Chapter 54

The moment he said those words, he knew how true they were. She had him.

Her mouth opened, but he snaked an arm around her waist and carefully hauled her up against him and kissed her.

He kissed her in a way he’d never really kissed a woman before.

It was a sweet brush of lips and tender pressure, a kiss of reverence, and it shook him to the core. His hand shook as he smoothed his palm over her cheek, slowly deepening to the kiss. He expected her to fight him, but her lips parted and her tongue flicked over his first. His arousal surged hard and heavy, but he slowed it down, not wanting to hurt her or to send her running again.

But she wasn’t running now.

Vanessa looped her uninjured arm around his neck, her hand delving deep in his hair, holding her to him. The kiss turned fiercer, harder, and it was all her.

“Stay here,” he coaxed, letting his hand slip down, over the curve of her breast, to her hip. “Stay here and I’ll make sure you don’t think