Page 45 of Hidden Shadows
When the shaking finally subsided, she lifted her head, her gaze colliding with his. “Thank you. If you hadn’t pulled me out—”
“I’ll always pull you out.” He couldn’t even let his mind consider the alternative. He shifted some hair from her face, gaze focusing on the lips that were no longer blue and the skin that finally had color again. “What happened out there?”
“I was so distracted by the little girl and so happy we found her mom, that I wasn’t watching where I was going. I must have walked straight into someone’s shoulder.”
A vein throbbed in his temple. “Must have?”
“Well, I didn’t realize how close I’d gotten to the edge, and then there was a shoulder that bumped into mine…”
Anger, instant and hot, pumped through his blood, roaring between his ears. So some asshole hadknockedher into the water?
Where the fuck had that person been when she’d fallen in? In fact, a crowd had formed around the water, but not a single goddamn person had done a thing to help her.
“Hey.” She pressed a palm to his cheek, drawing him back to her. “I’m okay. You got me out.”
“It never should have happened. Not on my watch.”
“I walked away. It was my fault.” Her gaze shifted between his eyes. Then her head dipped forward, her breath brushing his lips as she whispered. “I’m here. I’m okay. Because of you.”
He couldn’t stop himself. His mouth crashed to hers, and for the first time since he’d almost lost her, he felt just a semblance of peace.
CHAPTER15
Finley moaned into the kiss, letting it sink into her chest and heat every crevice that was still cold.
Just like every other time this man had kissed her, his mouth on hers chased away reality, creating a new place just for them. Somewhere quiet and dark and safe.
She smoothed her fingers over his shoulder and up his neck, then into his hair. So soft…his hair and his lips were in complete contrast to the hardness of the rest of him.
When the tiled wall hit her back, she gasped, and he slid inside her mouth, his tongue entwining with hers.
The taste of this man had become so familiar. Like he’d kissed her a thousand times.
“I shouldn’t touch you right now,” he whispered, voice deep and rough.
She nipped his bottom lip with her teeth, then ran her tongue over it. Teasing. Playing. “You should.”
If there was anything that felt right, it was this moment. The two of them connected so intimately.
“You fell into an icy river.”
She tugged her mouth from his and trailed kisses across his cheek before reaching his ear and tugging at the lobe with her teeth. “And you are the only thing making me feel okay right now, so don’t you dare stop.”
He leaned back, studying her. “It’s not just today that I’m talking about… I’m not a safe bet, Finley.”
“I don’t want safe. I’ve never wanted safe. I want tofeelsomething. And you make me feel everything.”
He swallowed. “Some days I can barely keep my head above water.”
“Yet today, you were the one pulling me up.” She cupped his cheek, letting the pad of her thumb brush his face. “You’re stronger than you think. And if you want me, let yourself have me. Because I wantyou. All of you. Even the parts you try to keep hidden.”
His eyes darkened, his chest rising and falling on a deep breath. Then his mouth was back on hers, but this kiss was deeper. More desperate. It was his tongue taking over. His body pressing her to the wall, caging her.
She drowned in that kiss. Lost herself and begged to never be found.
When his hands slipped behind her back, she arched, giving him more space as he unhooked her bra. There was the soft thud of material hitting the shower floor, then his hands covered her exposed breasts.
She whimpered as he palmed the soft mounds, the sensations rolling down her body one after the other. When his thumbs found her pebbled nipples, she jolted, his name slipping from her mouth in a whisper as he rolled them.
