Page 154 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

She looked like she was being torn in half, and for the first time since I walked in, I realized this wasn’t just fear.

There was no wiggle room in her decision.

No space to fight.

She wasn’t panicking.

This was goodbye.

And that terrified me more than prison ever could.

Chapter

Forty

GORAN

“Please Lani, let me find a way out of this. Nathaniel was working on something. Just give me a couple days.”

She looked down, and it wasn’t a yes, but she didn’t say no.

The trailer felt too small to contain what was happening between us, but outside, the world kept moving. Engines rumbled. Voices drifted past. Horses banged in their stalls. And like a cruel taunt, her blue ribbon and silver plate sat on the counter.

Inside these walls, everything had shifted.

She was trying to be strong, but I could see the pain in her eyes as clearly as if it were my own.

I couldn’t let her go.

Something dark and territorial rose inside me. I dropped my lips to hers, reminding her of what we would lose if she chose this path. I didn’t rush, pouring everything I felt into our connection.

The salt of her tears mingled with the fear and passion churning between us, building into a storm. A predatory need took hold, my thoughts slipping further out of control with every passing second.

Kaylani’s back hit the small kitchenette counter as I pinned her body with mine. Her breath caught, fingers fisting into my shirt as she moaned into my mouth.

When I finally broke the kiss, I stared down at her.

Her pupils were blown wide, lips parted slightly, as if she were begging me not to stop.

“You don’t get to disappear on me,” I ordered softly, my hands going to her hips.

She swallowed.

“You’re my wife. I know you think you’re saving me, but you’re only sentencing me to a slow and painful death.”

“And watching you waste away in prison would kill me.”

“It won’t happen. Just trust me. I won’t let you go.”

My hand traced up her side, brushing over her hardened nipple to wrap around her delicate throat.

Kaylani shivered under my touch, caught between the urge to flee and the pull of surrender. Surrender won as her body melted into mine. My thumb pressed beneath her ear, feeling the rapid thrum of her heartbeat. She didn’t resist. Instead, her fingers curled into my shirt like she needed something to anchor herself.

“Goran,” she breathed.

“I swear, I’ll kill anyone who lays a hand on you, Lani. Even if you follow your father’s plan, I won’t rest until the man he chooses for you is six feet under. I will follow you to the ends of the earth or through hell if I have to.”

The restraint I’d clung to since being tackled cracked wide open. I kissed her again. But this time it was all need, all hunger. I held nothing back. My hands moved with an urgency that bordered on reckless.