Page 49 of Compulsion
He would not break his word.Not to her.
But he took her mouth.He kissed her, he savored her, he kept his hands on her waist, the grip probably too tight, but by holding them there, he didn’t touch her in other places.Places that tempted and beckoned.Places like the soft heat between her thighs.He didn’t slide his hands down to her core.Didn’t stroke her through the soft sweats.Didn’t shove the sweat pants aside, shove aside the panties she wore, and touch her bare skin.Didn’t stroke her clit the way he wanted.Didn’t thrust one finger into her, then another, to see how tight she’d feel.But he could imagine…imagine all of that so easily.Could almost feel her clinging tightly to him as he stroked and stroked and…
A low hiss of sound.
The privacy screen in the limo, lowering a bit.“Boss.”Carl’s voice.“We’re approaching the estate.”Another hiss as the screen raised back into place.
I want her in my home.Locked behind my gates.Safe.Protected.
Odd.When he’d never been much for protecting anyone in this world.He’d grown up to be a destroyer.
Her mouth pulled from his.Her head lifted.She straddled him as they remained in the back of that limo, one leg on either side of his, her knees pushing into the seat, her fingers on his cheeks and jaw even as his hands remained curled around her waist.The tension was thick between them.Her breath came in ragged pants.Hell, so did his.All he wanted was to strip her and take her.
Control.Because…not yet.He could not screw this up yet.He’d given her forty-eight hours.He could be a man of his word.After all, she’d just been a woman of hers.“You were right,” he said, aware that his voice came out extra rough and rumbly.
“Right?”Her voice was husky.Tempting.“About what?”
“You did give me the best kiss of my life.”He could admit it.As if there were any comparison.He’d pretty much been on the verge of coming just from kissing her and dry humping her in the back of the limo.
She blinked at him.
“Aw, sweets, don’t you remember?”He smiled at her.“You promised me the best kiss of my life if I got you out of that basement.I delivered.And so did you.”
Her lips pressed together.Then, “I think it was the best kiss of my life, too.”
His smile stretched.“Just so you know, when I do get you naked, I will be the best fuck of your life, too.”
She nodded.“I believe you.”Very serious.
He had to kiss her again even as the limo slowed.They’d reached his house and gone through the gates at the end of the drive.Gently, carefully, he lifted her off him and slid her back to her seat.When the vehicle parked, he didn’t wait for Carl to come around for them.Atlas opened the door and reached back with his right hand for her.
She’d grabbed for her diary.She held it fiercely with her right hand, but her left reached for him.He pulled her out of the limo, and her gaze darted over the massive exterior of his house, perfectly revealed now by the bright sunlight.
A low whistle came from her.“Wow.All of this space…”
Fourteen thousand square feet.
“All for you?”Lily turned her head toward him.
“No.”Not just him.“You’re here, too.”Had he blown thirty-four million on the house?He fucking had.Had he once spent months sleeping on the floor of one of his foster homes?Had he once been locked in a closet for damn days and now he had fucking claustrophobia that would try to slip up on him so he liked open spaces and open rooms and?—
“Yes, I am here, too.”Her fingers squeezed his.“I also imagine there are security personnel who are here?”
Damn straight, there were.“They will be patrolling the grounds.And cameras are everywhere.”He led her inside the Spanish Revival style house.Walls of windows provided views in every direction, and sunlight spilled through the rooms.Venetian, hand-blown glass chandeliers hung overhead, and as he took her through the house, they passed several stained-glass windows.What the hell could he say?He’d liked the stained-glass when he’d first seen it in Italy.They walked up the curving staircase, and he was aware of Lily taking everything in, but not saying a word.
Through her eyes he could realize that, yeah, the place was over the top.Too big.Too expensive, too…
Screw it.“I had nothing.”Flat.They were at the top of the stairs.He turned to the right.Opened the door to the bedroom next to his.“When I was growing up, I never had a home that wasmine.I was shuffled around, forgotten.Excluded.I would carry my belongings in a trash bag from one place to the other.”Such a sad pile of belongings.Donated clothing in a trash bag.Tennis shoes with worn soles and holes in the toes.
Her gaze darted around the house.“This is no trash bag.”
No, it wasn’t.He opened the bedroom door.“Guest room.”Curt.Because he’d noticed the darkening shadows beneath her eyes and the slight sway of her body.“You won’t be disturbed.Sleep as long as you want.A bathroom is connected.”
“I…didn’t get clothes.From my place, I mean.”
He let go of her hand, but only so his fingers could rise and cup her chin.“You didn’t get the clothes because they were slashed to pieces.”
She winced.
