Watching From The Shadows: Trident Security Book 5 by Samantha A. Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

wanted him to be. The man she could fall in love with and who would fall in love with her. The man who would marry, settle down and have children, and, eventually, grandchildren with her. Nina had been after him to open up his heart to a woman he could spend a lifetime with, but he’d made it clear on several occasions that a wife and children were something he would never commit to. And Harper refused to settle.
    As her sobs ebbed, she lifted her head and brushed the last few tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it in front of you.”
    He didn’t respond, nor did he release her. In fact, she swore his embrace tightened around her. The temperature of the room appeared to have spiked sometime in the last few minutes and the air crackled with sexual electricity. She was suddenly aware of the bulge in his pants, which she couldn’t ignore if she tried. His charcoal-colored eyes pierced her own hazel ones and she saw heat in his stare. Not anger-heat, but, holy hell , lustful fuck-me raw heat. Her tongue wet her lips and the movement drew his gaze. His pupils flared as he moved even closer. A split-second of panic was replaced by desire, and she prayed she wasn’t misreading or imagining the situation. While he wasn’t a forever kind of guy, right now, she didn’t need forever. She needed comfort…the kind of no-holds-barred, balls-to-the-walls comfort which would make her forget her grief—if only for a little while.
    He inched closer still and his voice dropped to a raspy, pain-filled whisper. “Tell me to stop, Harper. Tell me to let you go and not kiss you.”
    Her voice was just as low and hoarse from her crying. “I can’t.”
    A groan was dragged from his lungs seconds before his mouth came down on hers. The kiss was far from gentle, instead, being hard, demanding, and dominant, and it was just what Harper had hoped for. One of his hands snaked up into her hair, now down from its bun, and held her head in place as he took her breath away. The other hand at her back crept down to the swell of her ass and she wished he would rip her dress off because she never wanted to wear the bleak reminder of her loss again.
    * * *
    Marco had to be out of his mind, but he couldn’t stop if he tried, especially since Harper made it clear she wouldn’t ask him to. He’d always found her attractive, however, it was something he fought to ignore. Hooking up with your kid sister’s best friend was one of those taboo things, such as hitting on a friend’s current or ex-girlfriend. It only caused trouble for everyone involved. But Nina was gone, and the only other person in this scenario he had to consider was the woman whose arms were wrapped around his neck and was rubbing her delectable body against his. Thankfully, his dress pants gave him plenty of room for his cock, which was now fully erect and throbbing.
    Holy hell! He wanted her in the worst way. Wanted her warmth, her comfort, her submissiveness, but most of all, he wanted her to make him forget if only for a little while. The submissiveness was something he could do without occasionally. Vanilla was okay with him, as long as it wasn’t all the time. There was a time and place for everything, and now was the time for comforting each other. Joined by their mutual loss, for a few hours, they could help each other grieve and, hopefully, heal.
    He kissed her like a man drowning in desperation. Hunger rose within him. His belly was full from their dinner, but the feast he now wanted was something altogether different. Skimming his hands down her body, he gathered up the fabric of her dress and drew it upward, bunching it at her waist. His hands reversed direction again and when they hit nothing but soft skin and lace, he withdrew from her mouth and glanced down. Holy fuck! “Woman, thigh-high stockings are my all-time favorite thing a woman can wear and you look fucking gorgeous in them.”
    Dropping to his knees, he reverently kissed along the lacy