Page 28 of Escape You

“It matters to me.”

She sighed, letting her head fall back on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her. “I’ve thought of being with you again since I left you. I had every intention of coming back for you. I want you to know that.” The desperation in my tone of voice was pathetic. I kissed and nibbled the nape of her neck.

“Nothing has changed for me. My crew needs me. I can’t let us interfere with what I have to do.” She turned to face me. The intense light in her eyes told me she meant every word.

“What are you planning?”

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

I ran the pad of my thumb over her lips. When I bent down, she kept her green gaze on me as some kind of invitation. She wanted me as much I wanted her. If our bad timing hadn’t changed since that night, this overpowering desire we felt for each other hadn’t either. I bent down and captured her mouth.

There was no tentativeness in her kiss. She parted her soft lips, and her tongue found mine. A groan vibrated inside me. I cradled her neck and deepened the kiss, tasting all of her. Her scent dulled my senses. The raw charge that rushed through me breathed life into me again. In this moment, the mission didn’t matter. The fact that she was implicated with the ATF didn’t matter.

“I don’t care what we are or what we’re supposed to do. I’m not giving up on you.” I cocked my head to make her look at me. Somewhere between the time when I found out who she really was and the time when I accepted this job, I’d made the decision that we deserved a real shot at what we had. I couldn’t ignore my feelings for her anymore. I didn’t want to.

She gripped the lapel of my tuxedo jacket as she struggled to catch her breath. “Get out.”

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my pants. What did I expect? For her to climb back into bed with me. A man could dream. “I’m sorry.”

“No. You know what? I’ll go.” She sidestepped me and bolted for the door with the whoosh of her dress trailing behind her.

9

Over My Dead Body

Mia

My heart pounded in my ears as I rushed down the hallway and toward the party. When the door to my bedroom didn’t open right away, I adjusted my gait to a normal step. Chase wasn’t after me. I touched shaky fingers to my lips. For a very long minute, I considered letting him undress me and…shit. Why did I let him kiss me? Jesus, I hadn’t made that up. His lips were that soft and that skilled. His body molded to mine so perfectly.

If his grandfather were not trying to take away the only family I knew, maybe Chase and I could have a go at it. But Rossi would never let that happen. To him, my crew and I were nothing more than pawns. That made Chase an impossible choice for me. He knew exactly who his grandfather was, and he still chose to join his family. That said a lot about him. It said a lot about me too because there was no doubt in my mind Chase was bad for me, and still, I craved him like a drug.

When I reached the top of the stairs, Rossi climbed up the steps and met me halfway. His features relaxed as he assessed me quickly. He was pleased I wore the dress he’d said, with the necklace he wanted. I was his personal little doll tonight. All this had to have a point. Because if it didn’t my crew would pay the price.

“You look fetching.”

“Thank you.” I took the hand he offered.

“I have a few people I’d like to introduce you to. Come.”

The first stop was an older man who greeted me with a big wet smile. He eyed me as if I were something to eat. On the flip side of that, he gave Rossi a look of contempt. To my surprise, Rossi didn’t put him in his place. Instead, he kept a grin plastered on his face. I doubted this guy was a boss, but he certainly had some affiliation to the Big 5 if Rossi considered him worthy of his time.

I could stand here all night and watch Rossi make a fool of himself, bending over backward for this old creep. “Pleasure to meet you,” I said in a girly voice, then bit the inside of my lip to keep myself from wincing when he kissed my hand.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Rossi moved on to another couple, skipping a few guests on the way there. They obviously didn’t rank in the old man’s mind. Hell, if I cared. I shook more hands and smiled until my cheeks cramped.

Across the room, Chase had set up shop near the bar. He looked unbearably hot in that tuxedo. After our kiss back in my room, I’d given up all efforts to stop fantasizing about me helping him out of that tuxedo and undressing him the way I’d done the night we met. My hands still remembered the hard pecs on his chest, the light dust of hair, and smooth skin over hard muscle.

“For the honeymoon.” I caught the last bit of the conversation happening in my circle. A few of the wives I’d been introduced to were excited about the wedding.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Young lovebirds.” The older lady laughed, fanning herself. “You can’t stand to be away from each other. The looks he’s giving you.”

We weren’t lovebirds. This wasn’t a real marriage. More importantly, this marriage wasn’t happening. Rossi interjected to keep the ladies’ enthusiasm going. “They’re going to Italy for a few weeks. Hopefully, she’ll return with a little one on the way.”

Shit. That part was real. I hated that my baby had this asshole’s blood. “It would be lovely.” I glanced toward the entrance, and my mood improved immediately. Vic was here. I met Rossi’s gaze.

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