Page 3 of Always Hers

“Aurora, I couldn’t tell anyone I was back. The people who took me have agents all over the damn world. I’ve been…” he curls his lips in a snarl.

“What is it?” I say gently. My hand slips into his, and our fingers entwine.

“I’ve been hunting them down, angel. I’m been using the logins and network stuff I still have access to to hunt them down wherever they are, one by one.”

“Killing them?”

“Yes.”

He answers too plainly, but it doesn’t scare me. Maybe it should, but I know the boy I had a crush on is now a hardened man. I know he’s seen things and done things. But he’s back, and he’s holding me like I always dreamed he would. I shiver at the intense way he holds my eyes, but God help me, it also has arousal burning in my core.

“I couldn’t tell anyone before they were all gone, because they…”

“Carter?”

“They knew who you were,” he hisses. My skin chills, but he draws me close. He cups my face and his eyes burn hotly into mine. “I had your picture when they found me, and they knew who you were. The only reason I ever worked for them is that they threatened to hurt you if I ran.”

My heart sinks, and I throw my arms around him. I hug him so tightly, and the tears wet his shirt. Carter just strokes my back, holding me just as tight. He leans down and kisses the top of my head.

“So that’s why, Aurora,” he whispers. “I had to make sure they couldn’t hurt you before I exposed you.”

“They are…” I look at him. “They’re all gone?”

“All but one. Hasaan Bin Hadim, the group’s leader. But he’s in Pakistan right now hiding from me,” Carter says grimly. “He’ll be dealt with. But I know where he is, and that he’s out of help. That makes you safe.”

“So now?”

“Now, I can have you.”

I gasp when he pulls me into him. Our lips crash together again, and I moan when Carter lifts me up into his arms. He turns and carries me across the floor of the gorgeous penthouse towards a sitting area by a windowed corner that looks out over Central Park.

The lighting is low, and I moan when he sets me down on my heels and starts to kiss my neck. Carter’s hands move up the back of my dress, teasing me. His fingers slip under the straps at my shoulders, and I suck in a breath when he starts to push them off.

“Carter,” I murmur quietly. I turn towards the windows, but he shakes his head and tightens his grip on me.

“One-way glass,” he growls and looks into my eyes. “No one can see you, angel. Because this is all for me.”

Carter kisses me ferociously, sending heat tingling through every single inch of my body. My nipples harden under my cocktail dress and sheer bra, and my panties grow wetter by the second. I squeeze my legs together, and I moan. But also, something clicks, like puzzle pieces I’m just managing to put together with the shock that he’s alive. I pull back from his kiss.

“Hang on,” I whisper. “You carried my picture?”

He nods. “Always. Everywhere.”

I swallow. “And you came back here because of… me?”

“I’d walk through hell to get back to you, Aurora,” Carter promises. His muscled arms circle my body, crushing me to his firm chest. It all starts to click.

“Carter—”

“I love you, Aurora,” he growls. He holds my chin gently in his hand, and he looks deep into my eyes. “I’ve loved you for longer than you know, actually. So yeah, damn right I carried your picture. Damn right I shot my way out of that hell to get back to you. And damn right I made damn sure no other man was going to take you for himself.”

He kisses me so hard it feels like my lips will bruise. And I welcome that. I kiss him back just as hard, clutching his shirt tightly.

“Because you’reall fucking mine, Aurora,” Carter groans. “You’ve always been mine to have, and I’m done fucking waiting.”

He tugs the straps of my dress and pushes my arms down. I tremble when the dress drops to a puddle at my feet. Carter groans and kisses me. His mouth moves across my cheek to my jawline, and then to my earlobe. I moan in pleasure as his stubble brushes my soft skin. His lips hungrily taste my body, as he starts to kiss his way lower.

I moan passionately when Carter’s kisses keep going lower. He kisses down my neck, over my shoulders, and then down between the valley of my tits. I gasp in pleasure when his hands cup them through my sheer bra. His fingers roll over my nipples, and a puddle starts to form in my panties.

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