Page 38 of Cruel Lies

I had her in my arms in a heartbeat, so relieved that she was safe that I didn’t even think about the ramifications of my next move. The only thing on my mind was reassuring myself she was okay.

"Don’t scare me like that again." She felt so good in my embrace, tucked neatly against my chest, like she belonged there. Fuck, it felt like coming home, holding her like this again. I could smell the scent of her shampoo?—

Lilacs and honey?—

I could feel her heart beating in time with mine?—

Thump, thump, thump, thump?—

I needed more. It was everything I’d ever longed for and denied myself, but right now, I needed more.

I was never selfish. I always thought of others, putting their needs above my own. But this time, with only the two of us here, I let myself be selfish with her.

My lips were on hers in the blink of an eye, melded together as her hands twined around my neck, and she leaned into me even more. Her fingers teased the hairs at the base of my neck, her touch electrifying as I felt my whole world shift.

We didn’t break apart as I backed her against the wall, inches from where Jackal’s blood was still slowly trailing to the floor. My hand slapped the sticky mess as I used it to keep her from getting it in her hair, and redoubled my efforts, my tongue teasing her lips for entrance.

She parted them with a sigh, and I felt like I’d been granted access to heaven. Harper fucking Daniels tasted like sin and desperation, bubblegum and a red hot in one package, spicy and sweet, the perfect combination of beautiful attributes in one package. I couldn’t get enough of her as my free hand grippedher hip and tugged her against me, letting her feel what she was doing to me.

"Fuck," she whispered, her hands trailing down my chest, "Ro?—"

"Ssh," I whispered against her mouth, biting her bottom lip as I pulled just far enough away to catch my breath. "Not here." I turned around and knelt, motioning for her to climb on my back. "Come on, you pain in my ass. Let’s go back upstairs."

She climbed aboard me with no argument, giggling in my ear the whole way up.

It was the most brutal two flights of stair climbing of my life.

Figuratively and literally.

SEVENTEEN

HARPER

I didn’t planto fall into Rowan’s fucking arms. I didn’twantto want him so bad I managed to win an Olympic-levelgold medal in mental gymnastics while overlooking his past transgressions. But when his lips met mine in that library, right after a near-fucking-death experience, my brain wasn’t leading the procession.

I never stood a chance.

My hands moved over him in ways I’d only imagined in my wildest, most secret fantasies. Lips, tongues, teeth, in a frantic tango that we’d put off for far too long.

"Fuck," I whispered against his mouth, "Ro?—"

"Ssh," he whispered back, a smile forming on those luscious lips pressed feather-light against mine. "Not here."

Somehow, I ended up on his back, my nose pressed into the crook of his neck as he huffed and puffed up the first flight of stairs. Which was a nice position to be in, all things considered. It felt strange to let someone take care of me for once, and I was still shaken up from the run-in with Jackal, so I refused to think of the long-term implications of getting tangled up with a man who’d clearly been holding a candle for me this whole time. For once, I just wanted to enjoy the good things in front of me.

Every couple of stairs, I whispered sexy things into his ear, nibbled at the edge of that soft skin, even darted my tongue out to tease the side of his neck. By the time we reached the second floor, I wasn’t sure who was more worked up.

Rowan abruptly stopped before he got to his door, and I slid from his back with a soft sigh of resignation.

He didn’t leave me wanting long.

Ro had me backed against a wall in seconds, his hands tangling in my hair as he yanked us back together, our kiss more fevered than before. My hands had a mind of their own, mapping out those bare abs, fingers sliding into every divot and dip of those glorious muscles he’d obviously worked hard to maintain.

"Someone’s been working out," I moaned, dragging my nails along that fucking washboard over his stomach. In between each movement, I pulled back just enough to guess how he did it, driving him crazy. "Crunches?"Kiss."Situps?"Kiss."Planking?—"

A warning growl left his throat as those hands moved from my hair to my waist, lifting me like I weighed nothing. "Shut up and put your legs around my waist, brat," he murmured into my neck, peppering my skin with little nips and kisses, soothing the tender spots with his tongue as I wrapped myself around him.

Fuck, he was solideverywhere,and now I could really feel him—all of him—pressed against me as we doubled down on our intense makeout sesh. My hands crawled over his bare shoulders, raking nails over his shoulder blades, a grin crossing my lips as he groaned in response.

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