Mine to Keep by Cynthia Eden Read Free Book Online Page A

Sharpe’s killer.
    “I will,” he promised her, and he let her go. 
    Her heartbeat was starting to slow down.  The ache in her chest had eased. 
    Trace glanced around the studio. “Are you pissed?”
    What? She blinked. He was going to ask that
now?
    “We can change it.” He straightened his tie.  Not that it needed straightening. “Anything that isn’t right, the designers can fix. I just wanted the place to be ready for you. A-a wedding present.” His lips thinned. “But Reese called me…said you were angry.”
    “I’m not.”  Not any longer.  “I like my present.”
    The tension eased from him.  She could see it vanish.
    “But next time,” Skye added, “
ask
first.”
    He nodded.
    He started to walk away. Skye wasn’t having that. She grabbed Trace and pushed him back against the mirror.
    His gaze widened in surprise.
    Ah, there it was. Real emotion.
    She pressed up onto her toes and leaned into him. “I don’t want you lying to me.” Her voice was a whisper.
    “Skye…”
    “It’s you and me. Us. Forever. No secrets and no lies.” 
    His hands closed around her hips.  Now he was the one holding her in place.  “What happens when you don’t like my secrets?”
    “How do you know what I’ll like?” Her voice had gone husky.
    He was too controlled, even then. There was a wall between them, one that she was determined to break. Skye wanted it to shatter, just like the mirrors around her could shatter.
    One hard punch—
shatter.
    “I know who you want me to be.” The words seemed torn from Trace. “Let me be that man.”
    “I want
you.
” Good and bad and everything in between.
    In her darkest moment, he’d been there for her.
    Couldn’t he see that she wanted to be there for him? 
    “You have me,” Trace said. “Always.”   
    Then he moved, lightning fast. He spun them around, switching their positions so that she was the one penned against the cold pane of the mirror. And his mouth was on hers, crushing down.
    Not with careful restraint. Not with studied passion. But with wild, driving lust. His mouth was hard. His kiss demanding.  His tongue thrust into her mouth and took.  
    He wasn’t treating her like a delicate china doll—the way he’d been treating her since the attack. Wasn’t holding her carefully.
    The fire was there, exploding between them. The fire that she needed and wanted so badly.
    She’d been cold, until then.
    Lost, until then.
    He lifted her up, holding her easily and pressing her back even harder against the mirror’s surface.  His tongue thrust into her mouth again. His arms and scent and body surrounded her.
    She wanted him naked.
    Wanted to take and take until they were both lost.
    Wanted
everything—
    Then she heard it. The shattering of glass.
    One hard punch—shatter.
 
    Her eyes flew open even as Trace jerked her away from the mirror.
    “Fuck! Skye!”
    The mirror had shattered behind her. No, not behind her, but beneath Trace’s hand.
    He’d hit the mirror? She hadn’t even realized—
    His hands were running all over her now. “Where are you hurt?” A feverish intensity thickened the words. “I see the blood. Tell me where, baby, tell me-”
    Skye caught his hands. “It’s not my blood. It’s yours.” She turned over his right hand, showing him the knuckles and the red slashes courtesy of the broken mirror.
    He stilled.  Stared down at the blood.
    Skye licked her lips, and she tasted him. “They’re just scratches. We’ll go wash the blood off and get you cleaned up.” She tried to tug him toward the bathroom.
    Trace didn’t move.
    “I want you so much.”
    His deep, growling words made her heart jump.
    “Sometimes, I can’t control myself. I’m strong—too rough for you. If I’m not careful, I’ll break you, the same way I broke the mirror.”
    Skye shook her head. “No!”
    But he wasn’t listening. Trace had pulled away from her.
    “I wanted you,” he said, but he wasn’t looking her in the eyes.