Page 58 of Erik's Salvation
She unlocked and opened her door but didn’t go in, instead turning to look up at him. Her chest rose and fell with sharp breaths, and her eyes…fuck, they seared him.
She took one small step into the bubble that was his space and pressed both her hands to his chest. That touch burned through the material of his shirt, penetrated his skin and slipped deep into his chest.
Then, slowly, she leaned her head forward and pressed a kiss right over his heart.
His pulse stopped, his hands going to her waist, gripping her so tightly he didn’t know how he’d let go. “Hannah…I’m a man in pieces.”
Jagged, ugly pieces.
“Beautiful pieces,” she whispered, like she’d heard his unspoken words.
“I could be your ruin.”
“Maybe.” Her hands trailed up before curving around his neck. “Or maybe I could be your salvation.”
Her words twisted his insides. Found the small crevices of wreckage and almost made them feel fixable.
One heavy heartbeat passed, and in that beat, an entire war raged inside him…a battle between doing what was right and doing what every part of him begged to do.
Her hands shifted up his neck, her breath brushing against his skin. Then she whispered, “Kiss me, Erik.”
That was all it took. Three words from the beautiful woman in front of him, and the last thread of his restraint snapped as he crashed his mouth onto hers.
She moaned, and that sound tormented him. Choked him. Changed him.
When her lips separated, he slid his tongue inside, letting it tangle with hers. Every shift of her body against his had the heat inside him raging hotter, until it was like a wild inferno. And it burned for her.
He lifted her into his arms and moved down the hall after kicking the door closed with his foot. He didn’t stop until he was inside the bedroom, and even then, he never broke away from her. Never moved his lips or hands from the beautiful woman against him. The woman who was becoming his calm. His flickers of light in a starless night.
He lowered her to the floor beside her bed. When she stepped away, he wanted to tug her back into his arms, keep her close and devour her. But then her fingers moved to the straps of her dress, and suddenly he was stuck, unable to move or breathe or feel the whispers of air on his skin.
Slowly, she slipped the silky material off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.
Everything faded. Everything except her, the way she breathed new strength into his body. New life into his limbs. She became his world. A world he was irrevocably chained to.
He stepped forward. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
* * *
Erik’s wordsslid into her veins, making her blood pump so fast she almost wondered if her knees would buckle. He looked at her like she was perfect. Like every part of her was exactly as it was meant to be.
And that shredded her.
His eyes never left her as he threw off his jacket, unbuttoned and removed his shirt, and kicked off his shoes. Then he stepped closer. This time when he gripped her hips, he touched bare skin, and that touch singed her.
His mouth found hers again, but this kiss was softer than the first. He kissed her like he had all the time in the world. A million years for a million kisses.
His tongue explored her mouth while his body urged her back until her legs hit the bed. She lay back slowly, and he covered her. Surrounded her. He was everywhere, mind, body and soul.
When his lips left hers, she wanted to protest. To tug him back. But then they trailed down her neck and chest. As they neared her breast, her belly clenched. Then his lips closed around her tight nipple and she arched into him, a choked cry barely escaping.
His tongue swirled and swiped while he cupped her other breast in his palm. When the calloused pad of his thumb ran over one bud while his teeth scraped the other, she cried out his name. The sound rang so loud in the room that it cut through the air like a knife.
“I fucking love my name on your lips,” he growled, breath whispering over her breast. One more suck, then he switched to the other.
It was the same explosion of heat and need. The same tornado of sensations. She tugged at the soft strands of his hair, needing an anchor. Something to hold onto, keep her here and grounded.
When his hand drifted down her body and slipped inside her panties, her breath caught in her throat. He moved his finger across her slit, and she whimpered, her body trembling so violently that she wondered if she’d ever be still again. Regardless, she’d never be the same. One touch from this man and she was different. And not just her—the entire world around her.
