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  “Webb,” her voice dropped to a husky, sexy tone. The sound of it had my senses waking up, and my attention narrowed in on the damp center of her lip where her tongue kept darting. “Life is too short to waste time and energy on the people who don’t want us. They don’t matter. They don’t get any part of you. Save everything you have, everything you are, for the people who want and need you.”

  I lifted my hands and wrapped them around her surprisingly delicate wrists. Her pulse was thundering under my fingertips. “Do you want me, Ten? Do you need me?”

  There was a moment of hesitation in her gaze, or maybe it was fear. I was asking her to admit how she felt about me, no more hiding, no more denying. She hadn’t been willing to admit it to herself up until now; telling me made it all very real.

  Slowly, so slow time seemed to stop, she dipped her chin in a nod and whispered, “I do.”

  It was all I needed to hear. I lowered my head and sealed my mouth over hers.

  The little I had to give to this woman who wanted me, who needed me, was more than I’d ever given to anyone else. I just hoped it would be enough.

  Ten

  Now this was a kiss.

  It wasn’t a hesitant exploration of what might be.

  It was no scared, featherlight press of lips against lips.

  He wasn’t kissing me to figure out if it was something he really wanted or needed. He wasn’t trying desperately to figure something out.

  There wasn’t an ounce of uncertainty or caution while he tried to find his way in the dark.

  Nope, Webb knew exactly where he was going, and I was the lucky woman along for the ride. His mouth slid across mine full of primitive intent and dark promise. He kissed like he did most everything else, with wild abandon and unpredictability. When I expected tongue, I got the nip of teeth. When I expected a soft bite, I got a silky glide of tongue. I fully anticipated impatient hands tangled in my long hair. What I got instead were warm palms sliding up and down my sides, soothing rather than claiming. He left the conquering and dominating to his mouth. I was trapped in the kiss. Wrapped in thin, unbreakable strands of seduction and sensation. It was a web, woven to be both fragile and unbreakable at the same time. I could feel the velvet drag of it along my skin as Webb spun it around the both of us, locking us together in a familiar dance that felt completely different than any other time I’d done it. Webb had moves I’d never seen before, and I found myself following along blindly because I wanted this experience to be mine and his alone. I liked that I didn’t know the steps or the beat we were chasing around the elegant hotel room.

  I wasn’t the kind of woman who spent a sultry afternoon making love in a renovated plantation. The entire concept of romance was foreign to me. When Gage had tried to woo me, it was more about impressing me and flaunting the things he had to make me feel undeserving. All of his overtures ended up being not romantic at all, in the long run. And with Cy, it was all about convenience and familiarity. We’d known each other for so long, were so similar in too many ways, there was never the need for something special. I’d always been a sure thing for the rough rancher. At this moment, falling completely under the spell of the man in front of me and the setting surrounding us, I finally understood why a little bit of thought and consideration did wonders for getting the blood pumping everywhere but my brain. It was nice to know the person you were with felt you deserved more than a literal roll in the hay or a few minutes of missionary in between cases with barely a word or kiss exchanged.

  Webb traced my bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, fingers slipping under the hem of my loose T-shirt and finally landing on bare skin. Bumps lifted across my skin instantly, and I swore a current of electricity hummed through my veins as his fingers trailed across my lower back. I found myself pressing closer to his big body, softness meeting hard resistance as my breasts flattened against the taut plane of his broad chest. Even through layers of clothing, I felt my nipples bead up in eager anticipation. His tongue shifted and licked along the little divot in my top lip. I found myself chasing after the light pressure, his taste coming alive when it hit my tongue and searing itself into my favorite memories.

  I wrapped a hand around his jaw and used my thumb to trace his bristly chin. His stubble was darker than the hair on his head, more caramel than blond. When he let it grow in, it gave him a rakish, rebellious air, which suited him well. It also made him look a little bit older, which I wasn’t going to complain about. I knew I looked good for someone who was rapidly chasing down the big four-oh. But knowing it and believing it when there was a solid chance everything I was working with would soon be on display for a gorgeous man several years younger than me, one who was a known ladies’ man, were two very different things. There wasn’t much in this world I found intimidating, but getting naked with Webb Bryant was right up at the top of the list.

