Chapter 27 #3
“Oh, don’t be so fucking ridiculous. He was never your replacement. And don’t grin like that, either!” I snapped, fighting the urge to laugh at the proud look on his face. My anger was ebbing away as quickly as it came, and I was beginning to regret storming back in here the way I had.
“How do you want me to look?” He asked, pulling me closer to him. “You’ve just admitted that he was never my replacement.”
“I meant that it never went that far.”
“No? And why’s that?” He said softly. Too softly. The atmosphere in this room was changing, and I wasn’t sure I liked where it was going. The air became thicker. Charged. The familiar tension that had once been my home came crawling back over me.
This was dangerous.
“It just never felt right,” I admitted, my voice as quiet as his had been.
“Yeah. I have a confession. I already knew.”
“What?” I had already suspected that Dante knew, but I was surprised to hear him admit it so easily.
“I was already aware that you had dated your boss, Rachel. I have images of the two of you kissing. They were some of the first things Hacksaw sent to me.”
“And he’s still living? You’re losing your touch.”
He smirked at me, his hand coming up so he could run his thumb along my lower lip. I had to clench my hands at my side to stop myself from giving into the urge to run my tongue along it.
“He’s still living, because seeing those pictures only confirmed something to me you’re still in denial about.
He’s still living, because I saw the way you responded to him.
” He stepped closer to me, invading all my senses.
I could smell the leathery scent of him.
I could feel his soft breath on my cheek as he tipped my chin back.
I felt his hard body pressed against mine.
“I know your body better than you do. I know what it’s like to have your response.
To have you so worked up that you would do anything to ease that ache between those pretty little thighs.
I know the way your body hums with desire.
The way your breathing changes when your pussy is throbbing with need.
I’ve seen firsthand the way your face looks when you’re one step away from dropping to your knees in submission.
And you did none of that with him. When he kissed you, you might have kissed him back.
Your mind might have said yes, but your body said no.
You didn’t melt against him the way you melt against me.
You didn’t press yourself against his body, offering yourself.
Your body was stiff, your lips didn’t open, you didn’t do those breathy gasps you do when you’re too far gone to regain any control.
I haven’t even touched you, Rachel,” he whispered, his lips a fraction away from mine.
“And yet your body has already melted. You’re already offering yourself to me.
Your breathing has quickened, your pulse is out of control, and your nipples have already pebbled beneath your top.
Seeing you with him didn’t make me jealous, because it just proved to me that I am the one you want.
I am the one your body responds to, even when your mind fights it. ”
What could I say to that? Even if I tried to deny it, he would take great delight in proving how wrong I was. All it would take was for him to drop his head just that little bit further, bringing his lips to mine, and I’d be gone—and we both knew it.
“However,” he said, tightening his grip on my jaw.
“That’s not to say that I always follow logic.
Because even when I saw with my own eyes that you were not feeling him, it does not mean that I liked what I saw.
I still want to cut his tongue out for knowing how you taste.
I still want to slice his fingers off, one by one, for daring to touch you, for knowing how soft your skin is. ”
“What made you hold back?” I said, unable to resist much longer. My tongue came out and brushed against his thumb, sliding over the tip of him. He sucked in his breath sharply in response before he answered me.
“Because I knew it would be stupid. Because I knew it would send you running, when all I want to do is pull you closer.” He backed up his words by sliding his hands down my body until he was cupping my ass, pulling me firmly against him.
He stepped forward at the same time, pinning my body to the wall.
There was no escape, even if I wanted to.
“I want to show you I’ve changed, Rachel. I want you to trust me when I say that the club isn’t filled with the same level of violence you once knew.”
“I believe you,” I said honestly. There was no denying the change in the atmosphere and how calm everyone was these days. It was light-years away from the tension that had been clouding over the club when Crash was president.
“Good. And because I want you to trust me, I’m going to go against every instinct that tells me to rip these clothes off you and fuck you until your legs are shaking and you can barely breathe, never mind speak.
And instead, I’m going to honour the contract and step away, even if it kills me to do it. ”
He rested his forehead against mine for a split second before he pulled away.
My hands moved of their own accord, snatching at the front of his shirt to keep him pulled close.
“And what if I don’t want you to?” I whispered, raising onto my tiptoes, so my words brushed against his lips.
“You’re playing with fire, Rachel.”
“When have I ever done anything else?”