Page 88 of The Scarab's Game
“They beat me—” I stopped when the words stuck in my throat, and I swallowed hard.You can do this.“They forced Scarlett and the team to do a job to pay the ransom.” I held the chip face out to show her the hole punched through the middle. “I was beaten regularly and shipped to Venice, where the team came for me.”
Jenn’s brows drew down. The pity look.
Great. What was sexier than that?
“After it was all over, I went back to New York for one of the chips from the game.” I wrapped it in my fist, pressing the textured face into my palm. “It’s been in my pocket for almost four months now.”
“What does that have to do with…” She let her hands drop from her shirt, fanning them as if to say,‘All of this?’
“I saw a doctor who said I’m dealing with post-traumatic stress, and”—I glanced down at the chip—“I’m having a tough time dealing with what happened.”
With trusting people. With my confidence. With sleep.
At least I wasn’t having daily headaches or jumping at every loud noise anymore.
Her brows shifted from pity to confusion.
There was too much else going on I couldn’t confess to. What the ransom had been, what Noah’s plan was, and that I’d only seen the doctor once. I’d thought I had plenty of time to get over the issues.
But then I arrived in my favorite city in the world, the men behind my kidnapping showed up, and the woman I’d wanted for as long as I could remember told me she wanted me, too.
“Noah was their ringleader.”
Jenn gasped, apparently forgetting how upset she was, because her hands landed on my chest. “Seriously?”
“That’s why I wanted you to stay here with me. They’ve—” I didn’t want to talk about Fenix. I wanted my life back.
Fuck. I wanted to be the man she thought I was. I dragged my hands through my hair, the weight of her gaze making my chest ache. There wasn’t a single part of me that could give her what shedeserved.
But I could give her part of what shewanted.
I stuffed the chip back into my pocket and drove my fingers through her hair. “You’re right.”
She sucked in a quick breath. “What do you mean?”
“I do want you,” I whispered as I wrapped one fist in her hair, taking in her smooth skin, her dark blue eyes, and the little freckle by her right eye.
She’d grown more beautiful every year since we were kids. And she wanted to be mine for one blissful night. She didn’t understand who I was. What I’d been through. What I couldn’t do for her. Still, my lips brushed hers, and she sighed softly. She tasted sweet, like the chocolate souffle she’d enjoyed at the Casino’s restaurant.
The kiss deepened, our tongues tangling with a deliberate patience that made my body come alive. The desperate urgency from earlier melted into something more dangerous. Each gentle stroke threatened to unravel the careful walls I’d built, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop.
She moaned deep in her chest and pulled my shirt from my pants. Her hand circled around me, running up my back, under my shirt.
My fingers caressed her arms, guiding them upward until her wrists crossed above her disheveled hair again. My cock strained against my zipper. Patience was my forte, and this woman would come for me before any of my clothes came off.
Jenn’s soft whimper filled the air as she arched her back, breasts straining against the black lace bra she’d chosen with care this morning. For a fleeting moment, she’d held control, but now she was at my mercy, her body pleading for my touch.
I traced my tongue across her skin, marking her with wet heat. Her breath caught when I reached the swell of her breast, and I paused. “May I?”
“Oh god, please.”
I pulled the cup down, teasing my way to her nipple. Her heart raced beneath my lips, her quickened breath urging me onward. As my mouth explored her smooth skin, my hands wandered lower, deftly undoing her button and sliding her zipper down. I nipped at her flesh, eliciting a tiny gasp that went straight to my cock.
“Please, Emmett.” Jenn moaned and writhed, but kept her hands away, even though the restraint was obviously a challenge. “I need you inside me. Now.”
“Not yet, honey.” I kissed my way down her stomach as I peeled away her pants and underwear. I guided her to step out of them, then knelt and hoisted one of her legs over my shoulder. “I need to show you how much I want you first.”
Her pussy glistened in front of me, clit swollen and begging for my attention. I licked her seam slowly, savoring her flavor, committing every gasp and cry to memory. My tongue circled her clit before returning to dip inside her. She clenched my hair, holding me steady as I worked her closer and closer to the edge.