Vax reached up and caught a hank
of hair in his hand. He held her gaze as he wound the long
strands around his wrist. “Yeah, I know. Funny, though, I’m not
really that hungry for pizza now.”
Oooo-kay. There was no
denying the intent in that statement, or the sleepy, heavy
lidded look to his eyes. Even though her hormones were
clamoring, her knees were a little weak and she was feeling a
whole lot of heat, Jess pressed a hand against his chest. He
eased back a little. Regret and misery went pretty well
together, she decided. The loss of his heat caused a reaction
inside of her that was almost painful. Still, she didn’t lower
her hand. “This isn’t a good idea, pal.”
His hand came up, covering hers.
She hadn’t noticed it before then, but he wore a simple silver
band on the ring finger of his right hand. Then she forgot about
the ring as he closed his fingers around her wrist and dragged
her hand a little to the left, until it covered his heart. Under
her palm, she could feel the quick, steady beat. “Why not? Other
than the fact that there’s a pizza boy due here in about forty
five minutes. Forty five minutes is plenty of time…for now.” His
lids drooped and Jess could feel herself giving in.
Just thinking about the things
they could do to each other inside of forty five minutes was
enough to make her breathing kick up. He was entirely too sexy,
with that thick black hair, that heavy lidded look to his dark
gray eyes and that mobile, sensual mouth. Under his stare, she
could feel everything inside her going hot and liquid. Her
breasts ached, her hands itched to touch him and she was dying
to get a taste of him.
Everything inside her was
clamoring and for a moment, it left her a little dazed, a little
disoriented, even confused until she figured it out. She felt
alive. Jess hadn’t felt alive since she had stood over her
sister’s lifeless body.
Randi’s face flashed through
Jess’s mind. The guilt that followed nearly choked her.
Panicked, she shoved her hands against his chest and tore away
from him. “I can’t do this.”
A warm hand came up, cupping the
back of her neck. She tensed, ready to tear away from him, but
he made no move to pull her back against him. All he did was
watch her face as he gently massaged her neck. “You feel
guilty.”
“I am guilty,” she muttered, her
voice rough. “She’s dead. Until I stop the men who did it, how
can I even think about something like this?”
Vax laughed softly. He rubbed his
hand up and down her back as he responded, “Because you’re
human, darling. It’s how we are. The body doesn’t always
understand grief or the need for revenge. It just understands
living.” His hand slid down her back and cupped over one hip,
then his other hand came up, sliding around her waist. He pulled
her back against him. She tried to resist but eventually, she
leaned back against him. “Feeling something isn’t a betrayal to
your sister, Jess. Let me make you feel something…”
He lowered his head and nuzzled her neck. His teeth grazed her
neck and then he whispered into her ear, “Feel alive for a few
minutes... Just feel.”
