Page 19 of Rival Heart
My new wife sure knows how to make an exit! I have a feeling it won’t take long until Daddy Hawthorne starts looking into how he can fix this. For him. Not her.
But he doesn’t understand who he’s fighting now. I’ve been battle-homed in real wars, not the fake board rooms where this asshole has been throwing his weight around.
And I’m still alive. I’ve killed to protect myself and my men. And if Hawthorne thinks that I wouldn’t do the same for what’s mine now, then he hasn’t got a clue what kind of trouble he’s gotten into. He’s got a tiger by the tail and if he blinks, I will savage him.
I don’t give a damn if he’s Rebel’s father. Don’t fuck with my family or I’ll make you pay. I glare at him and hope he gets the message.
Then I quietly close the door behind me and grin when the yelling begins.
Time to go home.
FOURTEEN
Rebel
I pacearound the bedroom and run my finger along the huge wooden sleigh bed that dominates the room. It’s smooth and cool to the touch and I shiver.
I wrap my arms around myself and close my eyes.
What have I done?
Strong arms wrap around me and draw me back into a warm, solid barrel of a chest. I stiffen. His heart beats against my back and his breath fans along my ear. I shiver, the sensitive skin heating immediately. I’m like a live wire exposed to air, sparking and spitting with energy.
“Are you gonna open your eyes, angel?” He whispers in my ear and his teeth lightly scrape my skin. I draw in a sharp breath. Fire brands me everywhere he touches.
“No,” I whimper.
He chuckles. “Why?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“You’re gonna have to open your eyes sooner or later, Reb. Show me those pretty brown eyes, baby.”
I turn and look up at him and the whole world shifts. Something feels different.
“Rebel?” His teal-blue eyes study me quietly and that’s all he says. Just my name.
And it’s not nearly enough. I want it all. I want every damn thing. All of the looks, the touches. My whole body is on fire and he’s the only thing that can soothe the flames and bring my aching soul some relief.
“Jace?”
“Tell me what you want, Rebel.”
I sigh and lean forward, my lips tracing the strong line of his throat, his manly scent filling my nose. Sweat, pine and something so damn primitive and wild that calls to me, tempting me.
His warm skin is salty and sweet under my lips and I shiver when he groans. I can feel his heart thudding through his veins under my tongue. His groan reverberates through my body, right down to my toes. “Reb? Please. Tell me what you want and I’ll give you anything. Anything at all. Just… don’t leave. Stay with me. I need you.”
I pick at the buttons on his shirt and fight the ache. It’s soul deep. Inescapable.
My fingers trace the button and then they flick it open. Jace hisses in a breath, standing so still that it’s like he’s turned to stone. I move against him and something thick and hard stirs against my belly. My eyes fly up to his and he smirks. “That’s what you do to me, baby. What you’ve always done to me.”
“That seems painful,” I whisper breathlessly. Horny and wanting. Ready to do whatever he wants if I can just touch him, taste him.
“Oh, you have no idea, baby. But you will.”
I flick another button and I feel that hard thickness in his pants shift and jerk. My mouth goes dry and I close my eyes. I’m not sure I can do this.
But fuck do I want to!
