Page 539 of Rage

Liam

Even in the half-light, zip-tied to a post and leaking more blood than is healthy, I can see Cece’s dark eyes get big with the compliment.

But it’s true.

The scrawny, angry kid I remember has turned into something no less vicious, but clad in curves that any reasonable man would be happy to have his hands on.

Always willing to stand up to the men in her life, her three big brothers, and fuck, even her dad, swore she would fight to the death for what she wanted, for what she thought was right. Eddie warned us not to get on her bad side. And somehow, I’d ended up on the other end of the spectrum with her.

For the first time, I’m grateful I’m not on her shit list. Because if anybody is going to get out of this shit-show, it’s Cece Rodriguez. If I’m lucky, she’ll get Xander out of this, too.

And that’s the best-case scenario. There’s no way I can run right now.

So, knowing that I have no right to ask, no right to risk Eddie’s wrath, I voice what I’ve been thinking about since I’d been shoved into a goddamn trunk with an unreasonably brave,chatty woman. “A kiss from a beautiful woman for a dying man ought to be a no-brainer. Want to give it a go?”

I’m not as suave as Xander. Never have been. Never will be. But that doesn’t mean I don’t go for what I want.

And Cece Rodriguez is exactly what I want.

Instead of bending over, giving me a better view of those beautiful tits Xander was lucky enough to be burrowed into, and pressing those pillowy lips to mine, she throws her head back, her laughter loud and unexpected.

“You’re not dying, O’Connell. Not on my watch.”

Well, if I doubted that her crush was good and gone, that doubt’s been put to rest. And now I’m the one pining. “Maybe not from the bullet wound in my leg, but you and I both know there are pre-dug graves waiting for us.”

She tilts her head, a heavy hank of hair sliding over her shoulder, brushing the tops of those swells in a way that makes my fingertips itch. “True.”

She shrugs, then in careful, tiny movements, she half drapes herself across my chest, her breasts heating my skin through my shirt as her face hovers above me. “I always wondered what it would be like to kiss you.”

With no preamble, she lowers her head, and at the first press of her lips to mine, she’s captured me completely. My arms yank against my restraints, trying to get my hands on her. Instead, I drag us both closer to the gate, gravel digging deeper into my back. The burn hardly registers as I run my tongue along the seam of her lips, wanting to taste her. Wanting so much more than to just carefully kiss her like a virgin at junior prom.

And with a hum that has me half hard, she lets me in.

It’s just a kiss, just lips and tongue, the angle slightly off kilter. It should be an awkward, half-assed thing. Instead, it’s everything. Every soft press of her lips against mine, everysweep and dance of our tongues, her feathery breaths against my cheeks, it’s a magic spell cast over me.

When she eventually pulls away, I chase her, nipping at her bottom lip for daring to end the enchantment.

She smirks, a little less dread in her gaze. “That was unexpected.”

“How so?”

“How often does a kiss with a childhood crush end up better than you imagined?”

I bark out a laugh, wishing this were any other situation. That I’d re-met Cece at Eddie’s wedding, asked her to dance, stolen her out into the night and ravaged her mouth in some wholly inappropriate locale, while a part of me worried Eddie would find us and kill me.

Even that anxiety laden dream would have been so much better than tonight.

“I guess we all have something to live for now.”

She scoots back, leaning against the iron bars with one shoulder. I already miss the warmth of her pressed against me. Even if I still have a perfect view of her boobs, the piles of peach fabric pooled at the top of her soft-looking thighs.

“Any chance you have a knife hidden somewhere on you?” she asks, ignoring my comment.

“They stripped me of all my weapons before they threw us in the trunk.”

She sighs. “Of course I’d get nabbed while dressed like a cartoon princess and totally unarmed. Any sharp rocks digging into your back?”

“None more than the others. And my back is probably closer to ground beef than flesh after being dragged over here.”

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