Page 88 of The Fixer

He paced his kitchen and living room, trying not to awaken the dogs while his rational side played tug-of-war with the caveman inside him—a caveman he was wholly unfamiliar with. His pendulum of emotions swung from one extreme to another—cool and calm to completely out of control—until he thought he might explode.

Why exactly was he letting this consume him? Insanity. Joy Holiday made him insane. She had from the very first moment he’d laid eyes on her, but the brand of craziness she whipped up inside of him had shiftedsince then into something altogether more profound. Before, she merely pissed him off, which left him with the ability to compartmentalize his annoyance. But now she was all he could think about, dream about, and he didn’t know how to reclaim his brain. He was struggling to keep his head above water in a monster wave that let him break the surface and glimpse sanity from time to time, only to crash back down and submerge him again. He had to dosomethingbefore he drowned.

He fed the dogs early, topped off their water bowls, and let them out before throwing on a T-shirt, hoodie, and a pair of jeans.

“If I’m not back in two hours, call the cops,” he instructed. Unfazed, they yawned and trotted back to their beds.

He stuffed his feet into sneakers and climbed into his truck, his gut churning like a concrete mixing drum. His emotions were ready to spring. He was going to storm the castle.

Chapter 25

Logic Has Left the Building

Nothing moved in thesleepy town as Charlie raced the few blocks to Joy’s place. Speed limit? He ignored it. If Shane O’Brien or any other law enforcement officer had been on patrol, they would have cuffed Charlie’s ass. He was behaving like a lunatic stalker. But he didn’t give two flying fucks. He was hell bent on a mission.

He slowed down long enough to survey the front of Crystal Harmony Haven. Dark. The M3 was parked right where he’d left it, but the Mercedes was missing, which meant Asshat was gone—assuming Asshat had been driving the Benz.

Every nerve ending in his body fired as he pulled around back and parked in the empty lot. He shot from the driver’s seat and banged his truck door shut, the sound reverberating in the chill night air. Charged toward Joy’s back door. Pounded. Stood back. Pounded again.

The door opened just as he was about to pound a third time, revealing a mussed-up Joy in petal-pink shortie pj’s and a scrubbed face. She rubbed her eyes as if she’d just awoken. “What areyou—”

“Is he here?” Charlie bounced on the balls of his feet, clenching and unclenching his fists inside the pockets of his hoodie.

“No, he left—”

He didn’t wait for her to finish. Just pushed through the door, slammed it, and took her face in his hands before crashing his mouth down on hers. The beast inside him roared to claim her. He had no fucking idea where it had come from, but it didn’t matter. He’d been sitting on a lit fuse she’d set the flame to, overwhelmed by the need to show her the havoc she was wreaking.

He broke the kiss, his chest heaving.

She looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. “Is everything okay? Wh-what’s going on?” Her voice was one breathless rush.

“I’m here to finish what we started, unless you tell me to leave. But you’d better do it right now.” Her almond-floral shampoo invaded his senses, making him dizzier than he’d been seconds before.

Her eyes flared, but the rest of her face remained perfectly expressionless for an agonizing few ticks of the clock. Finally, she spoke, her voice dropping an octave. “I don’t want you to leave.”

His extended abstinence was about to come to an end.

“Lock the door.” He released her, cuffing one wrist while she threw the deadbolt with her free hand. He had to touch her; he couldn’t stand letting her go.

She cocked an eyebrow. “You seem a little … off. Are you sure everything’s all right?”

“No, but it will be.” He scooped her up, one arm under her bare knees, and carted her to the bedroom.

The moon had risen higher, and the room was painted in broad brush strokes of silver. He set her on her feet, and she opened her mouth—probably to ask what the fuck he was doing, for which he had no answer—and he took her mouth again. She responded with a sweet moan that fired up his belly and made his cock swell painfully against his fly. When she opened for him, his tongue swept in, demanding, showing no mercy. He tasted and sucked and owned anddevoured, his hands in her hair, wrapping strands around his fingers so he could position her head where he wanted it and delve deeper.

He drew back, searching her face for permission. His breaths were growing quick and shallow, and he fought to keep them even. “If you wantme to stop, tell me now because I am loaded like a freight train, and I’m bearing down on you, princess.” His speech was a string that barely made sense tohim.Every action was driven by feral instinct; logic didn’t co-exist in that space.

She gasped out two words that stoked the fire inside him, making flames leap to new heights. “Don’t stop.”

“I’ll take care of you, but I need this off.” He tugged at the hem of her top, and she helped him drag it over her head, revealing a thin tank top that couldn’t hide her taut nipples straining against the white fabric. He spun and dropped onto the edge of the mattress, yanking her between his legs. She was still on her feet, putting her breasts at the perfect height for his mouth.

“I need to taste,” he grunted. Hands on either side of her ribcage to hold her steady, he latched on to one.

“Oh God!” she wailed, adding fuel to the conflagration inside.

He moved to the other side, turning the fabric wet and transparent from his laving. Her perfect brown buds showed through, and he nipped at them, sucked them, and flicked his tongue until they were pebble-hard tips. The rougher he was, the louder her moans grew. She threw her head back and leaned into him, writhing against him while he held her up.

Pausing his ruthless onslaught, he glanced up at her. “You like what my mouth is doing to your tits?” Eyes on her face, he bit down on a nipple.

---