The words lodged in my throat. My heart felt like it was splitting open, and I wanted so badly to let Jaxson in, but I was afraid.
He held my face like he was reading the pain carved into it. Like he could take it away. “Do you trust me?”
Yes. Despite all the uncertainty and warring emotions, I knew that beneath his hard, domineering exterior, Jaxson was kind. He fought for the ones he cared about. But would that be enough to keep him from wrecking my heart?
My chest rose and fell with short breaths. “I trust you, Jaxson.”
At my words, he leaned down and kissed me gently. Desire burned through my veins, and my center ached with need. His lips were warm, and as his tongue parted mine, dipping into my mouth, a whimper escaped me. His fingers tangled in my hair, and he broke off the kiss, looking down at me with something almost like compassion. “What do you need, Savy?”
Forgiveness for what I’d done. Strength to face what was coming. Hope that there would be a way through all of this, that there would be a future.
My eyes slowly traced over the man in front of me. He was all of those things, and so much more.
“I need you,” I said, the truth breathlessly spilling from my lips. “Everything that you are. Everything we can be, together.”
His own breath stopped as if somehow, breathing would break the spell. And I understood in that moment how much he’d wanted that answer. Needed it himself.
I rose up on my toes and lightly kissed his lips. And when our mouths parted, I whispered, “I need my mate.”
Heat flashed through his eyes, and as if the beast had been unleashed, he took my mouth in his, devouring me.
The kiss was possessive, an unspoken promise to cherish me, protect me, and ease my pain.
I let myself go, let it all go, the fear and guilt and danger hanging over our heads. I gave into the moment, forgetting everything but him.
His arm curled around my waist, and he lifted me. Still kissing him, I squeezed my legs around him while he carried me up the stairs.
He kicked the door to his bedroom open. It banged against the wall, but Jaxson kept moving past his bed into the bathroom. Flicking on the light, he set me on the countertop. I sucked in air, my breasts heaving and blood pumping. He traced my swollen lips with his thumb, desire and possessiveness written all over his face.
Fuck.
“I knew the moment we first met that I had to have you.” Jaxson’s rough voice skated over my heated skin, sending a volley of shivers in its wake. He slid his hands up my thighs, parting my legs. My pulse quickened, and I reached forward, gripping his bloodied shirt and pulling him toward me.
“I knew you were trouble,” I said, peering up at him.
Dangerous, delicious trouble. I’d rebelled against him from the start, but in this moment, I was ready to submit to the beast.
His lips pulled into a knowing grin. “Trouble attracts trouble.”
Kneeling between my legs, he removed one boot and then the next, all the while his eyes never left mine. Seeing him down there sent all sorts of dirty thoughts through my mind. My core throbbed, and I sucked in a shaky breath.
The lights flickered, casting Jaxson’s features in shadow. His body was a map of hard angles, muscle, and power—a heady concoction that made my head swim and heat pool low in my belly. This man was devastation and sin. I wasn’t sure which one I needed right now.
Maybe both.
Rising, he slowly moved his hands up my thighs to my waist, gently dragging my sweat-stained shirt over my head. Tossing it aside, he gazed down at me, his pupils dilating as they settled on my black lace bra. His fingers traced the outline of my breast and drifted down my skin until he found the top button to my jeans. For a second, his fingers paused.
My heart thundered in my ears, and I swore I could hear his, too, matching my own. I nodded assent, and he set the button free.
Every move he made filled me with the agony of anticipation. He was taking his time, cherishing every moment, but I needed him in me then and there. God knew how little time we had left together. Suddenly, I felt like I’d wasted every moment of my life that we’d been apart.
I sure as hell wasn’t going to squander one more second. I leaned back on the gray marble counter, lifted my hips, and started shimmying my jeans and panties down over my ass. The cold surface stung my flushed butt cheeks, and I sucked in a sharp breath. “I need you now. I’ve needed you always.”