Page 121 of The Games We Play
The room filled with the sound of our ragged breathing, her body pressed so tightly to mine that I could feel the thump of her heartbeat echoing against my chest.
I slid my hands lower, palms coasting over the curve of her ass, lifting her in one swift motion. She jumped willingly, legs wrapping around my waist like second nature.
My whole body thrummed, electric with want. It coursed through me, thick and hot and endless.
Penny’s lips moved against mine, her tongue tracing the edge of my bottom lip as I carried her across the room. Each step was a thud of boot on hardwood until I pressed her back against the wall. The force rattled the picture frame above her head, but she didn’t flinch.
She smiled.
“You’re my undoing, Pen,” I muttered, my breath ragged against her mouth.
She gave a low hum of approval that vibrated straight through me.
I pulled back just enough to breathe, to look at her. Her chest rose and fell in sync with mine, her lips kiss-swollen and parted, cheeks flushed pink and trailing down her chest in the most distracting way. Her shirt clung to her curves, and the heat in her eyes nearly leveled me.
God,she was beautiful.
A wicked smirk tugged at my lips as I stepped back and gently set her on her feet. She wobbled slightly, and her eyes dropped—zeroing in on the thick press of my cock against my jeans.
“See what you do to me, Trouble?” I rasped, dragging my palm over the front of my jeans. “You on that damn bull…”
I shook my head, needing space but already hating the distance. “The way you rode it. All I could think about was you on top of me, moving like that.”
Penny’s jaw had slackened, those gorgeous brown eyes wide, glassy, like she was seeing me—really seeing me.Her mouth parted, but she didn’t speak.
“And then,” I growled, stepping back into her space, “watching every guy in that bar eye-fuck you like they wanted the same thing I did…”
I reached out and wrapped my hand gently but firmly around her throat, just enough to make sure her attention never strayed. Her pulse fluttered beneath my fingers, and her eyes darkened.
“Over. My. Dead. Fucking. Body.”
That glimmer of challenge sparked in her gaze, lighting her up like a fuse. Her lids lowered, sultry and slow, and she bit her bottom lip hard enough that it made my cock twitch.
Then, with that slight head tilt that always drove me wild, she asked, voice breathy and full of defiance.
“And what makes you think I’m yours to claim like that?”
“In every fucking universe, every alternate dimension, you aremine, Penelope. My heart beats foryou.”
My soul was hers.
“You don’t understand the effect you have on me,” I murmured, leaning in until our lips brushed, just a whisper of contact, a promise of more.
Then I kissed her again—slow, deep, claiming. She melted into it, her body softening like she’d been holding her breath for weeks and finally exhaled.
Her fingers curled into my shirt. Her mouth opened beneath mine. And for a long, charged second, it felt like we were the only two people on earth.
She was the one who finally pulled back. My hand slid from her throat, giving her space even though every nerve in my body screamed to keep her close.
“I never had any intention of going home with anyone else,” she confessed.
Those words hit me like a punch to the gut—and lower. My cock throbbed behind my zipper, already hard, already aching. She had no idea how deep that truth cut, or how badly I needed to hear it.
Or maybe she did.
Because in that moment, everything between us was left bare. No more pretending. No more slow burns. Just fire, about to rage out of control.
I snapped.
