Page 102 of Ruthless Protector

“The attack.” He came closer, but that hardness in him didn’t soften. “I wanted to ask you about that.”

A tremor coursed through me as he lifted his hand. I fought the urge to flinch, fought that whisper in my head toleave now…

“Is there anything you want me to know?” he asked, his focus boring into me.

I met that cold, steely hunger with my own. “Yes,” I answered through gritted teeth. “There is…I was stupid tonight. I was stupid, and angry, and drunk.” He said nothing, just waited, and the silence grew hostile. “I couldn’t get our kiss out of my head. I kept thinking about it. I'd already warned him to stay away from me. But then I saw him at that party, laughing and joking…and…and…”

“And,” Lazarus urged. “You what?”

I flinched, dragging my gaze back to his. “I reacted, okay? I hit him and kept on hitting him. I wanted to claw his goddamn eyes out. I wanted to…I wanted to make it so he never touched me again.”

“And you don’t feel the same way about us?” he growled. That edge of danger turned to hunger as he reached out and grasped the back of my neck. “Because I need you to tell me here, Kat. Ineedto understand where the line is for me when it comes to you.”

“The line?” I repeated, my mind racing.

I didn’t understand what he was saying here, couldn’t work out what that meant. But deep down, I realized it was important…everything hinged on this moment. One wrong word, and he’d pull away and I’d ruin any chance of escape.Not just escape…I’d ruin any chance with him.

A tremor coursed through my chest, fluttering and flapping. “What are you asking me?”

His lips curled from his teeth. He was so savage in that moment, unhinged…desperate.“I want all of you…or none.”

All of me or none…

His hold around my neck tightened, and something inside me howled with burning need. I wanted that savagery…I wanted him violent andunhinged. I wanted him so far removed from the cold, stony exterior of Hale and all the other demons of my past. I wanted him to have me like no one else had ever had me before. I lifted the bottom of my shirt, forcing him to break his hold as I pulled it over my head.

He said nothing, just stared into my eyes as I pushed the sweats down low. “You want all of me, Lazarus?” I whispered. “Then it’s yours to take.”

A bestial snarl tore from his lips as he took a step forward, grasped me around the waist, and lifted. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked toward the bedroom and threw me onto the bed.

There was no stopping him this time.

No holding back.

No tying up his own goddamn wrists to make himself less of a threat to me. There was a beast inside him, one that wanted to mark and claim andcontrol.And I wanted that, more than I'd ever wanted anything else before. “Yes,” I groaned as he grabbed me and flipped me over.

“Say stop, Kat.” His voice was guttural and strange. “Say stop right now, and I’ll stop.”

“No,” I whispered, and lowered my head. “Never with you.”

The slow slide of his zipper made me fist the sheets. I arched my back as his fingers pushed between my thighs and he growled. “Fuck me, I want you.”

I lowered my head and parted my thighs, heat coursing through me as he slipped his fingers inside. “Jesus.” I slammed my eyes closed.

The softthumpof his jeans sounded as they hit the floor. His fingers never stopped, stroking and sliding, slipping along my crease before parting my cheeks. Slick warmth dribbled down to hit my ass. I clenched, tightening, feeling that wetness find its way down to my pussy.

“Have you ever…have you ever had this?” He circled the tight band of muscle.

I swallowed a shudder and shook my head, my body puckering against his touch.

“So, this is…mine?”His finger pressed against my hole.

Flames licked inside me with the words, but he didn't stop, pushing in slowly only to slide back out. “All this,is mine?

I opened my eyes. “Yes,” I gasped as he nudged against that tight ring, sliding all the way in. “It’s yours.”

“Don’t you fucking come, Princess,” he warned and knelt. His thumbs dug into the flesh of my ass as he pressed his face into the crease. “Don’t you dare fucking come, not until I tell you to.”

“Oh God,” I whimpered at the slow slide of his tongue.

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