“And this role you play. The women. Dating them until you get the target—do you enjoy it?” The words felt sticky coming off my tongue. It was one of the hardest parts of the story for me to digest.
“Sometimes.” His look pierced me.
“Did you love them?” My voice faltered. “Do you still love any of them?”
“Em, I’ve never fallen for any of them. It’s why I’m so good at what I do. It’s never happened.” He grinned. “Not until now. And damn it, if it hasn’t made everything in my life a fucking mess.” He laughed.
“You want me to take you for your word on that? I saw files of beautiful wealthy women you slept with and…”
“And nothing.” He gripped my wrists. “They were nothing. They were marks.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He pulled me off he stool, pinning my arms together. “I could have left whenever I wanted, but I didn’t. I could have convinced you to get Greer here much sooner. Weeks earlier. But I didn’t. I didn’t want the job to be over.” He kissed the side of my neck. “I never should have taken you to the winery.” He moved his lips to my throat. “I never should have helped you find that client.” He pushed the robe from my shoulder, so my breast was bare in front of him. “I never should have told you I loved you.” His eyes lit. “Once I was in, I was in too deep. So deep I forgot it was a job. That you were a target. That you weren’t the fucking reason I needed to live.”
I struggled to find a breath.
“You were some angel that saved me, Em. That gave me something I didn’t ask for. That held me and tied me to you when I needed to break free and run. But I couldn’t run from you. It was the only thing I couldn’t do.”
He let go of my wrists and tugged the robe to the floor. I stood naked in front of him. He lifted me in the air until I was resting on the counter. He pushed me against the cool surface, spreading my legs.
His tongue made a single stroke between my folds. A stroke of pure molten heat. I jerked, but he held my hips steady as he lapped over my clit. My orgasm climbed to the surface quickly. He twisted his tongue back and forth until it darted in and out of my entrance. I clenched and quivered. And then I felt the pad of his thumb against my backside. I tensed immediately.
“Trust me,” he whispered between my legs.
“Oh, Vaughn.”
I let go. I released my body to him. I gave in. His tongue plunged deep inside me as he worked his thumb with steady pumps until I felt so full, so whole.
The sparks flew in my core, zinging in erratic patterns. Until I was panting through my release.
“Come, baby,” he growled. He nipped at my clit and I screamed with the intensity of it all.
I burst into flames on the kitchen counter. My body wracked with sensation. His thumb seared into me, breaching a secret lair of sensation I didn’t know I enjoyed. Erotic fireworks shot through me the more he breached the forbidden zone.
He sucked eagerly as I spilled into him. My orgasm unleashed. My body glistening with sweat.
I sighed.
Vaughn kissed the inside of my thigh and helped me sit forward.
He looked up at me.
“Do you believe me now?”
I nodded. I put my hands around his neck as he picked me up from the counter. “Take me to bed.”
“Are we done with all the questions? Do you have everything you need to know?” His voice was low and breathy.
“I have more questions. Too many questions. But I need you to fuck me before I can think again.” I drew his lips to mine.
He stopped in the doorway.
“Three hours, Em. You have three hours to decide.”
I released his firm bottom lip from my teeth.
“Why three hours?” I searched his eyes.