Page 78 of Beat of Love
“Yeah.” He caught her expression and cursed. “Wait. No! No, not like that. Fuck, Red. No.”
He dragged his hand down his face and took a breath. “I’m seeing a psychologist. Dr. Sykes. My life’s a mess — has been fora long time. I need to dig myself out of the rubble before I can even think about taking … us … anywhere.”
She stared at him. “You want to go somewhere. With me?”
“Yeah.” His voice was low. Honest. “I do. Very much.”
She didn’t speak.
He kept going. “But I’m not in the right place. Not yet. I need—”
Fuck. The way she looked at him. Wide-eyed, soft, open. It made him want to say screw the damage, screw the past, lift her up on the counter and kiss the air out of her lungs.
“I need to fix myself first, Red.” The words came out a little rough. “And help bring Kamila to justice.”
A small frown creased her brow. “You going to Brazil?”
“No.”
She smiled — small, but real. “Then take the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
There was silence for a moment. Comfortable. Charged.
Then he stepped back.
“I need to go,” he said, his voice thick. “Before I do something I shouldn’t.”
She raised a brow. “Such as?”
He looked her dead in the eye. “Kiss you senseless,” he said, and spun away.
“Raff,” she called out as he reached the doorway. “Are you leaving? The ranch, that is?”
He turned back and leaned a shoulder on the doorjamb. “Thought about it, but I don’t want to do that to my family.”
“So … I’ll see you around?”
“Probably better if we avoid each other for a while. But I’d still like to check in on Elsa. If I may?”
She blinked. “Of course. Elsa will … miss you. If you didn’t … check in on her.”
His look softened. “Not as much as I’d miss her.”
They both understood this had nothing to do with Elsa, and everything to do with them.
Then.
“Dammit, Red,” he exploded.
In two long strides he was back, one hand at the small of her back, the other cradling her face. Her breath caught just as his mouth crashed onto hers — hot, desperate, claiming. She melted into it, arms winding around his neck.
He didn’t just kiss her. He devoured her.
And she kissed him right back with just as much fire.
When she gasped, he shifted, and gripped her waist, hoisting her up with a growl. Something crashed to the floor. He ignored it, setting her on the edge of the counter. She locked her ankles behind his back, pulling him closer. He could feel her heat sear his aching dick.
His hands tangled in her hair. Her fingers dragged across the line of his jaw, around his head, digging into his scalp. When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, his breath ragged. “We shouldn’t’ve done this,” he rasped.
