Page 144 of Silver Elite

“No, you’re not.”

“You’re right. I’m not.”

I grip the edge of the desk with both hands and slide up to sit on it. Cross’s gaze lowers to where my dress is riding up.

“How did you get burned?” he surprises me by asking.

“A pot of boiling water fell on me when I was little. Accident.”

“That must’ve been painful.” His voice is oddly gentle.

“Excruciating.”

He nods, still watching me. His gaze slides from my thighs to the swell of my breasts beneath my neckline.

I like the way he looks at me. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. My heart has never pounded this hard for anyone.

A strangled sound escapes his throat. “Darlington.”

“What?”

“I’m so hot for you, I can’t think straight anymore.”

I know the feeling.

“I thought you don’t get involved with recruits,” I remind him.

“I don’t.”

He moves closer, until there’s only an arm’s length keeping us apart. I could reach out and touch him if I wanted. I could yank him toward me and give in to the palpable desire.Mutualdesire, because if his strained expression is any indication, he’s experiencing the same suffocating need.

“I’ve never jeopardized my post to fuck around.” He shoves a hand through his hair, dragging it away from his forehead. “I don’t get jealous of low-level asswits from Copper.”

I have to bite my lip to stop a laugh.

“I wanted to tear his hand off for touching you. I want to rip Sutler’s eyes out for looking at you.”

The feral glint in his eyes sends my pulse careening again. I remember the unpleasant sensation in my chest when I broke into his quarters and found him in bed with Ms. Shiny Hair.

And I’m starting to wonder…maybe it’s better to get it out of our systems. Face the tension head-on, surrender to it, and then it will dissipate. Then I’ll be able to use my brain again without constantly thinking about this guy.

“Once,” I burst out.

He blinks. “Once what?”

“I’m going to let you have it once. One time. Right here, right now.”

Heat flares in his eyes.

“And then when I walk out the door, it’s over. It’s out of our systems. It doesn’t happen again.”

Silence falls as Cross considers my proposal. I find myself wishing, desperately, that he didn’t affect me the way he does. But try as I might, I can’t ignore the magnetic pull, the way his gaze strips away the layers of my defenses.

In that fleeting moment, surrender seems inevitable.

I lick my lips and that’s it. He stalks toward me, pushing my thighs open so he can step between them, and brings his body flush to mine. He thrusts one hand in my hair and tugs on the brown strands, forcibly tipping my head back.

I gasp, my fingers clutching at his shirt, my body arching against his in a silent plea for more. A faint smile touches his lips as he pullsme closer, his hands trailing down my spine in a lazy glide that belies the fire in his eyes. He leans forward, his mouth approaching mine, teasingly, a heart-pounding, painstakingly slow trajectory that makes me whimper with impatience.

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