  “You’re a good kisser.” My voice was husky, and I sounded kind of drunk. I had to blink to bring his too-handsome face into focus. There was no missing the self-satisfied smirk which tugged at his mouth.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” He dropped his head down, so our foreheads were touching. “I’ve been waiting for you, Ten. I didn’t know it, had no idea I was searching for something, or someone, all these years I’ve been on the run. First time I saw you, I finally wanted to stand still.”

  I gulped and smoothed my hands over the width of his shoulders. I liked the strength that was evident in my hands. It would take a lot to move this man. He’s proven impossible to ignore. “You wanted to stay in place, and I wanted to run the other direction. We’re never moving the same way.”

  His arm tightened around my waist, and he tugged me up so I was plastered to his front. There was zero space between our heartbeats or the parts of our bodies throbbing and pulsing with need.

  “Might not be headed the same way, but we always seem to end up standing right next to each other when we get where we’re going. I think that means something. I think I mean something to you, Ten. I know you mean the world to me.” One of his wide hands landed on my ass, and the other started to glide up my back, taking my T-shirt with it.

  I sighed and closed my eyes. I ran the tip of my nose along the length of his collarbone, my breath making his tanned skin damp. “I don’t need those kinds of words, Webb. I’m here. I couldn’t stay away. I don’t need you to give me the usual song and dance.”

  He tugged my shirt over my head, sending my hair in every direction. Webb used his index finger to trace the satin that covered the rise of my breasts, his touch light and reverent. He used the knuckles of his other hand to tilt my chin so we were looking directly into each other’s eyes.

  “You might not need the song and dance, Ten, but you deserve both. And you’re out of your damn mind if you think I’ve ever told another woman she means something to me. I’ve never stayed in one place long enough for anyone to have time to matter. For you, I not only stayed, but I also let myself wonder what would happen if I never left. I want to give you the pretty words, because they’re yours and yours alone.” He opened his hand so he was holding my face, and lowered his head so his mouth could settle on mine once again. His kiss turned my mind to mush and my knees into water. I sighed against his mouth when his tongue twisted around mine, delving deep and stealing away the last of my resistance and reserve. How was anyone supposed to stay strong when he talked sweet and kissed dirty?

  “I’ll take them if they’re mine.” And because I secretly loved I was the only one he’d given them to, he didn’t need to know I would keep them somewhere special inside of me forever.

  He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and the smirk on his face turned into something far more lecherous and lustful. “Let me kiss you the way I’ve wanted to since the beginning, Ten.” It was a demand.

  “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” My voice wobbled, and a pink heat worked its way up over my mostly naked chest and across my throat. I was pretty sure we’d been exchanging some of the best kiss
es of my life up until a moment ago. I watched with wide eyes as he methodically slipped first one bra strap down my arm, then the other. He kissed each of my shoulders, and silently reached around behind me and unhooked my bra. Normally it would’ve unnerved me to have my nipples pointing so obviously at the man who made them hard and achy, but all I could feel was pride and power when hunger filled Webb’s gaze.

  The grin on his face turned wicked, and the blue in his eyes blazed hot enough to burn. “That was me making the next move. Now that I have you where I’ve always wanted you, I’m going to do everything in my power to make you want to stay there.”

  He pressed forward, which pushed me backward, the back of my knees hit the edge of the bed. I went down with a soft noise. “Where is there, exactly? Beneath you? On top of you? Standing right next to you?” The questions were breathless and choppy as Webb’s fingers quickly worked on the fastening of my jeans, parting the denim and revealing the soft skin below my belly button. He let out a groan and shifted gears, tugging my boots off so we didn’t have a tangled mess of clothing later on down the line. I blinked, and I was naked, laid out before him like a sacrifice, only I didn’t feel like I was about to lose anything. No, I was on the precipice of gaining something amazing, all I had to do was follow Webb wherever he wanted to lead me.

