Page 61 of Explosive Vengeance

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Chloe was warm and cozy as she began to climb through the heavy layers of sleep toward consciousness. Normally she snapped awake in an instant, but this time her body was heavy and lethargic. Something was lying across her middle.

An arm. And there was an equally hard body against her back.

Her eyes opened.Heath.

He was wrapped around her, his breathing deep and even in sleep. Gray daylight filtered through the window on the other side of the room, the steady patter of rain against the glass soothing.

Then everything rushed back and the pain hit. Fleur lying dead in a refrigerated morgue drawer right now. Fleur being shot in the back because she’d taken Chloe’s place on that boat. Having Dubois in her sights, and letting him get away.

She closed her eyes, pulled in a steadying breath as she fought the onrush of grief and guilt.

Don’t feel. Don’t feel.

It was so much easier when she could keep everything compartmentalized. She’d been trained to do it automatically, to never get attached or let emotions rule her.

She’d failed on every one of those counts on this mission, including when it came to the man holding her right now.

Heath’s breathing changed and his arm tightened around her. “You awake?”

His deep murmur against the back of her head helped ground her. She focused on the feel of him, so solid and warm around her. It wasn’t weak to allow herself to soak up this bit of comfort, was it? As long as she was aware that this was only temporary and she didn’t show how much her heart was breaking? “Yes. What time is it?”

He shifted to look at his watch. “Not even noon yet. You hungry?”

“No.”

“You only slept a couple hours. Go back to sleep.” He cuddled her closer.

Can’t. Her mind was too busy jabbing at her with sharp knives.

Fleur’s dead because of you. It should be you in that morgue. You’re a failure and an embarrassment, not worthy to call yourself a Valkyrie.

Her heart surged faster, a spurt of something close to panic bursting inside her. She didn’t want to humiliate herself further by losing it in front of Heath, but if she didn’t do something to take her mind off everything, she would.

Frantic to escape her thoughts, she rolled to face him. He was still dressed, lying on top of the covers. She stared into his eyes, that bright, piercing blue gaze that saw things inside her she wanted to hide, grabbed the back of his head and kissed him.

He stiffened, caught off guard for a second, but a heartbeat later one big hand slid into the back of her hair and his mouth slanted across hers.

Relief slammed into her.Yes. Make me stop hurting.

Chloe grabbed his shoulder with her free hand, threw the covers off and started to roll on top of him. Heath caught her by the hip and turned her to her back, his big body coming down on hers. She gasped at the heat and weight of him, staring into his eyes.

“You sure?” he murmured.

God, don’t be a Boy Scout right now.She needed the opposite. She needed hot, fast and furious, the chance to be transported away from reality for a little while.

Lifting her head, she nipped his lower lip. “Yes.”

Heath’s eyes darkened, his pupils expanding. Then his mouth came down on hers, the pressure and weight of his body increasing. She undulated beneath him, her hands wandering over his broad back to grab his shirt and wrench it upward. He peeled it over his head, flinging it aside as his mouth covered hers once more.

She sank into it, letting herself drown in him. He took over, that talented mouth moving down her body, making her quake and shudder as it moved from her breasts to her belly and between her thighs. So soft. His tongue was so soft as it flicked and teased, shooting pleasure through her veins, his strong hands gripping her hips to hold her still.

She whispered his name, getting close, needing him to fill her, for him to chase away this horrible emptiness and make her burn.

He kissed her inner thigh. “Turn over.” He turned her onto her stomach, seized her hips to bring her up on her hands and knees.

Chloe tossed her braid over her shoulder to look back at him, her whole body pulsing with unrelieved need as he rolled a condom down the length of his cock and positioned himself behind her. But then he stopped, his gaze riveted to her Valkyrie mark.

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