Page 11 of Shifting Gears

AJ lifted his hand and beckoned me over to him. “Come here, baby.”

I didn’t know why he was so compelling to listen to, but there I was a minute later, tucked against his chest as I straddled his lap. I could feel the hardness of his muscles under my fingers. It was no wonder he’d had the strength to take out two men at once. He had been built for it.

“You could be killed, you know, if you were caught with me like this. He wouldn’t stop until you were dead for touching his future wife,” I said as I rubbed my hands back and forth on his chest.

“He could try, but he wouldn’t be the first, and he wouldn’t be the last to try to stop me from doing what I wanted.”

“And what is it you want to do, AJ?” I asked, even though I could feel the answer already.

“For starters, you, baby. Right now. I want to take your clothes off piece by piece and show every inch of your body the love you deserve.”

His words washed over me, and my body heated up at the very thought of what he was insinuating.

Don’t do it, Raven. This won’t be worth his wrath. But … what if he never knows about it? What if you do allow yourself one night before you give the rest of your life up for everyone else you love? Would that really be that selfish?

I knew this was going to be the most dangerous thing I’d done up to this point, but I was about to give my entire life over to a man who would show me little to no care and to be in a relationship where love was out of the equation entirely. What was one final night of pleasure going to hurt before my life as I knew it ended?

I let him stroke his hands down my arms. The warmth he left in his wake drew me into him more, and I reached up and ran my fingers along the side of his jaw.

“If I say yes, can you promise it will be a time I’ll be able to remember for a while?”

He smirked and brought his hand up to my wrist, gently dragging my palm to his lips and kissing it.

“Baby girl, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.”

He shouldn’t make promises he won’t be able to keep.

CHAPTER 5

AJ

Maybe she wasn’t Rosalie,but maybe she was the woman who would help me get over her and leave those memories behind once and for all.

All I could say was, it had been a long time since I’d been with anyone, and she wanted what I needed—a night of release. I lowered her hand from my lips, letting it fall onto my chest as I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck.

“Last chance to say no,” I said as I tugged her closer.

Her answer was her lips gently pressing against mine.

I gave her a moment before I pulled her in tight, kissing her back. Then I wrapped my fingers up into her hair and tugged as I coaxed her lips open. Her tongue met mine in a tentative stroke. I took over and led our kissing. Making out with her stirred up something within me. And it took all of my power to not rip her clothes off her body.

Her hands gripped my hoodie, and I couldn’t tell who was pulling who harder—me or her. Her movements were almost desperate, and she ground her hips against my lap.

My dick was already rock hard, and her grinding was subtle. I needed more. I reached down, trailing my fingertips down her spine, and ran my hands over the curves of her ass cheeks. ThenI gave them a firm shake up and down. She pushed away with a soft gasp as I felt her body glide over my dick.

“Like what you feel, baby girl?”

She tentatively reached a hand down and rubbed it over the outline of my dick. I twitched it while it was in her hand, and her eyes widened. I swore she was almost smiling again.

“It’s rather …” She trailed off, almost like she was embarrassed to say more.

“It’s what? Haven’t felt a dick like mine before, baby?” I said with a smirk.

“Well, I haven’t really felt it yet, so that remains to be seen,” she said as she gripped it over my pants, her eyes locking with mine with a hint of defiance in them.

I tipped my head back against the wall and groaned.

Fuck, I’ve missed a woman’s touch on my dick.

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