But it only made it stronger.
Gasping for air, I buried my face in his neck and did the same to him, biting down to keep the cries from escaping my lips, tasting the saltiness of his skin. “Lucas . . . I . . . I need . . .”
“I know what you need, darlin’.” He lifted my hips higher and slammed inside of me, hitting a spot that I’d only read about in romance books. “You need me.”
I choked on a sob and punched his shoulder. “M-more. Harder.”
For once, he didn’t argue. He just gave me what I needed. Almost more than I could handle. My whole body tingled and went numb, and I dug my nails into his back, dragging them down till I cupped his ass. And I pulled him even closer, because no matter how close we were, I couldn’t get close enough. My heart pounded, and another sob escaped my lips. He reached between us, his fingers brushing against my clit, and he thrust inside of me completely. Then finally, thank God, all the pressure that had been building up inside of me popped. I’d never felt so incredibly free before.
He groaned and thrust inside of me once, twice, and a third time. His whole body tensed, and he threw his head back, his muscles straining, as he came inside me. The look of complete rapture on his face was strangely moving, and I moaned.
His muscular arms—the ones I’d admired from the start—flexed, and he lowered his body onto mine, cradling me to him tenderly. “Jesus, Heidi. I . . . shit.”
I nodded, my lips pressed to the side of his neck. “I know. Me, too.”
We both fell silent, and I was glad. I was afraid that if I talked right now, I’d turn into a babbling mess and say something really stupid. Something like how that had been the most amazing night of my life, or how he’d made me feel things I’d never felt before. Or how he made me feel special, even though I knew I meant nothing to him at all. How I loved him, and it was okay that I knew he would never love me back. Or even worse, how I wished we could freeze time in this moment.
Stay like this, naked and joined, forever.
But thoughts of reality kept intruding. His own brother was plotting Lucas’s execution. Living on the streets had made me tough, but my experience with Bitter Hill proved I was out of my depth in Lucas’s world. Quite frankly, his world scared me.
And I didn’t want him to die.
Lucas kissed my temple and pulled back. When his gaze latched onto mine, I forced a smile. He didn’t need to know I was worried, or that I wished I could save him from the choice he was facing. Because I knew how his world worked.
If his brother didn’t kill him . . .
He’d have to kill his brother. And no one should have to do that.
“Regrets already?” he asked, his voice low.
“No, not at all.” I brushed his hair off his forehead, damp from sweat. “What’s there to regret? Mind-blowing orgasms?”
He laughed. “Well, when you put it that way . . .” Pulling out of me, he pushed off the bed and crossed the room naked. “I can’t argue.”
I watched him go, because I couldn’t not watch. My willpower wasn’t that strong. He removed the condom and chucked it in the trash. When he turned to me, his arm folded behind his neck as he scratched his back, the dancing laughter was gone from his eyes. I stiffened. “Don’t start again. I’m not leaving.”
“The sex didn’t change anything,” he said, looking way too serious for what we’d just done together. “It just paused the argument.”
I rolled to my feet and glared at him, his nudity no longer a distraction. “Like hell it was only paused. Nothing you say or do will change my mind.”
“We’re going around in circles.” He stalked over to me, each step angrier than the last. “I’m trying to save your ass, while you seem determined to constantly put it in danger. What is it going to take to make you see reason?”
I crossed my arms. “Since it’s my ass, I get to decide what happens to it. Not you.”
“When you gave yourself to me, it became my ass, too.” That muscle I was becoming all too familiar with in his jaw ticked again. “You became mine the second you said the words I told you not to say.”
I lifted my chin and snorted. “The hell I did. I go where I want, when I want, and you don’t own my ass—or any part of me. Got it, Lucky?”
He gripped my chin, his touch firm yet somehow gentle. “That’s how this is gonna be? That’s your final stance?”
“Yes.” I pulled free from his grip. He let me. “What are you going to do about Scotty?”
His brows slammed down. “You don’t need to know anything about that.”
“I think it’s a reasonable question. I might not be a part of Steel Row, but I know how it works. I know you have to act fast, and I know it’ll be ugly, no matter what you choose.” I bit down on my cheek, trying to select my words carefully. “And I also know that both of our lives count on what you decide to do.”