Deliver (Deliver, #1)

by Pam Godwin

He represented purity, beauty, family, all of the things that had been taken from her. He was a glimmer of goodness in her dark fucking world, a warm spark she could hold, if only for a fleeting span of time.

When a lonely tear escaped, she looked at Josh, startled. She quickly brushed it away on her shoulder and averted her gaze. His chest hitched. She didn’t want this.

“Stop. Grinding. Your dick.” She released him with a shove. “Kinky fucker.”

“You want to be on the same team?” Her voice was cold and terse. “You want to save me?” He nodded, hoping it wasn’t a trick. Her sudden change in demeanor tightened the muscles in his jaw. She dropped a hand to her side, snapped her fingers, and pointed at the floor beside her feet, an unmistakable order to kneel. “Then don’t fuck this up.”

His chest heaved, and a moan rumbled in his throat. She savored the response, wanted to hear more, feel him closer. She wanted to crawl inside of him.

Her courage knew no bounds. Maybe it was God working through her, but she radiated an inner strength he was certain she’d never acknowledged.

Hard to believe he’d considered her vicious. With the set of her stubborn jaw and her lips in a plump flat line, she looked decisively non-threatening. “You’re adorable.”

He wanted to be alone with her. Hell, he yearned to speed forward into the future. A future free of shackles. A future with her in it. He dared God to challenge his desires.

He knew this moment would come and told himself if she could endure Van’s touch, he could, too.

She touched his jaw. “Look at me.” With pleasure. Connecting with her, by any means possible, would make this more bearable.

“You’re hard.” There was a smile in her voice. “You’re naked. And I’m going to burn in hell.” Her musical laugh lifted through the darkness. “For snuggling with the devil?” “The devil with the voice and heart of an angel.” He buried his nose in the soft damp strands of her hair. “I want you so damned much, Liv.”

“Will you do something for me?” She tensed against him. He caressed his hand from her belly to her breastbone and settled it over the galloping beat of her heart. “When it’s just you and me, lose all those guarded layers. Let me see you.” He raised up on his elbow and strained his eyes through the dark to make out the outline of her face. “Don’t hide this from me.” He tapped the spot over her heart.

“You watched me for weeks and—” “I knew.” Her stomach clenched, conflicted and lost. “I knew you weren’t the right choice for this.” She met his eyes and found her way. “You were the right choice for me. When I saw you, I couldn’t walk away.” A smile tipped the side of his mouth. “There’s my girl, honest and open. Was that so hard?”

He was the strength and heart of the most dangerous jump. He was the soul of bravery wrapped in chains. He would never fall, no matter how much metal weighted him down. He was a man who loved selflessly and honestly, and she was taking him to a monster who would slice him open and fuck the incision.

“Lose the damned mask and stop hiding from me.” He raked his throbbing hands through his hair. “Scream, cry, hit something. Hit me. But for God’s sake, let it out.”

“Josh.”

“I never thought…” She drew in a deep breath, tightening her hold on the back of his head. “This tenderness...you and me...” She blinked rapidly, her inhale hitching. “This is an intimacy I never thought I’d experience.”

“You gave me a gift, Joshua Carter. I’m keeping it. Always.”

One more kill. In Van’s bed. Where he would find her dead and rotting and clutching her letter.

“I see all of you.” He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her temple. “I claim every jagged piece of you.”

“You said you freed me, but freedom isn’t defined by chains or walls. You, alive, with me. That’s my freedom.”

“Where did this obedience come from?” She dried her hands and turned to face him. He tapped his fingers on his chest, directly over his heart, a fire flickering in his eyes.

She called it love. Her heart didn’t fall. It flew.