Page 85 of Greed
“Because of me?” Her hand fluttered to her throat.
“Yes. I want to know everything about you. I want to understand you.”
“Why?”
He thought back to that movie—to the main character and how he’d desperately wanted the woman to love him above all else, even if he wasn’t worthy. “Because I want you to love me.”
Lilo moved to stand in front of him. Her eyes were languid and heavy as she nudged his long legs apart to make room for her curvy body, and then she leaned into him until their foreheads met. Soft breasts pillowed against his chest, causing his heart rate to spike.
“I love how you’re being honest with me right now,” she whispered against his lips, “and I have to confess something in return. I want all of you too.”
But she didn’t kiss him. She rolled her face so their cheeks pressed.
Griffin tensed against the sensation, held his breath, shut his eyes, and focused on their connection, on his breathing.In. Out. In.His every awareness sky-rocketed. He groaned against the euphoria building in his system. The follicles on his scalp goose-bumped, his tongue buzzed, and out of everything she could have done to connect with him, this was the most arousing. With only her hand on his neck, her cheek against his, and her soft body leaning quietly against his front… she undid him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The low rumble coming from Griffin sounded pained and bursting with need. When Lilo felt the hard press of his desire against her stomach, she pushed back into him. God, he smelled good. Like everything manly all rolled into one. Better than blueberry bubblegum or the smell of baked cookies. She could rub herself all over him if he’d let her. She could breathe him in and it would hit her like warm whiskey. She could lick him to see if he tasted the same. Up that hard column of neck, along that square stubbly jaw, across to his hopeful lips.
Maybe she voiced her fantasies because tension locked his muscles tight.
It was then she realized he gripped the bench as though his life depended on it, and the crease between his brows was a deep canyon. A sheen of sweat pebbled his top lip.
She pulled away, and his long lashes lifted to reveal eyes so dilated and black and full of yearning that her heart stuttered.
“I want you,” he rasped, voice low and heady.
“But…”
“It’s a process for me. Increased feelings and sensations make me unpredictable, and I don’t want you uncomfortable, or to put you in a position like last time”—he swallowed—“but I don’t want this to stop.”
“Make me uncomfortable… You mean like when you wouldn’t let me touch or see you.”
“And it frightened you.”
“You’re right; I was afraid. But that’s because I didn’t know you enough. I couldn’t see you, and I wasn’t in control. It reminded me of someone who treated me badly. I don’t like being told what to do. Not anymore.”
“Do you know me enough now?”
“You bared your soul to me.” It was the most obvious thing she could say. She trailed her finger over his scarred hand and arm. It broke her heart to think of him being tortured… by his own people. Of course she knew him. “I know you better than anyone else in your life knows you… and I’m honored by it.”
He bit his lip, and the bench creaked under his grip. “What if you’re in control?”
She smiled. He was determined all right. “That’s a big sacrifice for you to make.”
“You could take the lead,” he insisted. “I trust you. I want you to trust me too.”
A spear of hot desire arrowed between her legs as visions of him beneath her, naked and submitting, flashed before her eyes. It thrilled her, excited her, and scared her.
You’ll never be satisfied without me.
Donnie’s voice was as loud and clear as it had ever been, but she couldn’t let him rule her forever, not when this strong, beautiful hero had just laid his vulnerable heart on the line.
“How will I know what you like?” she mumbled. “I don’t want to hurt you either.”
“You’re what I like,” he rasped.
Shit. She was in love. Hopelessly falling in love like a complete idiot. Her eyes dropped to where his erection strained his pants, and her mouth went dry and her heart galloped. She looked to where he gripped the bench, wounded knuckles pinched white with strain. He was a warrior, despite his sensitivity. Despite this, and despite his dark urges, he still went out and saved lives even though it cost him a little of his soul each time. Even though he knew what deadly consequences ignoring his balance could do, he worked through it.
