“You’re so beautiful.” Kate eased up on her elbows and ran her hand down his chest.
He wasn’t beautiful. He was anything but. But her words touched something inside of him that melted away at the hurt in his heart from years of abuse. She brought out the good in him. She made him hope in a way he’d never dared before. He met her gaze.
The desire in her touch and her eyes had him going out of his mind. He needed her now.
He nudged her thighs apart and cupped her, loving how wet and ready she was for him.
Her breath hitched in her throat.
“I need to be inside you, Kate.”
She pulled his head down and kissed him, sucking his tongue into her greedy mouth.
Damn, she tasted like hot sex. The animal inside him growled as lust flowed heavy in his veins.
He grabbed her hips and thrust, driving his cock deep inside her wet heat.
“You feel so fucking good.” Braxton buried his face in her neck. He wanted to remember this feeling, this sensation, for as long as he had left on this earth.
He took her mouth with a roughness he hadn’t intended. Out of desperation, he wanted to claim her, to make her his, body and soul. For tonight he wouldn’t listen to the Law or to reason. For tonight, he was listening to his heart. For tonight, she belonged to him.
“Braxton, please don’t stop.” Kate clung to him, urging him deeper, faster.
Groaning, he rocked his hips into her, gritting his teeth and holding back his own pleasure.
It wasn’t until he heard her moan in ecstasy that he followed her over the edge and into blissful pleasure.
***
Kate lay curled against Braxton’s side, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his muscular chest. They’d made love two more times, each time more urgent than the last, as if they were both searing their brains with the memory of being connected before he left.
Kate traced the outline of a colorful tattoo along his arm. She glanced up, making sure he was still asleep. His chest rose in slow deep breaths, still lost in deep slumber.
She sighed. She wished she could find sleep. Despite being exhausted, there was a nervous energy skipping through her veins. Braxton would be leaving in a few hours.
Staying here had become a liability. If he stayed, the Assassins would find him and kill him. She would be devastated if that happened.
Rolling over onto her back, she glanced at the bedside clock. Four o’clock. It would be dawn in a few hours. She had only a few sacred minutes left with Braxton. Then it would be over. She would go back to her normal life of being a bed and breakfast owner.
She’d calculated her money and gone over the figures. She had enough funds to get her business back on the right track and get the Bella Luna out of foreclosure. With the website and new business plan, she could turn the B&B into a profitable business—even more profitable than when her mother was alive.
Her heart stung at the thought. She loved her home and her business, but she wanted something more. She wanted to share it with someone. She wanted to share it with Braxton.
Tears burned behind her eyes, flowed down her cheek, and sank into her pillow.
Her cell phone buzzed against her nightstand. She picked up the phone and threw on her robe before tiptoeing out of the room.
“Hello,” Kate whispered into the phone as she crept toward the kitchen. The only person who would call this late was Beau.
“I know what you are hiding, Kate.” Oliver Bigsby’s voice sent shivers through her body.
“What are you talking about, Bigsby?” Kate eased onto one of the kitchen stools.
“That tattooed guy you’ve got at your B&B, Kate. That’s what I’m talking about. Just saw his picture on the internet news. He’s wanted for murder. Did you know that?”
Kate swallowed as her hand began to tremble. “It’s a mistake, please don’t call the cops.”
“If you want to keep your convict safe, meet me at the Thorncrown Chapel in thirty minutes.”
“Why?”
“Because, Kate, you’ve got something I want.”
Kate’s stomach churned.
“And, Kate, make sure you come alone. Or I’ll be forced to call the cops on your boyfriend. Understood?”
Kate gritted her teeth. “Understood.” She disconnected and hurried back to her bedroom to change clothes.
She managed to quietly dress in the dark, her only light coming from the tiny sliver of moon slinking through her window. She glanced over her shoulder. Braxton was still asleep with his arm thrown over his head. She wanted nothing more than to wake him and tell him what Bigsby said. But she knew Braxton would insist on coming with her, and the moment Bigsby saw Braxton, he’d call the cops.
She wouldn’t risk Braxton’s safety. Not even to save her home.
She closed the bedroom door and snuck down the hall into the kitchen. She pulled open the junk drawer.
“What are you doing?” Felicity stumbled into the kitchen.