“I want you safe,” I bit out, gripping her chin. “I want you fucking crying.” To emphasize my words, I tightened my grip on her jaw. “Most of all, I want you naked and tied down on my boat, helpless.” I angled my head, waiting for some sort of reaction. “I want you begging for the pain to stop.”

“No,” she said in a breathless whisper though that single word packed a punch. She nibbled on her lip, her gaze pensive…aroused. Fuck, my dick wanted out to play. How did she do this to me?

“Are you really telling me no?”

“Yes.” The tip of her tongue darted along the seam of her stubborn mouth. “I have a condition.”

“What would that be?”

“Tell me the truth. If Zach hadn’t gotten away, would you have come for me?” Her expression screamed what she didn’t say. She wanted to know if I could be so heartless as to leave her forever thinking I was dead. I was that heartless, but only because I did want to protect her.

From me.

This fucker right here who was close to shoving her over the arm of her couch and ramming his cock in her ass, simply because taking her that way pushed her beyond her limits.

And he wouldn’t ask for permission.

This guy was a doer, the type of man that didn’t rehash every moment of his history with her and let it dictate his next move. This guy was me.

The new and improved me with nasty blood-filled memories and all.

“Yes,” I said. “I would have, eventually, because nothing on this fucking Earth can save you from me.”

13. Empty Gold - Alex

13. EMPTY GOLD - ALEX

Rafe intoxicated me with his high-octane sex appeal. I wasn’t sure he realized just how potent he was. My head drowned in lust’s deep end, and my fear and anger and sadness—none of it combatted the fact that had I been wearing panties, I would have drenched them by now. As it was, my need for him dripped down the inside of my thighs, no doubt soaking through my jeans.

“I don’t want to be saved. I want to be fucked.” I stared him down, daring him to deny me this time. He wouldn’t—not with the way his green eyes sparked, or the unconscious way he pulled his lower lip, still damp from my kiss, between desperate teeth.

He rested his forehead against mine and groaned. “You tempt me, my little slut.”

I slid my hand past his drawstring waistband, glad he hadn’t changed into pants with annoying buttons and zippers, and wrapped my fingers around his hard cock. “Look who’s talking,” I said, swirling my thumb over the silky head.