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She ran her hand over his brow, pushing at his hair She stroked softly, hoping her touch was as co to him as his was to her "Had you already walked away from Titan before you went to Rosalina?"

"I hadn’t decided fully yet As I said, I was between missions When she died, I quit and spent the next year hunting the bastard And then after the confrontation with o back It felt like a betrayal even though they didn’t acknowledge that I was alive But even then, I didn’t join KGI for them I did it for me Because I wanted to be able to look at nize the person looking back at me And be at peace with him"

"Is that why you took the mission to come after me?" she asked curiously "Was it penance? Did you feel like you had to make up for the past?"

Rio frowned and his expression grew fierce He caught her chin in his hand and held her firmly in place as his stare blazed over her face

"Fuck no You’re not souilt Is that what you think? Because you

couldn’t beI volunteered to find you because when I looked at you, I saw renade in the face It all caether in my head I couldn’t have walked away if I wanted to"

She stared at him in utter bewilderment

He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip and then leaned forward to kiss it "I don’t expect you to understand it Hell, I don’t understand it myself But I do expect you to accept it Andto be a steady presence in your life from now on It’s just a matter of how and where I fit in when all of this is over with, but I’ away"

CHAPTER 24

IT amused Rio to see Grace so befuddled over his claim He’d all but told her she was his and she had no choice in the h for her, and he damn well knew that She needed someone far better than him She deserved better And if she told hiracefully

So for Grace Peterson was one of them

But he also knew they had a very lher& faceong road ahead of them Hurdles both visible and not yet visible It wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t be overnight

As much as it amused him, however, it also pissed him off that she’d be so bewildered that so her She acted like she’d never really had anyone but her sister care for her

Just the idea of her having those kinds of thoughts h ti woain with those soft fingers and he couldn’t help it He just reacted to her His dick stirred and hardened Since she was sitting on his lap, he couldn’t very well hide that fact fro

"I never know quite what to say around you, Rio I keep thinking that none of this is real That it’s soination and that I’ll wake up in captivity and all of this will have been a wonderful dreahed "Honey, listen to what you’re saying You’re being all skeptical and saying that stuff like this doesn’t happen Do you have any idea how absurd that sounds co from a woman with extraordinary abilities? It’sshit like this doesn’t happen in real life But the fact of the o onnew What’s different is being knocked on e and knowing that somehow her life is irrevocably entwined with mine Now that’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t happen every day Everything else? Completely nor to her and the next she slarily He nearly lost his balance and fell backward, so fierce was she She wrapped her arms around his neck, thrust her hands in his hair and balled up one fist, holding him in place As if he’d actually ht if she wanted to keep kissing him this way

He almost whimpered when she pulled away She continued to stroke his face and he felt like purring He was such a goner He wondered if she had any idea that all she’d have to do is pet him a little, look at him a certain way, and he’d lay the damn world at her feet

It was insane All of it He’d never fallen for a woman Certainly not in the span of a few days Certainly not beforeher

But fuck it all, he had fallen hard for Grace Peterson

She eased from his lap, and before he could protest, she lowered herself to her knees right between his thighs She wrapped her fingers around his erection and slid gently up and down, staring avidly as he hardened further

Oh hell, this was going to be torture She looked for the world like she wanted to explore Like she was checking things out and doing a little experi Not that he had any objections whatsoever, but this would be a test of his endurance If he got through this without e to deserve a medal

"Rio?"

His name came out all breathy and hesitant but a little excited, which made him a lot excited But he forced himself under control and tried not to think about the fact that his cock rapped up in her hand and she was driving him crazy with her every movement

"Yes, honey"

"I don’t really kno to do this But I’d like to Imadly, and ducked her headuckI don

"Can you show me how to do it?"

Unless he was co in front of hiive him a blow job

One side told him not to be an asshole and to pick her up, spread her out like a feast and show her how good his et inside her when she’d been a virgin just an hour ago and was likely tender from the experience

The other side, the side screa hireat detail

What decided it for hieous blue eyes wide and i, and said, "I want to taste you, Rio Like you were doing with uys like it but I have no idea what I should do or how I should do it"

He groaned "Oh yeah, baby, we like it all right"

She smiled "Then show me"

He slid his hand over the top of her head and then dove his fingers into her hair With his other hand, he gently took his dick froid

"Up higher on your knees," he directed