  “There is all of the above. I want you wherever you want to be, as long as I’m part of the picture. There is right here, right now. I want you to want to be with me the same way I want to be with you. I’m going to give you every reason you can think of to stay.” In the next breath, his mouth hit my lower stomach, leaving a trail of wet kisses and scalding little licks.

  I wasn’t thinking about anything but his hands and his mouth moving all over my body. His hands skimmed the outside of my thighs, fingertips rough, palms a warm rasp against my softer skin. His wet tongue dipped into the hollow of my belly button and swirled a sexy figure eight up my torso. I was barely aware of the way I let my legs fall open, making room for his impossibly wide shoulders. I was focused on his hands moving across my quivering skin, chasing shivers and creating a trembling wave, which crashed and broke at the apex of my spread thighs. I knew I was already wet and ready. I could feel the way my body throbbed and pulsed in anticipation. When the warmth of Webb’s mouth surrounded a puckered nipple, my back lifted off the bed, and my heels dug into his back without my permission.

  I gasped his name and felt his grin against my damp breast. When his teeth dragged across the overly sensitive tip, my eyes crossed and I bit down on my tongue hard enough to draw blood so I didn’t scream.

  “You taste so damn good. I knew you would. I dreamed about it, jerked off thinking about it. Now I know you’re even better than I imagined.” One of his hands wandered between my legs. I felt his thick fingers tickle the wetness gathered in my soft, hot folds. Webb hissed out a breath of appreciation, and the whisper of it on my most sensitive flesh sent a shot of liquid heat running through my body.

  His quiet admission reminded me of my early morning fantasy about him. I didn’t dream about the way he tasted, but after the drugging, addictive kisses he kept feeding me, I knew that was going to change.

  Webb used his teeth on my breasts, alternating between playing with the tender, pointed tips, and using his tongue to trace and tease the surrounding skin. While I was drowning in the pleasure his talented mouth was leaving behind, he stole my breath and scrambled my brain by sliding his fingers inside the drenched opening between my legs. I wasn’t ready for the jolt of fire that shot up my spine, or the way he seemed to instinctively know exactly where to touch, and just how I liked it. He wasn’t gentle or tender. He stroked and fondled with purpose. There was no mistaking he was signing his name on my body with every practiced twist and drag of his fingers.

  My hips shifted, searching for more, or trying to escape the overwhelming sensations sweeping through my body. Webb was having none of it. There was no hiding from him, from this. His free arm came across my hips, holding me in place as he leaned back far enough he had an up close and personal view of his fingers playing with my pussy.

  His blue eyes glowed with a predatory light I’d never seen before. The look on his face was hungry, ravenous even. His cheekbones had twin flags of red showing under the golden hue, and his nostrils flared every time I made a noise or shifted under his hold. His lips were slightly swollen and wet. He looked ready to pounce, to devour me, and I was more than ready to let him.

  My breath hitched when his fingers slid in particularly deep. It felt like he was purposely searching out all the hidden places that were bound to make me lose my mind. No one had taken this kind of time and care with me or my body before, and I vaguely wondered why I’d settled for less when there was so much more out there. Webb said he was constantly searching, looking for something or someone to make him stay. I’d done the opposite: settled, accepted what was offered because I had nowhere to go.

  “You’re pretty when you’re all shiny and wet, Ten. I want to put my mouth on every single part of you.” He leaned closer, his teeth digging into the soft skin of my inner thigh. I threw an arm over my eyes as my head tossed on the covers.

  My head might have been rolling around in the negative, but the words leaving my mouth over and over again gave him permission to ruin me however he saw fit. “Yes. I want your mouth on me . . . everywhere.”

