Page 21 of Forbidden Dark Vows

“He’ll say that I finally got lucky.”

I can hear the pleading in his voice. He’s worried that when the snow clears, I’ll walk out of here, and he’ll never see me again. He’s worried that, in time, this will become a distant memory, something to be confused with a dream he had one night induced by the strong pain relief administered to him by the medical team after the accident.

It’s just one night, I tell myself.

What harm can it do?

When he’s fully recovered, he’ll go back to New York, and I’ll stay in Chicago where my mom will continue trying to push me into the arms of another eligible bachelor, to make our life easier.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I climb onto the bed, slide my legs under the covers, and snuggle up against Harry.

His warmth heats my skin instantly, like someone set a fire blazing underneath the bed. He wraps his good arm around my shoulders, and I rest my head on his chest. I never thought about how it would feel to be in his arms, but now that I’m there, I realize that it feels like the most natural thing on earth. Like there’s a dip in his chest beneath his collarbone that was made for my head.

“You will keep your promise, Ruby,” he whispers, stroking my arm with his thumb.

I freeze. “My promise?”

“I asked you a question when you first got here.”

Shit!I thought he’d forgotten about that.

Propping myself on an elbow, I rest my chin on his chest and study his face. “Ask me again when you know me a little better.”

It’s a cop out, but I know he’ll thank me for it when he’s back in New York, and his life settles back to normal. I’m saving him the hassle of finding a plausible excuse for calling it all off when he comes to his senses.

“I know all I need to know. The rest will be a bonus.”

Then his lips are on mine, and even though I’m scared I’m going to hurt him, or raise his blood pressure, or give him another panic attack like he had when I first arrived, I kiss him back.

His hand is in my hair, gripping it tightly so that it’s pulling on my scalp. I straddle him on the hospital bed, my tongue probing his mouth because suddenly, inexplicably, the bubble is just for the two of us, and nothing else exists.

I want Harry Weiss.

There, I’ve allowed the thought to take form and grow wings. There was no bolt of lightning when he bumped into me—literally—at the skating rink. He didn’t make me go weak at the knees, or blush, or giggle like a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, but Harry Weiss has gotten under my skin anyway. My pulse races. Between my legs tightens and tingles, and my nipples harden as he crushes my breast with his hand.

“Ruby…” His breath is warm on my face. “Marry me.”

“You don’t mean that.” I kiss him harder.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. He almost died a few days ago. His arm is broken, his face is covered in bruises, but I want to feel him inside me just like in all the historical romances I’ve ever read. He isn’t Heathcliff. He isn’t a swashbuckling pirate with long hair, a gold tooth, and a way of undressing women with his eyes.

He’s just Harry.

But just Harry has made me feel things I’ve never felt before.

I pull away from him and tug my sweater over my head, tossing it onto the floor beside the bed while Harry studies my breasts as if it’s his first time too.

“You’re so beautiful, Ruby” he whispers.

I feel beautiful. I’m not wearing any makeup, my hair is greasy, I haven’t changed my panties in three days, but Harry makes me feel like I’m the most gorgeous woman on the planet.

His eyes devour me as he squeezes my nipples, pulling me down to him so that his lips can close around them. He nibbles them between his teeth, his tongue circling, licking, sucking. Every part of me is tingling, and my breaths come in short, ragged gasps.

Harry shifts his hips, pain flaring behind his eyes and then disappearing, but I’ve already felt it. His cock is hard beneath me and I raise my butt so that I can slide my hand between my legs and feel it. It takes my breath away. But at the same time, it excites me in a way that no one else has ever made me feel.

“Not like this,” Harry murmurs, his voice husky.

I lean closer, kissing his lips, his eyes, his face, tiny butterfly kisses, my lips barely touching his skin. “Why not?” If we don’tdo this now, it will never happen. We’ll both go home, carry on with our lives, and this will forever be the moment that almost was.

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