Page 43 of Anger

Her comment stays trapped between us.

And in her own way, she’s daring me, too.

Pity for her, I accept the challenge.

Keeping my touch soft, I slowly drag my hand up until I’m grasping at the strings of her top, pausing in wait for the refusal I know is coming.

Of course, she’ll say no. Any woman in her right mind would say no. She must be testing me to see how far I’ll go.

Instead of refusing, this stubborn woman surprises me by pushing her chest tighter against my hold. One strong tug at the strings and her top flies open, her breath catching in her throat when my palm cups the weight of her breast.

Silence seduces me.

A sense of calm.

The type of relief you feel when a lifelong agony is finally finished and the pain of existing stops.

It’s quiet in this place.

In my head.

No memories. No words.

Just Blue and me locked in this battle and this moment.

Pressing even closer into my hold, a shiver runs down her body, her breath hissing over full lips as my thumb brushes over the tight nipple. But her eyes never soften and never let mine go.

“Take what you need, Champ,” she whispers. “If it helps you.”

Her eyes search mine, empathy trickling in … Understanding.

“But then you have to go.”

Slowly guiding her up against a wall, I caress her chest, explore it.

Fuck, I feel like an idiot because I never expected it to go this far.

Her lips part as she stares up at me, those stupid wings crushed behind her back as I dip my head to kiss her, only for her to turn her face so that my mouth brushes her cheek.

“I can’t give you that.”

“You said take what I need.”

Our mouths brush together when she turns her face back, but then she angles her head up so my lips catch her jaw, my teeth nipping at the skin as I taste the light salt and sweat from her dancing, my mouth tracing down lower to run along her neck.

Apology saturates her words. “Not that.”

Speaking against her skin, I tease, “How much would it cost me?”

Pushing one leg between hers, I suck in a breath when her thigh brushes against my dick, every male instinct I have demanding I take this woman right here and now. That somehow her body can absorb everything I don’t want to feel anymore and make me whole again.

“I need more.”

I’m practically growling against her pulse, my body shivering just as much as hers.

Blue hisses softly when my hand squeezes her breast. She takes the pain beautifully … the anger … my rage.

“I don’t fuck for money,” she breathes out as I grip her ass and lift her up so that my mouth can close over the hard nipple of her breast.

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