Page 102 of Tangled in Vows

She slaps a hand over her eyes. “Oh my God.”

“Remember, no hiding from me.” The words leave my mouth in a hoarse whisper, lodging themselves deep in my chest.

Damn this woman.

The hand disappears, and she looks at me. Indecision is written all over her face because she knows I was talking about more than just this instant.

The gravitational force that connects me to her has me in a chokehold, and her beauty and everything that is her are wrapped tightly around me.

But the voice in my head is still loud enough to slip through.

Is she willing to take a chance on me?

Am I enough?

Chapter 32

Olivia

I’ve never felt lonelier, no idea what to do.

The hope in his eyes is what does me in. We immediately disappeared into a thick cloud of lust after his confession, both of us happy to escape reality for a while, but I haven’t forgotten how much it cost him to finally tell me what happened. The image of him on his knees, utterly devastated, will forever be burned into my memory.

Now, everything has changed, including all the rules. I’m pretty sure we’re not even playing the same game anymore.

Regardless, though, it’s my turn.

How could I not give him a piece of myself after he just offered me his soul on a platter?

Despite that, it’s still hard to spill the truth. “You know that opening up doesn’t come naturally or easily to me, but I want to try. I want to try for you.”

“And that’s all I can ask for.”

“What you . . . what you did. It’s a lot to process, but I want to talk more about it when I’m ready. If you’re okay with that.” Ibrush his face, my hands itching to touch him. “For now, I want to say thank you for protecting me.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I promised I’d keep you safe, and I still intend to do whatever it takes to keep that promise.”

“Thank you,” I say again, needing him to understand I am, on some level, in fact, grateful he killed for me. Maybe that makes me immoral too, but he got rid of one of my nightmares for me, and I’ll never be able to repay him for the freedom that gives me.

I shift and press my lips against his, reveling in how his touch brings me a sort of comfort I didn’t know existed. Once. Twice. Three times. Whispering “thank you” between each kiss.

He was my safe space before, but this added intimacy has taken it to a different level. Every time we’re together, the whole world disappears. It’s peaceful. He’s my serenity.

At first, the kiss is lazy, our lips gently brushing against one another, our tongues joining. The heat in my stomach intensifies with each stroke until the burning gets so strong that I squirm.

He pushes me on my back and blankets me with his body, his cock hot and hard at my leg, driving my desire for him even higher.

As I dig my nails into his back, our conversation pauses—set aside for later—because right now, I’m burning up for this man. Something raw and primal pulses beneath my skin, transforming into an emptiness only he can fill. “Holden.”

“What is it, baby?”

That nickname. Hurricane is already enough to break past my barriers, but now baby too? It’s enough to turn me into putty.

Unable to keep the smirk at bay, I let my lips tilt. “I still remember my name.”

His reaction is immediate, like he was just waiting to return to business, probably happy to escape reality for a little longer too. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

I barely manage to shake my head before he sucks on the sensitive skin of my neck, then my ear. Who knew ears could be this responsive? The resonating buzz in my clit is definitely proof of it.

---