  He gave a hum of approval, lips making their way up my leg until I felt the warm press of his lips surrounding my clit. I swore and blindly reached for the back of his head. White lights popped brightly behind my eyelids, and my entire body vibrated as coiled tension tugged at my muscles. Webb’s soft hair slid through my fingers as his mouth and fingers continued their thorough assault. I felt his fingers scissor and stretch, pressing against my inner walls as his tongue circled my clit with slow, deliberate intent. He was taking me apart with every flick of his tongue and flex of his fingers, and I didn’t want to be put back together the way I was before. I couldn’t fathom a life where I lived without knowing how amazing Webb Bryant could make me feel.

  He grabbed a handful of my backside and pulled me even closer to his mouth. The edge of his teeth caught my very sensitive clit, and my back bowed in response. My nails dug into his scalp, and my legs shook on either side of his ears. I kind of wished we were in a cheap motel room with a mirror on the ceiling. I bet we looked good together like this, skin on skin, blonde and blonder all tangled together, trying to get closer.

  “Webb.” His name escaped in a broken shriek which everyone in the renovated house had to have heard. There was no room to be embarrassed though, because he snatched all the air from my lungs and every thought from my head when his tongue slid inside the velvet sheath already being worked over by his fingers. I felt full, filled to the brim with new sensations and unexplored desires. I doubted I could remember what sex felt like before Webb changed it all and showed me how good it could be when you had it with someone who was searching for you.

  Wet fingers trailed across my thighs and drew an aimless pattern on the flat part of my tummy under my belly button. His slippery tongue darted in and out of my fluttering opening as my body begged for more. I bit down on my knuckle, wanting his mouth on mine while his cock moved in and out of me at the same frantic pace. I wanted him everywhere at once, but the single place he was focused on at the moment couldn’t take the attention anymore.

  The orgasm hit me with no warning. One second I was warm and writhing under Webb’s torment, the next I was a ball of fire burning under his mouth and hands. I mindlessly pulled him closer, legs practically clamping down around his ears. A thin cry ripped out of my chest, and my hands shook as they landed on the bed above my head.

  Webb rubbed soothing circles with his fingers on my bare skin as he fell back. He pressed his forehead against the inside on my knee and let out a long, slow sigh of satisfaction.

  I was a sexed-out mess, delirious on a heady mix of emotion and revelations. It took me a minute to get i
t together enough to ask, “What about you?”

  I expected him to climb on top of me and start chasing after his own release as soon as he had a taste of mine. I wasn’t ready for the gentle care he was showing me instead.

  Webb chuckled against my skin. “Do you know how many times I’ve gotten what I wanted in my life, Ten?”

  The question caught me off guard. I rallied enough to push up on my elbows so I could look down at where his golden head was bent between my legs. “Not enough would be my guess.”

  He snorted and lifted his eyes to mine. “This is the first time I have ever gotten something I wanted without having to do something terrible to get it. Nothing feels better than that.” He lifted a playful eyebrow and waved a hand in the general direction of his waist. “Haven’t come in my pants since I was a teenager, but I guess it’s a good thing. When I got my wallet back from the feds, it was missing a little something-something.”

  I felt my jaw drop and he rose to his feet. I had questions, but I immediately got distracted when he started pulling his clothes off. I was ridiculously proud of the visible wet spot on the front of his jeans. “Are you telling me the FBI lifted a condom from your wallet?”

  My mouth went dry when his jeans hit the floor. Of course Webb went commando. I didn’t expect anything else. He winked at me and held out a hand. “No. I’m telling you your douchebag ex took the condoms I had in my wallet to fuck with me, or so I wouldn’t fuck you. Either way, take a shower with me. I need to clean up and wash away that meeting with my old man.”

  Still trying to wrap my head around Gage doing something as petty as snatching protection from a suspect's wallet, I let Webb guide me into the small bathroom. It only took a second for me to realize all of my attention should be on the man in front of me and not one from my past.