Page 46 of Wicked Love

This was it. Our Fuck you to society and taking back the control of our lives. Of our hearts’ desires.

“Joe—” My voice sounded weaker than intended. When he watched me like a starving man, I didn’t possess strong enough willpower to resist him.

I jerked my head back, lengthening my neck so he could devour it without any restrictions.

My breasts swelled.

Weeks of tiptoeing around each other made that instant even more exciting.

I was tired of fighting the desires of my body and heart.

Joe’s fingers knitted through mine, holding me still. I had become his prisoner and loved every second of it.

“Make me yours,” I pleaded in a low voice. “Please.”

Liquid desire pooled in my lower belly.

I was about to melt, and he hadn’t even undressed me yet.

Joe and I, we were two opposite poles of a magnet. Unable to resist the other’s pull.

He leaned over me, and I felt the hard part of him rubbing against my thigh.

His lips skimmed over mine. I was dying. I needed more, but a part of me waited anxiously for his next move.

Our lips connected, and as if electrocuted, Joe jumped back and blinked, releasing his grip on my hands. “Fuck. I can’t—we can’t.”

His rejection felt like a dagger to my heart. Even though I knew he was right.

Trying to hide the hurt I felt, I propped myself up on my elbows when he stood at the end of the bed, putting more distance between us. “What if I want you to?”

He raked a hand through his tousled blond locks. “That’s not how it works, Grace.”

“There’s no one but us here. Nobody will snitch on us. Please. We both need this. You can’t deny our connection. I’m pretty sure, in fact, the whole town can feel it.”

“It’s not about what I want. It’s about doing what’s right. And us…this…it can’t happen. We can’t happen. It would be wrong.”

“Wrong for whom?”

“I’m not having this talk with you. You should go and change. I’ll be on litter duty. I’m sorry. I’m the one who put us in this situation. I won’t do it again.”

“Are you listening to yourself? You’re talking as if you tried to kill me.”

He remained silent, turning his back on me. I jumped to my feet, standing behind him, as red-hot fury boiled inside me.

“Go ahead. Avoid looking at me.”

He flinched at my accusations, tension rolling down his stiff back. His arms hung at his sides, and he fisted his hands.

I waited, but he didn’t acknowledge me, so I continued to talk, unable to stop spilling the words weighing heavy on my heart.

“Well, I never pictured you as a coward, Joe Crawford. You’re all hot and then cold as ice. I’m not doing this dance with you anymore. It’s not healthy for anyone involved. I won’t let you play with my heart for another second.”

He spun around, grabbed my wrists, and walked me until my back rested on the wall. “Coward? You think being reasonable is the same as being a chickenshit? News flash, Grace. Some of us can’t afford to get in trouble with the law. I have my life to think of, my father, my job. I’m not willing to risk it for a quick romp in the sheets.”

My head hit the wall as if he had stabbed me. “A quick romp in the sheets? Is that all I am to you?”

He avoided my eyes, looking in the distance.