Shame filled Brea. Her dishonesty was a selfish sin she wreaked on him to protect her pride. Pierce hadn’t demanded that she give him her body, but she owed him her truth.
“You’re right. I’ve thought of you, too,” she whispered. “Even when Cutter told me to avoid you, even when I knew my father would never approve. And even when you scared me. I told myself none of what I’m feeling is logical or practical. But nothing has stopped my attraction to you.”
“You’re finally admitting you want me?”
Answering gave him the sort of power over her she could never take back…but her honor and his rough voice compelled her. “Yes. You make me ache in ways I shouldn’t. In places I shouldn’t. And I can’t seem to stop.”
Pierce grabbed her chin and lifted it. “What do you want from me?”
Did she dare answer him?
Brea bit her lip. “You already know.”
“Spell it out.” His fingers tightened. “I know what your eyes are telling me, pretty girl. But I want to hear you say it. Full consent.”
This again? But why would he want that now…unless he intended to touch her?
“Pierce…” She tilted her head back, let her eyes slide shut again. “We shouldn’t.”
“Give me the words, pretty girl. I’m not asking for anything else.”
What choice did she have? Sincerity was such a small price to pay him for saving her best friend’s life.
Knowing she’d probably never be this close to Pierce again, Brea rose on her tiptoes and swayed against him, stealing a forbidden caress of her cheek against his hair-roughened one. “I want you to kiss me.”
“I want that, too,” Pierce groaned as he cupped her face, forcing her to meet his stare. “But I’m weak when it comes to resisting you. Don’t say that again unless you actually mean it.”
Something hot and twisted jolted through her body. “Or what?”
“Brea, I’m trying to do the right thing. When you look at me with those pleading eyes… And, fuck, your plump, pink mouth is so close, all I can think of are the indecent things I’m dying to do to it.”
Probably the same things she’d secretly wanted him to do.
Her ache tightened. “What is this connection between us? I don’t understand.”
“Fuck if I know. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
She hadn’t imagined a yearning this strong was possible. It was bigger than her, and every time she tried to ignore it, the desire only grew.
Must be why folks call it temptation…
Brea searched his face, fighting her own impulse to touch him. And the fire in his black stare told her he knew it.
If she dared to repeat her desire, he’d be all over her. She wasn’t sure she would have the will to resist him when he pushed her for everything she’d never given a man, then demanded more. But if she chose the coward’s way out, she’d be lying, letting them both down, and leaving herself to forever wonder what if.
Which was really the bigger sin?
The truth was, Cutter didn’t need her right now. His wounds weren’t mortal. Even if he had a concussion, he would wake up tomorrow to live another day, secure in the knowledge that he was surrounded by community, family, and friends who loved him.
Who did Pierce have?
Tonight, he had her.
“I want you to kiss me,” she whispered. “Now.”
He tensed. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Even though it’s wrong?”
According to Cutter, it was. Her father and God would concur, too. Pierce would probably break her heart in the end. Right now, none of that mattered more than giving him her honesty.
“Yes.”
“Even though this could get out of control?”
“Yes.”
“Brea. Baby…” Desire darkened his expression. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Pierce’s breaths came fast and harsh as he thrust his big hand in her hair, fisted the strands, and lowered his head.
She’d been kissed a few times, mostly by polite boys who hadn’t taken things too far because they’d been afraid to incur the wrath of Reverend Bell or Cutter Bryant. Once, she’d made out on a bus ride home with a football player after a game in Baton Rouge. He’d kissed her with a lot of gusto and very little finesse before he’d tried to feel his way under her shirt. When she’d shoved away his wandering hands, he’d called her a prude and told his teammates she was a waste of time. Afterward, she’d felt angry, ashamed, and determined not to suck face with a boy again.
But the instant Pierce covered her mouth with his, she realized she’d never truly been kissed.
He pried her lips apart, surged inside, and touched her somewhere deeper than she’d ever felt. Sparks flared and zinged. Her skin stretched tight. Heat burst into a bonfire in her belly, awakening more of this dizzying need.
Brea threw her arms around Pierce, pressing her throbbing nipples against his chest in search of relief. He was hot and impossibly hard. Rubbing against him only increased her torment.