Page 53 of Temptation and Tyranny

“I’m making good on my threat.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her gently towards the lobby. The front desk attendant looked at me and recognized me instantly. I didn’t have to say a single word as he pushed a keycard across the desk. I grabbed it, running my thumb around the smooth edge of the card. Turning around, I led Allegra to the elevator. The second the doors closed, I turned my head towards my companion. She was quiet, not looking up at me. I could tell she was angry with me, but at that moment, I didn’t give a fuck. I was filled with rage, and I knew the only thing that would stop it would be to fill her with my come over and over.

I’d spend the rest of the afternoon inside her until my body felt confident that she knew who she belonged to.

She was still silent as I unlocked the door to the room. I held her petite hand in my grasp, but she wasn’t fighting against my hold on her. Ignoring the view and the luxury of the room, I headed straight towards the bedroom.

My single goal since arriving at her work.

She stood next to the bed, her expression blank. If I hadn’t been both enraged and turned on, I might have noticed her quiet demeanor, but I was a selfish prick. She was wearing jeans and a logo polo, the name of the clinic she worked for embroidered just along her right breast. I tugged at the shirt, pulling it over her head until she was topless. Removing my shirt, I drank her in.

Standing there in her bra and jeans, she was perfect. She was wearing a sports bra, no doubt due to the physical nature of her job, and I found that endearing. She was so dedicated to her career that even stripped of her shirt, she was still a physical therapist.

I towered over her like a monster, and I couldn’t wait to take her like one.

And then I saw her face. Like a cold bucket of water had been thrown on it, my lust extinguished on the spot. The white-hot rage that was governing this entire situation also faded, replaced by overwhelming concern.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Tenderly, I angled her jaw up so I could see her eyes.

They were coated with moisture.

“You’re scaring me, Cooper,” she whispered, averting her eyes downward.

I wasn’t a man who ever felt remorse. I’d killed men, stolen, lied, and fucked my way around Europe. Yet the regret I felt nearly made me vomit.

In an instant, I scooped Allegra up, cradling her carefully against my chest. Sitting on the bed, I hugged her close. Her skin was covered in goosebumps, and she shivered. I used my body heat to warm her, enveloping her in my arms.

“Ma belle, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” It was the second time I’d made her cry, the second time I’d felt like a true villain.

She seemed to hesitate for a second, but then she melted into my arms like warm butter. Needing my comfort, she sheltered herself in the safety of my embrace, even though mere seconds ago I was the one she was afraid of.

“Tomas…he…was sometimes…violent in bed. I’m afraid—it’s ruined me.” I felt her words more than I heard them, her soft lips moving against my chest.

My anger was back, this time directed towards that useless shit ex of hers. I felt my eyes flash, and the blood that had been directing my dick suddenly returned to my head, creating a drumroll of pounding inside my skull.

“I will kill him. I’m going to break into his cell and mutilate his body before I snuff out his life. I’ll—”

“Cooper. Please—just…hold me.”

I struggled once again to control my anger. Luckily, Allegra moved in even closer and pressed her silky lips to the hollow of my throat. It was the only place her lips could reach in our current position, but it was so goddamn sensual that it had me instantly hard again. Women enjoyed my body—I was a larger man, tall and muscular. I was incredibly experienced in bed, and my conquests knew they were with the best they’d ever be with. I was big and thick, and I had no trouble reaching places within a pussy that most men couldn’t. I didn’t even have to try to make a woman climax—they always did as I concentrated on my own pleasure.

But in all those experiences, all those ridiculousescapades, I’d never felt what I felt now, holding Allegra in my arms.

I placed her on the soft mattress, pulling back the sheets and tucking them around her. She was still cold, so I got underneath the covers with her, pulling her back towards me so I was spooning her. I placed a kiss against the back of her neck, moving her ponytail to one side. She shivered again, but this time, I knew it had nothing to do with temperature.

She wanted me.

My cock was hard, straining against her backside. My hips fought me, wanting to thrust against her beautiful ass. I wanted to pull her jeans down and take her from behind.

But that wasn’t what she needed. And for some reason, some insane part of me wanted to give her exactly what she craved.

I turned her to face me, nearly laughing as her beautiful eyes went straight to my chest. Her fingers lightly traced a tattoo I had along my pectoral muscle. The ink was marred, some of the art hardly legible anymore.

“What happened here?”

I turned my head away. “Ashlynn’s father—he’s—he was in the same line of work. When he realized that his enemy was sleeping with his daughter, he wanted to control the situation, and he used me as bait.”

I didn’t elaborate, because truthfully, I’d been unconscious for large parts of my captivity with Topher Phillips. But I remembered the pain all too well, the slashes of his knife, the heavy weight of the crowbar when it had met bone.

Allegra trailed her fingers along my collarbone,and I closed my eyes. I’d been touched everywhere by women, but something about her soft fingertips made it feel so much different. Intimate.

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