She groaned and leaned forward. “I’m going to puke.”
That did it. I quickly checked my rearview mirror and pulled to the side of the road; gravel shot up in all directions along with dust. I put the car in park and pulled my seatbelt off, ready to help her out of the car when she suddenly launched herself at me.
“What the—”
Her lips crushed mine.
I wasn’t stupid.
I stole that kiss.
I freaking gripped her shoulders with my hands so tight I let out a moan directly into her mouth. Her seatbelt went flying and then she was in my lap, straddling me, pushing me against the soft leather of the seat.
When Amy pulled back, chest heaving, I couldn’t look away. The moment was beautiful; she was beautiful. “I take it you aren’t sick?”
“No.” She grinned. “But you scared me.”
“I was driving fifty in a sixty-five.” I said dryly.
“Not the driving.” She kissed my mouth again, softer, her tongue lazily dancing across my lips. “The story… you checked out… please don’t do that again, not with me, Ax.”
“You kissed me.”
“Let’s focus on the task at hand.” Amy gripped my neck with her hands then slid them up my face until I was looking directly at her. “You won’t do that to me. Ever.”
“I won’t,” I whispered. “I won’t shut you out — never again.”
“Good.” She brushed another kiss across my lips, her body relaxing in my arms. “Thank you.”
“I think you have that backwards… I’m the one getting straddled, shouldn’t I be the one giving thanks?”
Her eyes darkened. “I may still be a bit afraid of you, afraid of the Family — okay a lot afraid. But for what you did… when you were eighteen. I know you think about it every day… how could you not? Taking someone’s life, someone you love, only to selfishly have air enough to breathe while you stole their very heartbeat.”
“Not helping, Ames.”
“Let me finish.” She swallowed, her eyes filling with tears. “It wasn’t selfish. What you did.”
I looked away.
“Ax.” She gripped my face in her hands again, her nails digging into my cheeks. “What you did was one of the most selfless things a person could do. You didn’t just kill him, you lost your own soul in the process — to save mine.”
I didn’t want her thanks. I didn’t want her damn gratitude. What I wanted was to shoot something. To forget how vulnerable it felt to have her sitting on my lap, telling me I wasn’t the devil when I knew what I saw in the mirror everyday.
“Now kiss me,” she ordered.
“What?”
“Did I stutter?”
“Did you mean to?” I fired back.
“Kiss me.” She wiggled on my lap. “Let me taste you… just this once… before we go back to Chicago before… just before. You said all I had to do was ask.”
Her eyes were wild, haunted, like she needed assurance I wasn’t going to turn her down. Like hell. The want scared me — terrified me. I’d never wanted something so violently before — so much that it consumed every cell in my body, demanded I do something to obtain it.
“Chicago changes nothing,” I said.
She smiled sadly. “That’s where you’re wrong, Ax.” Sighing, she lowered her head and softly touched her cheek to mine. “It changes everything.”
I kissed her — hard. Maybe a bit too violently, a bit too aggressively. She bit down on my lip and I lost all sense of awareness as my body gave in to what it had been craving ever since she turned sixteen — ever since I became aware of her as a woman.
She could offer me only crumbs for the rest of my existence and it would feel like a meal.
Her mouth was hot, her tongue fought mine, fought for dominance. I jerked her against my body, wishing I could feel her around me — truly feel her. Not have so many damn clothes working against me.
She broke away from my kiss.
My lips traveled down her neck.
Her body arched when my tongue caressed her bare shoulder.
“Stop, Ax.”
“No.”
“Ax.”
I stopped, my body shuddering in response. Closing my eyes tightly, I pulled back. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”
“Yeah.” She kissed my forehead. “We do.”
She stopped me.
The only reason she would stop me was because she wasn’t planning on giving me what I was only too willing to give — my all.
I helped her into her seat and pulled the car out of park, my voice was hoarse. “I’m not stupid.”
“What?”