Page 45 of Captain's Claim

Jesus fucking Christ.

My gaze flickers down before I can stop it.

“I can't believe it…” She draws out the words like she’s savoring them. “You actually apologized.”

My eye twitches.

“Don’t make a thing out of it.”

She leans against the doorframe, arms still folded, but that robe - it slips just slightly off one shoulder, revealing more golden, freshly-warmed skin.

“Oh no, I think it’s already a thing.”

I scowl and try to ignore how soft her skin looks, how fucking good she smells. “You done?”

“Not even close.”

I rake a hand down my face. “Sophia. Please.”

She bites her lip, and my jaw fuckinglocks.

That mouth.

Thatfuckingmouth.

The way her teeth press into her bottom lip… slow, teasing, like she knowsexactlywhat she’s doing to me.

It's the kind of mouth made for filth. Made for me.

And I’m barely holding on.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She blinks innocently. “I just never thought I’d see the day. Big, brooding Blake Maddox, standing at my door, actually admitting he waswrong.”

“Careful, sweetheart,” I mutter, voice low. “Push me too far and Iwilltake it back.”

Her grin is pure evil. “Oh, Idareyou.”

And fuck,fuck…if that doesn’t make something snap inside me.

My hands twitch at my sides, my restraint hanging by a thread.

Because I want to take it back. I want to turn around, storm the hell out of here, put some goddamn distance between us before I do something I can’t take back.

But then she shifts one final time, and the robe parts that last inch.

My cock fuckingaches.

I take a slow step forward, closing the space between us in an instant, close enough to see the way her pulse kicks up at the base of her throat, to feel the warmth radiating off her skin.

"Are you gonna invite me in, or do you plan to make me grovel out here in the cold all night?"

Sophia hums, tapping a finger against her bottom lip, like she’sthinkingabout it.

And that?

That's it.

Before I can stop myself, I take a step forward, crossing the threshold into her apartment. The scent of her shampoo, the lingering wetness of her shower, the warmth ofherfills my lungs.

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