Page 52 of Claimed by the Lawman

She didn’t say a word, just sipped at the whiskey. The warmth and buzz didn’t take long. She wasn’t much of a whiskey drinker so after she swallowed the last drop of her first glass, she was feeling slightly woozy. Licking her lips, she smiled. “Really? That’s a shocker.”

“I’m freaked out about this, us, too. After you walked away from me, all I could think about was how I’d come here to find you packing and hitting the road again.” The lines around his eyes and mouth were deeper which told her that he was actually worried.

“Our argument made me want to stay more,” she admitted. “I feel like I need to prove something to you.” Yeah, the whiskey was definitely making her loose-lipped. She had to be careful before she ended up divulging every sliver of her feelings for him and she wasn’t ready for that, and she doubted he was ready to hear it all.

Once she told him, would things change between them? Wasn’t that the point? Would she lose herself again? Would he back away?

“What do you need to prove?” he asked in a husky voice.

Not able to sit still, she got up, moved to the sink and looked out the window into the darkness, watching the rain pelt the window like tears from the sky. She saw Kace’s reflection as he stared at her, then stood and shoved his hands into his front pockets. He looked vulnerable. He looked so handsome, so good. His wide chest welcoming.

She turned and looked at him. Despite being angry and confused, as well being full of turbulent emotions, she was aroused. Her nipples beaded. Her inner thighs trembled. Her panties turned wet. Their gazes connected and it took her breath away. She held the edge of the counter to stay standing. In that moment, she wanted to dissect his thoughts, know what was in his heart. His mouth opened, but it slammed shut and she wanted to demand that he tell her what was on the tip of his tongue. All the while she was attempting to ignore the sensations rocking her insides.

The grip that she had on the counter kept her steady, glued to the floor, stabilizing her upheaval of emotions. “Kace, what do we do?” Her voice barely worked, like sand paper sliding over wood. Seconds seemed to turn into centuries as she waited for him to say something. His stare was pensive, slamming into her with the velocity of a jet plane.

Then he took a step closer, the world resting on his shoulders. “Where do you want things to go?”

Oh no. That was a loaded question. How could she answer? Right off the bat, a part of her wanted to jump for glee. She could think of a hundred things she’d like to do with him, and then logic needled in and she didn’t have a clue where they went from here.

Kace’s chest rose and fell. His eyes turned dark and foreboding.

He took three strides that brought him in front of her, a mere few inches of space. With him being this close their gazes held in a bewildered grip. She wanted to stand up on her tiptoes and wrap her arms around his neck and drag him in for a kiss, but something held her steady. Maybe one last thread of fear.

“You’re trembling,” he said in a raw whisper. He took a short step, making her press into the counter, but there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide from the rush of desire and feelings. He reached up and took a strand of her hair, rolled it around his wide knuckle, then let it drop. “Tell me, Tyler. Tell me,” he coaxed.

She wasn’t sure her tongue would work. Her breathing barely did. “I-I don’t know.”

“That’s a weak excuse, Sassy. One I won’t accept.” He braced his hands on the counter one on either side of her, his breath brushing her cheek. He smelled like leather and wood and it enticed her.

“What are you wanting from me?”

“The truth.”

“That would have the force of an explosion. I’m not that girl any more, Kace.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.” His eyes bore into her. “I’ve already noticed that you’re not a girl anymore.”

He just stared and the words were right on the tip of her tongue. She’d waited so long, not thinking she’d ever have this chance again, and here he was, they were together. Why was she holding back? Why couldn’t she spit out the truth and let the pieces fall where they may. “Fine, Kace. A big part of me is stuck in the past. I’ve never truly gotten over you.” There it was. Ka-boom. She couldn’t take anything back now.

“We’re not in the past any longer, sweetheart. We’re here, in the present. And I want you. So damn much that it hurts.”

Emotion filled her chest and tears came to her eyes. A low growl sounded from his throat at the same time he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, lowering his mouth to hers. His lips were smooth and delicate at first, as if he was testing the waters, and then they took on a new rhythm. Fast, rough, hard, and demanding, which left her unable to do anything but melt into him.

His arms crushed her, not in a hurtful way, but a desperate, needful one that made her feel wanted…like a seductive woman. She realized she could easily give in to every single overwhelming emotion and fall mindlessly in love with him all over again. Pleasure and desire filled her, a starvation that reminded her that she hadn’t been with a man in a long time and her body hungered for a man like Kace.

Helpless to stop the swirling of need in her body, she didn’t want it to end.

~~**~~

When a man had wanted something for so long and then he got it, it could be related to all the planets aligning. What Kace was feeling couldn’t be described in a word or actually an entire dictionary of words. He pulled away, just enough to press his forehead to hers, gasping for needed breath. His hands were trembling and his insides were vibrating, an array of monumental emotions. He’d never been this thrown for a loop, not even years ago when he’d held Tyler for the first time. She’d admitted that she’d never gotten over him, but she didn’t say that she loved him. Was she holding back? Afraid? Because damn, he was scared. This opened a new can of worms. It shouldn’t be this trivial, and yet it was.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. Her hands were on his back and he could feel the familiar shaking.

“I want you so much. I have to control myself so I can take things slow,” he whispered.

“Where do we go from here?”

Her smile reached in and clutched every fiber of his body. He automatically smiled too, loving the flush of her cheeks. Her swollen lips and the new light in her lovely eyes. He loved knowing he could do this to her, and that she could rock his world. He wanted to affect her this way every single day, feel so alive every single day. If only she’d allow him to show her how much he cared. “More kissing for sure.”

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