldn’t want this. I shouldn’t want him. But God, I did.

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