With Ties That Bind: Book 2 (The Broken Bonds 5)

I blink up at him, my entire body aware, charged, by his proximity.

“I still might,” he says, touching the clasp of my dress gingerly. “Seeing him touch you—” A muscle feathers along his clenched jaw. “I’m going to touch, kiss, possess every inch of your body. I’m going to erase the image I have of him with you.”

He’s not asking permission. And I don’t want him to. Maybe I missed some important shift where he moved past the fact that I’m a criminal. I should keep my mouth shut—but at the risk of ruining this moment, I have to know. “Aren’t you disgusted by me? What I’ve been a part of – what I’ve done—?”

He answers me with a devastating kiss. His lips crush mine, stealing my breath and the rest of my demands. His weight bears down on me, his strong body a shield against my own destructive thoughts. He kisses me like he fears we don’t have enough time; and maybe we don’t. Tomorrow, anything could happen, so I latch on to him and kiss him back until my lips ache, competing with the deep pang in my chest.

His body covers mine, pressing me into the mattress, unrestrained and feral as he takes all of me within his kiss. He reaches down and grasps the back of my thigh, drags my leg up as he thrusts against me. I feel his want hard and demanding, the satin dress a poor barrier at disguising his desire.

“Carson had his hands on this dress,” he says as he breaks away and grips the clasps. “His eyes… All their eyes on you…” He tears the dress down my body. The seams snap against the force.

I lie before him naked, all but my satin thong, unashamed. “I’m sorry if anything tonight hurt you—”

“Hurt? More like gutted. Ripped my fucking chest wide open.” He presses his hand to my cheek, runs his thumb over my swollen lips. “But you have nothing to be sorry for.”

I shake my head, and he lowers his face close to mine to hold me still. “Nothing to be sorry for,” he repeats, emphasizing each word.

His meaning hits me hard. Understanding crashes into me at lightening speed.

“But I wanted Wells dead,” I confess.

His chest rises with a forceful inhale. “I wanted to kill the Alpha.” He roams his coarse hand along my leg, his gaze leisurely tracing its path up until his eyes capture mine. “But I didn’t pull the trigger, and you didn’t kill Wells, nor did you plant the evidence. I don’t know if that makes us weaker…or stronger.”

I definitely feel weaker. If it had been left solely up to me, I’d probably be in Price Wells’ possession right now. Chained, tortured. Most likely dead. Yet I understand what Quinn is trying to say.

I reach up and cup his face. “It takes more strength to do the right thing.”

His hazel eyes crease at the corners. “I’m not even sure I know what that is anymore.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

I slip my fingers beneath the band of his slacks and grip his belt buckle, using it as leverage to pull myself up onto my knees. His breathing hitches as I lock an arm around his flexed shoulders, then proceed to loosen his belt.

I leave his buckle hanging open as I wander my hand up his taut stomach, undoing the buttons of his shirt as I go. When I reach the top, I slip his tie free and drape it around my own neck, then I push his shirt off his shoulders, loving the feel of his warm flesh against my palms.

He allows me to pull his shirt off. Before he touches me again, I bring the shirt between us and fold the sleeves together. His brows draw together in confusion, but I continue to fold and then lay his shirt neatly on the edge of the bed.

“God, that’s sexy.” With one hand, he takes both ends of the tie and drags me to him, his mouth possessive over mine.

I want more, I want all of him, and I’m not ready when he breaks away.

“In The Firm…” He runs his hands up to my biceps, holding me at bay. “Were you aroused?”

A trace of a smile plays at my lips. “You mean, did I suddenly overcome my impaired libido with Carson?”

His nostrils flare, jaw clamped tight.

I push against his resistance, arching my chest toward his. “Dry as the Sahara. You’re the only man who does it for me, Ethan.”

Heat blazes in his eyes, his hands seal like bands around my arms as he pulls me hard to him. His mouth closes over mine, searing my lips with a branding kiss. This man lights me up like an inferno with only the slightest of touches, and now I’m frenzied, consumed under his primal swell.

His hand travels to my nape where he fists my hair, forcing me to bare the column of my neck to him. His hungry kisses scorch so perfectly. The abrasive feel of scruff along my skin sparks a fire, like a match striking flint against my flesh. “If I have any say about it—” warm breath whispers over my skin “—you’ll never need that aphrodisiac concoction again.”

Then we’re both tugging at his slacks. Once he’s discarded them, he pushes me back into the bedding, only giving me one heated look before flipping me onto my stomach. He bears down on top of me, his mouth attacking my flesh.

I grip at the comforter as he buries his hand in my hair, arching me into the perfect position to grind his hard cock against my ass. His other hand reaches between our bodies and snags the string of my thong. He tugs it up, fisting the satin until my clit throbs from the pressure.

A breathy moan slips free, and his carnal growl answers that plea. His fingers ease beneath my panties and seek the hot center pulsing for him. He swirls his fingers between my lips, gathering my wetness and hitting my clit just right. I buck against him, and his teeth nip at my ear, his heavy breaths erotic and stirring my desire.