Chapter 5
C hloe’s nails dug into Hayes’s shoulder blades. She should’ve pushed him away—instead, she pulled him closer, kissed him harder. Gratitude pulsed beneath the surface—relief that he’d accepted her apology, and something deeper now that she’d glimpsed the man behind the armor.
But going any further with this so-called fling? That was a direct path to heartbreak—hers, not his. He’d all but admitted he wasn’t built for the long term.
It wasn’t that she doubted his capacity to care, or even love, in his own way. He’d proven that time and again in how fiercely he protected his team. She had no doubt Hayes would lay down his life for the people he trusted.
Still, despite everything they’d shared this morning, one truth echoed louder than the rest, and that was Hayes had never truly been in love. And maybe he never wanted to be. Maybe that kind of vulnerability wasn’t something he’d ever let in.
She, on the other hand, had tasted it once—with Nick. And as much as it hurt to admit, she craved that kind of connection again.
Just not yet.
Not until she found justice for her sister.
Hayes curled his fingers around her thighs and hoisted her right off the floor, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Taking you to the bedroom.” He winked. “Unless you want to do it right here in the kitchen. I could get on board with that.”
A wicked grin spread across her face. “Now who said anything about doing it at all?” she teased, clasping her fingers around his neck and pressing herself tighter against him.
Holding her gaze, Hayes let out a low chuckle. “You didn’t have to say anything, your body is quite expressive,” he replied, his voice thick with desire.
A shiver of anticipation ran down Chloe’s spine at his audacious words. Her fingers tightened involuntarily, drawing circles on his skin. It was like her body had its own mind, responding to Hayes’s masculine command.
“Is it now?” she murmured, playfully biting her lower lip. Though she tried to keep her voice steady, a wave of wild excitement surged inside her, making her words tremble slightly.
His grin widened as he leaned in for a kiss that promised more than a passionate union of lips. A breathless gasp escaped her as his tongue skillfully explored the depth of her mouth.
Suddenly pulling away from the heated kiss, he kept her firmly pinned against him and headed towards the bedroom.
The air was heavy with unspooling passion and the lingering perfume of their previous encounters.
His gaze seared through her clothes, making her feel naked and vulnerable under the strength of his desire.
The sensation was electrifying. Hayes had a fiercely possessive grip on her body, a grip that made Chloe feel entirely his.
As they entered the bedroom, he gently lowered her onto the soft sheets.
The world appeared to slow down as he removed his shirt, revealing a muscular torso sculpted from countless hours at the gym.
But his skin was also ravaged by one scar after another.
She’d never once asked him about them, but she didn’t have to.
A few were made from bullets, and she knew those because she had a couple herself.
Others looked like burn marks, but not typical ones.
No, these were more like reflections of horror and torment given at the hands of someone with one purpose—to inflict torture and pain.
His dark eyes appraised her form, and that wicked grin never left his lips.
Slowly, deliberately, he lifted her T-shirt over her head, exposing her lacy bra.
She watched him hungrily, taking in the sight of her, his eyes flaring with excitement.
The room filled with a noticeable surge of electricity between them.
“Beautiful,” he husked out, tracing his rough hands down her sides in a way that made her skin tingle all over.
His fingers found the clasp of her bra with practiced ease, the fabric falling away to bare her to his greedy gaze. She felt a blush creep up her neck and face, a rare vulnerability that only Hayes could draw out of her.
He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the hollow of her throat, making her gasp. Her breath hitched when his mouth closed over one sensitive peak, hands moving to cup and tease the other.
“God...Hayes.” Chloe moaned as his thumb flicked over a hardened nipple. The sensation was sharp, an intense pleasure that sent heat coursing through her veins.
Drawing back, he grinned at her reaction before his lips moved lower. His kisses trailed down her belly to the waistband of her shorts. He tugged them down and off her legs. She was left in nothing but her thong now, feeling every bit as exposed as she was exhilarated.
His low growl vibrated through him as he admired every inch of her body. “You’re so goddamn beautiful,” he mused.
Before she had a chance to reply, he moved atop her again, pressing his hard body against hers. She felt every ridge and plane of him against the softness of her skin.
