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"Tell ether? I iven anything to be able to lie to her To tell her what she needed to hear to let hio But he knew then that he was just as selfish as he’d always been because he couldn’t do it He couldn’t say the words that would allow her to walk away

"Nothing would be able to keep me away"

As soon as their lipsto hi soft kisses over his face, his lips, his throat Anything she could reach Eli gave up and kissed her back, the cold reserve he kept in placebeneath the warmth of her embrace

He vowed then and there that he’d never hurt her or give her any reason to change her mind His mind flashed to all the stuff in his closet before he could shut the thought down Kay would freak out if she knew about the things he liked to do He could find other ways to get the control he needed He’d have to

Having her in his bed would be enough It filled hiht of her in his bed, wearing his clothes with his scent all over her skin There were other ways he could get inside her hts, and control her body She liked the way he touched her, he could tell Over tis, slowly push her boundaries As long as she never kne deep his desires ran, how all-consu his need to control and possess her was, then she’d stay with him

She’d never have to know just hoisted he really was

KAY COULDN’T TELL what changed, but so did Suddenly, Eli wasn’t just in front of her but he was there with her, looking into her eyes like he wanted to climb inside her skin He turned and nuzzled his face into her pal back

He was going to ed by it

"I will never hurt you," Eli whispered, his voice carrying the weight of a sacred vow

"I know that I’ve always known that"

Kay shivered as he buried his face in her neck She felt like every touch, every whisper, held secret , and she could barely contain herself It had been alnant with Hope, and that had been the end of any se that her lackluster experiences with her ex would pale in comparison to the erotic proht as he dropped a wet kiss on the curve of her collarbone The hair on her arently over her skin She inhaled and let her breath out in a quick gush as his arms encircled her His warmth seemed to pervade every inch of her until her skin was on fire

He stood in a swift ripped his neck, expecting him to carry her back to his room Finally, he would let down the walls he’d erected between them and allow her into his private space But he didn’t carry her to his roo her gently on the rug The heat of the fla the burn in her blood even higher

He eased down on the floor next to her, cradling her head in his hand She relaxed into his hold, allowing him to pull her closer and fit her body to his He didn’t speak, instead using those quiet mo in his arms while he drank in every inch of her skin with his eyes But every sweep of his gaze, every glance contained such reverence Such heat As if what he beheld was thehe’d ever seen