Revenge Read Online Free PDF Page B

primal signal. O ur breath quickens. My skin is so warm I feel a layer of sweat form. My hair brushes acutely against my neck. My thumb grazes the light stubble of a day’s growth on his chin. I notice everything and nothing.
    We just are .
    “Carrie?” he asks. There is so much in that single word. My own name has become a talisman for...what? I don’t know. I can’t think.
    I need to act.
    Standing on tiptoe s , I brush my lips softly against his. He inhale s sharply, pulling me close. His heart hammers against his ribs like it’s tap dancing. My own dances back, like a mating ritual.
    If I ever doubted that Mark is the one for me, I was a fool.
    If I ever thought I could resist him, I was an idiot.
    And if I think for one, single second that I can walk away from his embrace right now, then I’ll be damned.
    There is no turning back , I think as his mouth takes mine. I am leaping into the truth and have to trust him. I have to trust myself. The taste of him fills me. The power of his craving wraps around me. Mark is claiming me now as I offer myself to him, fully and freely.
    I want him.
    I want to be as close to him as two human beings can be. I’ve been alone for so long. Too long.
    No more.
    Forgiveness comes in so many different forms. As Mark brings me into his embrace and I stand on tiptoes, sinking my hands into his hair, stroking the broad muscles of his back, I feel a deep sense of relief. Relief that I can finally exhale. R elief that he wants me.
    For three years I wondered. For three years I hoped. For three years I tormented myself with thoughts of ruining the one love that I couldn’t forget.
    And now I let myself fall into that relief as Mark’s tongue lovingly explores mine, his hands on my back, moving to cup my ass. He tightens his grip and our abs grind into each other. Muscle against skin, bone against bone, lips against teeth and tongue and sighs and moans.
    It all becomes the same thing.
    Us .
    His hands reach down and suddenly I’m in the air. I make a little sound in the back of my throat. Mark groans, our lips still touching. He urges me to wrap my legs around hi m as he carries me into his bedroom. My ass hits the bed in the same spot where I awoke just an hour ago.
    I can’t touch him enough. My hands are frantic as they slide under his t-shirt and race up his bare back, his chest dusted with golden hair, my thumbs brushing against nipples that stiffen. H e sigh s and kisses me more deeply.
    “ I’m sorry,” I gasp as he kisses my throat, his tongue teasing the soft skin with little flicks.  
    “Sorry for what?” he asks, pulling up. I gaze into his eyes, his hair flowing over his forehead. Mark’s lips are in a half-smile of confusion. His eyes are dark with desire.
    “For not trusting you. I should have known you’d never arrest my dad unless you had to.” I stretch my hands out and caress his back with a touch like an apology. A part of me feels like I’m ruining the moment. Sensuality and talks about my dad’s arrest aren’t exactly compatible.
    M ark’s eyes wrinkle with compassion. He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t get annoyed or upset. He gives me a sad smile and says, “I wish I could go back in time and change everything. I lost you for three years.” His brow is furrow ed with concern. “I’m never making that mistake again. Ever.”
    My heart is a cloud, rising on a windy day.
    The wind rustles something outside. I hear an animal in the distance, the sound loose and indistinct. O ur breath fills the space between us. Mark’s weight is a comfort and a tease. His arms are on either side of me and he lowers himself, propping up on one elbow, freeing his other hand. I arch up to kiss him. We savor each other, our taste like wine and sunshine.
    Well, actually, coffee and late-summer night air.
    “ If you’ll have me, Carrie,” he adds between kisses, nuzzling my neck, his words a bit muffled by my own heated skin, “I want to be together again. And this time, I