Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4)(62)

He closed his eyes and said something too quietly for her to hear. Then louder, “Thank fuck you believe me.”

She balked. Should she believe him? She wouldn’t have thought to only minutes ago. But he’d swayed her with his sincerity. She’d never understood how he could have done what he’d done to them, and his explanation simply made so much sense to her. This was more in keeping with the “them” she’d known.

Was she being naïve because she so desperately wanted to believe their love had been real? She made to remove her hands, but he covered them with his before she could.

“No. Stay. Please.”

“I…I did believe you, yes,” she murmured, giving in because she couldn’t bring herself to move away. “But now that you say that.” She gulped and nervously licked her lips when she saw his attention settle on them. “Are you lying to me, Alekzander?”

“No, angel. I’m not lying. You don’t know what it did to me to drive you away like that. I never should have done it. I hurt you…let you walk out of my office…you left our home…my life. And it killed me. It fucking killed me to let you go because you’re mine.”

Joy tried to break free as her fingertips traced over his cheeks. She was touching him again.

“I will admit that I would lie my ass off to get to you.” His gaze was all over her face. “But I’m not. Not about this. From the moment you came into my life…” He paused and cursed. “From the moment you came into my life, it’s been you, and will always be you. I’m not here tonight asking for your forgiveness…” He paused again. “Not asking, I’m demanding. I need you to forgive me for being such a fucking coward. For not accepting how far I would go to protect you. For not realizing there isn’t a line I wouldn’t cross if it meant keeping you safe.”

His image blurred, and she blinked quickly to clear it. She wasn’t sure what was more beautiful; the things he was saying, the low rumble of his voice, or the shape his lips took when he said you. It looked as if he were puckering for a—

“Sacha?”

Her gaze flipped up from his mouth. “Yes?”

That groove in his cheek made an appearance, but it was gone before she could fully appreciate it. “Goddammit, I want your mouth so badly.” He distractingly ran his knuckle over the curve of her chin.

“You do?” Take it.

He nodded and opened his hand to whisper the tips of his fingers down the side of her neck. “Give it to me. Then maybe I’ll be able to think. I’ll happily beg if that will please you.”

She had the strongest urge to smile but swallowed hard instead. Her insides melted when he traced the movement with the pad of his thumb. Her head spun as the familiar sensations that came with his touch invaded her.

“So soft.” His face was closer to hers than it had been a moment ago. “At your own pace. I’ll wait for you.”

So…sweet. And, God, but he smelled divine. She inhaled apples and a mouthwatering scent that was his alone.

How was she supposed to resist this when he’d just exonerated himself?

“You smell of apples,” she murmured.

He brought his forehead to rest on hers, and his mouth opened, his exhalations sounding labored all of a sudden. “Had one on the way over. You shouldn’t have picked up on that.”

“Green?” She couldn’t have said how many apple cores she’d found around their apartment. She’d joined him in the shower once, and he’d had to set a half-eaten Granny Smith in the soap dish to free up his hands.

“Red,” he rasped. “Like your mouth. That I want. Now.”

I need this. I need this from him. Just a little bit of him.

Before her brain could send out the order, she was moving in, her hands going inside his jacket, hesitantly spreading over his ribs.

“That’s it, angel,” he murmured when their hips brushed together. “Come to me.”

She wavered and drew back slightly until she could see him, but she already knew she’d never be able to fight this. He held himself still, as if afraid to move. And like the lonely, scared girl she was, she allowed herself to seek peace and shelter from the one who’d always effortlessly provided it.

She stood on her toes and softly meshed their lips together.

He’d often allowed her to make her move, prodded her into making it. But in the end, he would take over, and she would happily bow to his will. He did that now.

His groan scorched over her, and then everything about him softened, became smooth as silk, his touch heated and sure. His mouth opened, and their tongues met. She moaned because his taste was so precious, so familiar, liquefying her body and causing her skin to sizzle. She came alive. And he was the reason.