Buckled (Trails of Sin, #2)

by Pam Godwin

A man cannot be good unless he possesses the capacity to be evil. Decency is a choice. It’s being tempted by hatred and following a different path no matter how difficult. It’s looking inward with a magnifying glass and acknowledging the flaws and weaknesses in one’s character. It’s

We don’t just love. We love hard, with every bone, sinew, and breath in our bodies.

want to take care of her. It’s not just a desire. It’s instinct. Whether I’ve earned that right is negligible. She’s my responsibility. I don’t know what that means exactly, but it feels like I could run forever, search forever, and end up right back where I’m at. I’m destined for this, whatever this is.

want children with you.” “What?” My heart stops. “You heard me.” “Children? Have you lost your mind?” I scramble out from beneath him. “I don’t mean right now.” He stands and tucks himself into his jeans. “I just… With you, I want marriage and kids and all of it. You’re it for me. Today, tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after.”

“You belong to me.” He prowls closer. “I’ll piss a circle around you if I have to. I’ll move mountains and rearrange my entire existence. I’m not giving you up.”

“Bullshit!” He advances, forcing me backward. “I know how your mind works. You’re brilliant and genuine. You’re passionate about what you believe in, and you’re not afraid to fight. I know your expressions, your smiles, the octaves of your laughter, the loneliness behind your frown. You store your soul in your eyes. You fidget with your hair when you’re nervous, let the ice melt in your soda before you drink it, and you hate to be alone. You’ve never had a one-night-stand.” “How do you—?” “I know, Maybe. I listen when you speak, and I hear everything you don’t say.” He closes in, his strides long and determined. “I know you wear high-heels to feel professional, but you’re not a news reporter.” “What?” My face chills, and my stomach bottoms out. “I know you’re not here for a job.”

“Forget the past.” His chest flexes against my back, his lips brushing my ear. “Move forward.” “I am moving forward.” “With me. I’m right here.” He turns me in his arms to face him and coils the fall of my hair around his fist, holding on. “We’ll do this together. Nothing’s stopping us.”

It’s cruelty in its most primitive form, love in its deepest, most passionate state. It’s animalistic mating, unbound and stripped bare, a connection that defies civility.

“We have tomorrow night.” I arch against him. “And all the tomorrows after.” “Hearing you say that…” His eyes hood, and his hand rests against the side of my face. “You sealed your fate.” “What’s my fate?” I burn with desire. Tremble with hope. “This.” He strokes in and out, slowing his pace. “Us. For an eternity.”

“Take your space, your time, whatever you need. But I won’t let you take forever. That belongs to me. Your forever is mine.”