Page 66 of Lie to Me

A smirk teases my lips. “I’d rather you didn’t,” I respond dryly. The muscles in his back tense before he lets out a whoosh of airand spins to face me. His eyes widen as they connect with mine, and I don’t bother trying to hide my smile.

“Sloane,” he whispers in disbelief and his hands grasp the island that stands between us, as though he’s trying to stay on that side of the kitchen rather than grab hold of me.

I wouldn’t mind if he did grab hold of me, as long as he never let go.

“Marco,” I say with a smile before approaching him.

Marco doesn’t take his eyes off me as I tentatively walk around the island and step up to him. I’m not even sure he’s breathing once I finally reach him and tilt my head to look up at him.

“So I was forced into girls’ night tonight,” I say conversationally. He hums as I lay my palm on his chest, feeling his heartbeat thud erratically under his shirt. “They made me realize something.”

His tongue swipes across his bottom lip. “And what’s that?” he rasps.

“That no one living is to blame for what happened all those years ago,” I murmur as I slide my hands up his chest and wrap them around his neck. “That I can move on without forgetting. That I can be happy without letting go. That I shouldn’t let my father still take from me from beyond the grave.”

I stare into his eyes and he tilts his head down so our foreheads are almost touching.

“They made me realize that we can work through everythingtogether.In fact, I think we can have so much more than what we had back then. I don’t want to be away from you, Marco. I want to work on us. I want to fix us. I just want you.”

The words are barely out of my mouth before his lips are on mine and his hands are grabbing my thighs, lifting me up to sit on the counter.

“Are you sure about this?” he murmurs against my lips.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”

All the tension that he was holding seems to release from his body as he sighs, steps between my legs, and frames my face with his hands.

“You have no fucking idea how happy I am that you’re here, baby,” he whispers and presses a kiss to my cheek. “I’ve been waiting ten years for you, and I’d wait ten more if I had to. Fuck, Sloane. I’d wait a damn lifetime to only have you for one day.”

“I want so much more than just a day, Marco. I want forever with you,” I admit.

He swallows as he stares at me. “Forever,” he says, his lips tipping up in one of his rare smiles before he kisses me with everything he has. It’s not rough or demanding like I’d thought it'd be considering I left him, but slow, and sweet, and so fucking him that it makes my full body tremble against him. His tongue lazily parts my lips before sweeping inside. I moan into his mouth as I tug on his hair in an attempt to bring him closer.

“I need you, Marco,” I whisper. “Give me all of you.”

A groan reverberates through his throat. “Do you remember the first time I touched you?” he murmurs. “The first time I tasted you, right here in this kitchen?”

I nod. “That’s not something I could ever forget.”

“Good,” he says with a smirk. “But let’s refresh your memory, shall we? For old times’ sake.”

“Mmm,” I murmur as his lips descend on my neck and he undoes the button on my jeans. “Lift,” he orders, and I lean back and tilt my hips up so he can bring my jeans and panties down before he throws them to the floor. Unlike last time, I don’t want to be the only one naked. I want to feel him, feel his skin against mine and trace the tattoo he got for me with my fingers.

I slowly unbutton his shirt before peeling it away from his shoulders and he takes a step away from me, making me whimper. He smirks and loosens his belt before taking off his pants.

“I want you naked,” he says pointedly, and I dutifully remove my sweater, leaving on my bra.

“That’s not naked, Sloane,” he groans admonishingly before he stalks back towards me. He reaches around me and unclasps my bra. I let it fall to the floor and watch as he walks backwards away from me.

“Just for that, I want you on your knees,” he grunts.

Fuck, I love this side of him.

The side only I see.

I jump down from the counter and go to approach him, only he holds up a hand to halt my motions.

“Crawl,” he orders, and I raise a questioning brow.

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