Page 15 of Capricorn

With a growl, he sets me on my feet and spins me around by the shoulders, his hands clamping down to keep me in place.

“Did you think I’d let you leave in the middle of the night,” he says, shaking me, “in the middle of a goddamn snowstorm, and not come after you?” Liam’s fury is powerful like the frigid wind, deeper than the ocean’s secrets, and as thunderous as the waves slamming into the cliffs.

Before I can react, he grabs the discarded blanket from the ground, and then I’m back in his arms, bundled in his warmth. He stomps toward the tower, and by the time we reach the penthouse, my teeth are chattering.

The instant the door shuts, his anger seems to bleed from his bones, replaced by a low, anguished grunt. His knees buckle as my name dies in his throat. Even as he breaks down, he’s still protecting me, his body cushioning my fall as we collapse into a tangled mess of heightened emotions and quaking limbs.

“Losing you would kill me.” He grips my cheeks, rich brown eyes smoldering through his tears. “If you want to go over that cliff, you’ll have to take me with you.”

“Don’t say that.” Cold-soaked fear shakes me to my core. “I didn’t mean what I said earlier.”

“Maybe not, but you meant to jump.” Several seconds pass, long pain-filled beats that snowball into a momentous amount of heartache. “You love him so much that you’d die to end the pain of losing him. I feel the same way. There is no me without you, Novalee.”

“But he’s gone,” I sob, my spirit cracking right along with my voice. I want to rescind the words and lock them in a place where they can’t be heard, because they reek of acceptance.

God…no. Please, I’m not ready.

“But I’m here.” Liam gives a hard swallow. “I need you, so if you can’t keep going for you, then do it for me.” He shakes his head, sending snowflakes tumbling from his coppery hair. “Because I can’t lose you.”

“It just hurts too much. I can’t…I can’t hold on. I’m falling apart.”

“Then let me hold on to you.” He slides a hand into my hair, tucking the damp strands behind my ear, and I draw a sharp breath. Suddenly, I’m hyper aware of how close we are.

My chest pressed to his.

Our lips inches apart.

And in that instant…

I’m no longer cold.

Not as long as he’s warm and solid, his frame shielding me from the chilly floor, the rapid thumps of his heart binding me to the moment. Awareness hangs between us, as dangerous as a live wire, dormant but never forgotten.

“Liam…” His name comes out in a hoarse whisper, a prelude to the inevitable collision of our mouths.

He meets me halfway, and every stroke of his tongue demands my surrender. I match him, lick for lick, desperation unraveling me as my nails bite into his shoulders.

A groan rumbles through him. “What are we doing, Novalee? I just pulled you back from a fucking cliff.”

“I don’t care.” I yank his lips to mine again.

“Well, I do.” And yet the nip of his teeth down my throat says otherwise. He blazes a wet path, each rough kiss detonating something deep inside me.

Frantic, I reach for the waistband of his pajama pants and expose his cock. Curling my fingers around the growing length, I move my fist up and down his velvety flesh in steady, firm strokes.

“Damn,” he says, teeth clenched, eyelids drifting shut to hide his weak grip on control.

But a man as passionate and possessive as the chancellor can only take so much.

With a swift motion, Liam rolls me onto my back, and the blanket slips away to leave me bare. His intense gaze searches my expression, drinking in every nuance—the tremble in my lips, the flush in my cheeks, the plea in my stare.

The world comes to a standstill, the air between us thickening with unspoken words.

Undeniable need.

Our eyes stay locked as he dips two fingers inside me, and a flood of energy bursts from my core. My mouth parts, drawing his focus as I release a soundless gasp.

I can’t remember the last time he touched me like this. On his private island, after he kidnapped me for my own good? Some other forgotten, stolen moment since then? The preceding weeks stream through my conscious mind, but it’s all too much.

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