Page 54 of Seven

“Damn, I’ve missed you,” he whispered, his voice thick, raw with the truth of it.

I almost couldn’t speak. My lips trembled as I whispered back, my heart beating so loudly in my chest that it felt like it was going to burst. “I missed you, too. You’ll never know how much.”

I wrapped my arms around him, holding him just as tightly as he was holding me. And for the first time in a long time, everything inside me finallycalmed. He was here. He was holding me. After all the pain and lost time, I finally had him back.

He looked down and studied me for a moment, searching for some kind of confirmation that I wanted this moment as much as he did, and once he found it, his mouth crashed against mine.We both let go of our doubts and just let ourselves get lost in the moment.

The tips of his fingers trailed along my spine, and I arched towards him, seeking the heat of his touch. He continued to kiss me, and I could feel a fire burning deep inside me, smoldering as it spread through my body. He kissed me long and hard, and we were inching to the point of no return when he eased back and whispered, “Never could get enough of you.”

“I wasted so much time. Why did I do that? Why did I let them…”

“Don’t do that. Don’t go back there. Stay here with me. Right now, in this moment. Can you do that?”

I wanted this moment with him. I wanted to forget about the past and let my heart be my guide. I could feel my emotions building inside of me, and I had to fight back my tears as I nodded and muttered, “Yes, Holt. I can do that.”

My pulse started to race as he leaned towards me and pressed his lips against mine once again. Holt owned a piece of my heart that no one else could have. Right or wrong, I wanted him, needed him, and I was willing to put everything on the line to have him in my life again.

He trailed kisses along my neck, sending chills throughout my entire body. My breath caught when I felt his hand inching its way down my stomach. He stopped at the buckle of my jeans, and in an instant, he had them unfastened and was slipping his hand down the waistband of my lace panties. And just like that, my doubts started rolling in.

I suddenly became nervous when he led me over to the sofa. I hadn’t been with anyone since the last time we were together. I’d had a child—his child. I was worried that he would notice the changes in my body and wouldn’t find me as appealing as he had once before. But when I looked up at him and saw the longingin his eyes, my doubts were quickly forgotten. The truth was, I wanted him just as much as he wanted me, if not more.

As soon as his fingers drifted between my legs, my entire body shivered with anticipation. I gasped as the tips of his fingers grazed across my center with slow, methodical circles. Every single touch made me yearn for more.

It felt so good, so right, to have his hands on me again, like they were made for my body and my body alone. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, relishing the sensation as he moved his fingers against me. As soon as I started to feel that familiar tingling in my abdomen, he eased my panties to the side and slid his fingers deep inside me.

He began teasing me with the pad of his thumb, using just the right amount of pressure to make me come unglued. It felt incredible, better than I’d remembered, and after just a few moments, I felt my orgasm start to take hold. His fingers curled deep inside me, and when he increased the pressure, I was done.

With a gratified moan, my head fell back, and my entire body started to tremble uncontrollably. My climax surged through me with a powerful force, causing me to mumble over and over, “Oh, dear God!”

I was struggling to remain standing when Holt growled, “Dammit.”

He quickly withdrew his hand and took a step back as he announced, “They’re back.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Not something I’d joke about.”

“Talk about bad timing.”

“You’re telling me.”

I fastened the button of my jeans and quickly straightened my shirt. Holt’s eyes slowly skirted over me, and a sexy smirk slipped across his lips as he said, “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not done with you yet. Not by a long shot.”

13

SEVEN

“We found them.”

“Them?”

“The driver and one of the guards.”

“Where?”

Memphis and Goose had already checked the address on the car’s registration, but it was a dead end. The house was empty and looked to have been abandoned for quite some time. Shep had continued digging but came up empty handed. Without a real name or address, there was no way for any of us to know where this guy could be.

It was going to take some time to track him down, so I had used the opportunity to go back to the house to check in with Tallie and Ford. And I made damn good use of the opportunity. I’d missed hearing Tallie come undone and looked forward to hearing it again soon.

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