Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter Read Free Book Online Page A

pleasure in throwing fuel on the she’s so silly expectation. And yes, that pleasure was a double-edged sword because no one ever saw the real Noelle. No one ever experienced pride for her or in her. No one ever laughed with her. Always they laughed at her.
    Time and time again, she could have proven everyone wrong, could have laughed at them . One thought had always stopped her: What if they didn’t like the real Noelle, either?
    What if Hector had learned all about her, as he claimed, but found her lacking anyway?
    “The others think you lucked out tonight,” he said on a ragged exhalation, “but in all the years of camp, you’re the only trainee to ever successfully sneak away. I think you knew to look for that hatch. I think you knew exactly what you were doing.”
    He suspected, but he didn’t know. Part of her was relieved. The other part of her was disappointed. “Poor Hector, thinking he’s right when he’s so obviously wrong. Didn’t Jaxon tell you all about my life choices? About how childish I am. How frivolous. Of course I didn’t know what I was doing. I dropped a bracelet and crawled to get it.” A high-pitched giggle. “ That’s how I found the hatch.”
    His eyelids slitted, the long length of his lashes fusing together. Such pretty lashes, she mused. Better suited for a woman, and yet, they were gorgeous on him. Perfect.
    “Jaxon didn’t tell us shit. We like to form our own opinions. And you didn’t bring any bracelets to camp. Try again.”
    Double shocker. Jaxon had kept his mouth closed, and Hector had noticed her lack of jewelry. That meant he’d paid attention, studied her. I just plain want him. Really, truly want him .
    “My big, bad instructor thinks he’s got me all figured out, huh?” She’d meant to taunt him. The huskiness of her voice merely revealed a lingering craving for him. She’d probably been on low simmer for him since the moment she’d met him.
    Probably? Ha! She just hadn’t recognized the signs properly. Now … there was no denying what she felt.
    Ava would want me to have him , she told herself. Dibs or no dibs .
    “Whatever you’re thinking,” he snapped, “stop.”
    The truth slipped from her on a whisper, a deliberate provocation. “Stop thinking about what we could be doing right now? Stop waiting for you to bend down and feed me your tongue?”
    “Shit,” he cursed quietly, punching the wall with a hard fist. Dust plumed. “Don’t talk like that.”
    “Like what?” Hector … close … tongue … Unable to stop herself, Noelle blatantly arched her hips and rubbed her core against him. A moan left her. Sweet insanity, he had an erection.
    “Like I’m already inside you.” A groan—but he didn’t pull away from her.
    “Well, if you don’t want to be, all you have to do is resist me,” she taunted. Have to kiss him … She slid her hands up his chest, his muscles jolting in greeting. Heat radiated from him, wrapping around her. Still he didn’t pull away. “Are you scared I might get to you?”
    His breath shallowed, sawing in and out of his nose, and his gaze lowered to her mouth. “Scared,” he parroted, as though in a trance.
    Doubtful. Nothing would scare the intractable Hector, she would bet. “Give me a taste, then, and we’ll both walk away happy,” she said, licking her lips, playing along. “There’s nothing scary about that.”
    “A taste, yes.”
    They met in the middle. The moment of contact, the gentle tasting she’d imagined spun out of control. Swept up on a tide of sensation, she ate at his mouth, sucked on his tongue. He flavor was as decadent as his scent, fresh, wild, and stormy, passion spiced with apples.
    Though he seemed as wrapped up in the moment as she was, the flicks of his tongue were hesitant at first. But when he decided to go all in, he really went all in. He became the aggressor, taking over, dominating.
    He kicked her legs apart and held her up, off her feet, using his lower body to press her