Page 177 of Never Die for a Sinner
I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy, because moments later, the passenger door shuts behind me.
“I strangled my father in cold blood, Ava. I watched the life bleed from his eyes for what he did to my family.” When I turn around, she’s hovering by the car, her eyes guarded. “And you know the fucked-up part, baby? If someone were to come foryou, I’d do worse.”
She closes her eyes for a single second, and a tear slips down her cheek. I watch its descent, the meaning behind it burning like battery acid in my chest.
“So, yeah. You can tell me I’m a monster. You can hate me for making you sign a contract. Fuck,” I chuckle darkly. “You can hate me for how badly you crave me, but don’t youeverpull some stunt like that again. I’m a patient man, but you almost got yourself fucking killed today. If you think I’m going to let someone rip you away from me, you’re wrong.”
“Why?” she sneers through the tears on her face. “Because you’d lose your contract?”
“Becauseyou’re mine.”
The silence in the space between us is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
“You don’t mean that?”
I step closer to her. She backs up. I step closer still, and she falls back against the hood of the Aston.
It’s not until I’m looming over her that those pretty green eyes meet mine and I realize I’m fucking done for.
Losing her is going to kill me.
I grip her hips and lift her onto the hood of the car so fast, she lets out a tiny gasp. I grip her chin, and she shoves my hand away, but I don’t let go, forcing her to look at me with those tear-filled eyes. I lower my lips to hers, close enough to kiss her, but I don’t.
“You’re mine, Ava. Today. Tomorrow. For the next one hundred lifetimes. I won’t let someone take that away from me.”
“Levi—”
I press my lips to hers, cutting off whatever she was about to say. My hands wind in her hair, angling her head back so I can devour her. She slides her arms around my neck, and I hoist her up against me, letting her wrap her legs around my waist.
This kiss is different. It’s a promise.
I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her . . . even if it means breaking both of us in the process.
“Tell me you hate me,” I whisper, sliding my hands under her shirt, teasing her nipples through her bra. I feel her heart racing against my palm, matching my own. “Tell me you’re better off without me.”
“Levi,” she gasps when I stoop down, nipping the flesh over her collarbone. “Stop saying those things.”
I move my hand to the button on her jeans, sliding the zipper down. She lets me spread her legs with my hips, forcing her back into the car so I can rip them down her legs.
“It’s crazy how pissed off you get me,” I rasp, sliding my fingers along the seam of her wet thong. “Like tie you up and make you scream my name until you lose your voice, pissed off.” Her head falls back when I swirl her clit through the material, and I take the chance to press my lips to her racing pulse. “Does that sound sane to you, baby girl?”
“Levi, please . . .” she begs, her lashes fluttering heavily against her cheeks. “I want you.”
“You’ve got me, Ava,” I whisper against her throat. “Do you trust me?”
She nods feverishly when I slip her panties to the side and slide a finger inside her, testing her. She’s soaking wet, dripping into my palm, and my mouth waters to taste her. I want to, but not right now. I’m too fucking far gone. The knowledge of what’s to come only furthers my need to own her as completely as she owns me.
“Use your words, Ava.”
She melts at her nickname, moaning. The sounds of my fingers moving inside her fill the clearing, and all I can think about is getting her underneath me.
“Yes, I trust you,” she breathes, reaching between us for my zipper. I groan when she fists my cock, and push her back, withdrawing my fingers from her.
I’m hard as fuck when I throw her legs over my shoulder and notch myself at her entrance. I’m not gentle when I push inside her. She cries out as I stretch her, and a growl rumbles up from my chest with the way she’s squeezing the life out of me.
I should take her back to my bed, spend the night showing her exactly what I can’t say, but there’s no time for that.
I lean back, taking her hips in my hands, and spread her wide for me. Her legs are on my shoulders, and I thrust inside her, my cock bottoming out halfway.