The world disappeared as she surrendered to the whirlwind of sensations—the hardness of his muscles against the softness of hers. The heated wave that surged from his touch on every part of her, dancing on nerve endings she hadn’t known existed.
With each caress, each heated look and whispered confession of need between them, she found herself falling deeper into him—into them—and for that moment, for that beautiful yet transient moment, her world revolved around Hayes, and only Hayes.
Suddenly, his fingers hooked onto her panties.
With deliberate slowness, he dragged the last barrier down her legs and off.
Finally fully exposed, she felt the cool air of the room.
His hands found their way to her inner thigh, his firm grip pulling her closer to him.
The realization that she was at his mercy—his to command—sent a thrill racing through her.
Each touch of his hands was like fire on her skin, leaving nothing untouched or unfelt.
His fingers slid between her thighs slowly until they found what they were looking for: the center of her want and need. She gasped when he brushed against it gently, teasingly. Her body jolted. A sweet agony that had her arching up into him.
Their gazes met again. His filled with an insatiable hunger. But it was more than just desire reflected in those dark orbs—it was affection...tenderness...and perhaps something deeper than neither of them could comprehend in that electric moment.
A sense of urgency began to settle in her muscles.
His heavy breath echoed in the dimly lit room as he continued to explore her body with the soft pads of his fingers, tracing every inch of her willing form.
“Oh, God…yes,” she pleaded, her voice hardly more than a breathless whisper, “Please.”
Hayes smiled devilishly at her plea, bringing his hand up to cradle her face gently. He kissed her passionately, a heady combination of desire and promise spun into one. His other hand moved lower, finding the prize between her thighs again.
Chloe gasped into Hayes’s mouth at the intimate contact. The sensation was tantalizingly sweet. It was enough to leave her breathless and wanting more. He began moving his fingers in slow circles, skillfully coaxing out moans that echoed in the room like crickets in the night.
Hayes broke the kiss and trailed feather-light kisses down her neck, past her breasts, and across her stomach. His lips lingered there for a moment before continuing their southward journey.
Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she anticipated his next move.
His dark eyes met hers once more, almost animalistic now as they drank in the sight of each other.
Leaning down, he replaced his fingers with his tongue, sending an overwhelming wave of pleasure through Chloe’s body that had her back arching upwards and a sharp gasp ripping through the quiet room.
He continued like this for what felt like an eternity and no time at all. Each stroke of his tongue sent electricity coursing through her veins, making her grip the bedsheet tighter until it started to hurt. But this pain was nothing compared to the ecstasy he brought her.
“Just...a bit...more,” Chloe managed to whisper out between ragged breaths, her eyes fluttering closed as she lost herself to the highest form of pleasure.
Hayes obliged, increasing the pressure of his tongue and sending her spiraling closer and closer to the edge.
When she tipped over, it was a detonation like no other—wave after wave of pure euphoria crashing over her.
Her cry of passion mingled with Hayes’s name echoing around the walls of his bedroom as she rode through her climax.
He kissed his way up her belly, over her breasts, and to her mouth. He eased between her legs and thrust deep inside. She arched into him, accepting him as she gasped and groaned.
His slow strokes turned into a steadier rhythm as he drove deeper into her. Every thrust drew a moan from her lips that only encouraged him further. His fingers dug into her thighs, pulling her closer to him with each dive.
Her hands moved up his back, fingers tracing over the scars and welts decorating his skin.
Each scar—a testament to his life of danger and chaos—sent shivers down her spine.
It was equally frightening and exhilarating knowing that this man entrusting her with his most intimate moments had faced death more times than she could count.
Hayes’s head lowered, capturing her mouth in a deep kiss, consuming her gasp as he quickened his pace. She matched his rhythm, her hips lifting to meet his while their bodies joined in a dance as old as time yet as fresh and exhilarating as the first time.
Every touch, every passionate kiss shared between them only heightened their connection. His name slipped off her tongue again and again like a chant—an endless plea for more—lost in the intoxicating whirl of splendor he drew out from deep within her.