Page 72 of The Daredevil

“Yes, take me here in the wild,” she breathed. “Show me how much you want me. Show the wilderness who’swild.”

Fuck. This woman knew how to add fuel to the fire.

I gripped her hips, thrusting with everything I had. She cried out with pleasure, and I drove in deeper, faster, as sweat trickled down my body.

“Feel that?” My tongue traced the shell of her ear. “That’s me taking possession of you.” I pummeled harder into her. “Do you need to use the safe word, baby?”

“No,” she moaned, taking my every thrust. “I love what you do to me. I trust you.”

Her words only increased my stamina. With a mighty thrust, I slammed into her, and her muscles tightened.

“Oh, God, Royce!” She trembled as the ecstasy squeezed my cock.

I growled like an untamed beast as the orgasm ripped through me, shredding my mind into slivers of nothingness. Everything left my brain but one word: Michelle. I held her as the ringing in my ears became a distant drum. I inhaled the sweetened air, letting it fill me with her scent.

When our labored breathing calmed, I removed myself from her and cleaned her with the napkins from my backpack.

We got dressed, and she turned to me. “Wow. I like your sense of adventure, Viking.”

“There’s more where that came from.” I gripped her chin, holding her still to admire her beauty. “We should mark every property I own this way.”

She laughed, and her voice echoed into the distance. I imagined the landscape smiling the way my heart did.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX

MICHELLE

Sadness overwhelmedme as we walked back to the car. I didn’t want this fake relationship anymore. I wanted the real thing.

My steps slowed as my boots crunched on pebbles. I bent down and picked up an orange leaf. Like this leaf that had fallen from its tree, I’d fallen for Royce. I had pretended my feelings were all fake, but they’d trickled deep inside of me, creating a sacred lagoon that grew every time we kissed, every time we touched.

My chest tightened, and the hot pressure behind my eyes increased. Struggling to fight it back, tears slipped through the rim of my eyes and slid down my cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me.

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Tell me.” He bore those gorgeous green eyes into me.

“Nothing” was the safe and silly response that most women replied. Why did we always say that? It was obvious that something was bothering me, but the fear of telling him and his reaction made me unsure if I should share my thoughts.

Royce said he didn’t want a serious relationship, and our fake relationship was to keep his ex-girlfriend away. But if I didn’t tell him now, then when?

“Just thinking about this relationship,” I said, staring at my boots, kicking a pebble into the distance. If I had to look him in the eye, I’d cry like a fool in front of him.

He tipped up my chin, forcing my gaze to meet his eyes. “Our relationship has gone beyond what I initially thought.I want you to trust me. What’s wrong?”

I frowned at the confusing thoughts in my head. If I didn’t tell him my feelings, I would be running away from my issues. I stopped that when my relationship with Julian had ended.

With Julian, I had an inkling that something was wrong, and yet I ignored my discomfort because I feared the truth. And where did that leave me? Delayed heartbreak? Julian and I weren’t meant to be together. If I had faced my concerns when intuition nudged me, it would’ve saved me time and heartache. Why drag out something that wasn’t going to last?

I didn’t know if this would last, but my feelings for Royce were so strong, I had to give it a chance. I didn’t want to continue analyzing this because it drove me crazy.Honesty was always the best approach.

Inhaling a breath, I said, “I know I agreed to this fake dating, but I can’t do it anymore.” Needing to do something with my hands, I shoved them into my jacket pockets. “I want this relationship to be—”

“It was never fake to me, Michelle.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, and the warmth of his body comforted me. “It was a label to disguise what I wanted to sample—a disguise to protect myself.” He brushed his lips lightly over mine. “You’re the first woman to make me want this much. That scared and intrigued me, so I suggested the fake dating as an excuse to see where this relationship could go.”

“So Fiona wasn’t an issue?”

---