But that was all.
To her, Thomas was perfect.
He caught her hands, though, when her lips skimmed low on his stomach, and he pushed her back. “I can’t—” His words ended in a growl as he lifted her up and settled her on the bed.
This wasn’t about seduction or finesse. This was about need and desire in its most primal, pure form.
He ditched the rest of his clothes. His fingers caught hers, pinned them to the bed. With his eyes on her, he thrust inside. Her breath caught as he surged deep, then her legs lifted and wrapped around him. She held him tight, and when he began to thrust, she met him, arching her body eagerly.
They rolled over the bed, twisting and turning as the passion surged hotter and harder. Her nails scraped over his back. The pleasure was just out of her reach. So close.
His fingers freed hers. He touched her between her legs, finding just the spot that had her gasping, then shuddering in release.
He was with her. Thrusting deep and hard. Shaking the bed. Shaking her. Making the pleasure ripple through her once more.
“Too...good...” He groaned the words. “Can’t...get enough...with you....”
Noelle felt the same way with him. She wondered if it would ever be enough, or if the need would grow and—
He drove into her once more.
Pleasure lashed through her.
His release swept over him, stiffening Thomas’s body, and he held her in a grip of steel.
Noelle couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart raced frantically, the sound a drumbeat in her ears. She was panting hard, her whole body quaking, and she tried to grab back control because there was something very important she needed to tell him.
I love you.
The truth had hit her when she was at the sheriff’s station. When Porter had tried to shatter her trust in Thomas, and she’d realized nothing could break her trust in him.
Not because he was her partner.
But because he was the man who’d worked his way into her heart.
Her lips parted.
Thomas kissed her again.
* * *
“YOU’RE KILLING HER!” Patrick yelled, his voice echoing back to him. “This one won’t be on me! It’s on you! All of you!”
The holding room door flew open and banged against the wall.
Patrick lowered his head so the man who’d rushed in wouldn’t see his smile.
“You had your chance to talk,” the guy snarled. “You didn’t. If you can’t stop the screams, then I’ll just shove a gag in your mouth.”
Patrick’s head snapped up. “That’s not the way cops work.”
“Who said I was a cop?” The man demanded.
Thomas stared into the fellow’s cold eyes. He took in the guy’s battle-ready posture. The hands, which were loose at his sides and the grim face, which could’ve been staring into hell.
I’ll show him hell.
“You’ll be leaving this place in about three hours,” the man told him flatly. “Settle down until then, or I will settle you down.”