I press her back against the wall and lick her, angling her hips so I can get at her pretty little ass. I lap at her clit, flicking it back and forth. And then I drop one leg from my shoulder so I can pump her pussy with my fingers.

“Oh, fuck,” she says. “Holy fuck. I’m gonna come, James. I’m—”

Her words make no sense after that. It’s just a bunch of noises, coupled with her little hands fisting my hair as she bucks her hips against my face.

When she’s slack and quiet I set her feet back on the floor. Her legs are weak, so I take her over to the bed and lay her down on her back as I climb in next to her.

“I want us to run away,” she whispers, nuzzling her head into my neck.

Our lovemaking mood is broken, so I just hold her for a moment. “You have to trust me. I can’t be responsible for everyone, Harp. But I can be responsible for us.”

“Something bad is gonna happen. I feel it. And then I’ll be all alone.”

“I promise,” I say, bringing her hand to my mouth and kissing it. “I promise to live. I promise to be there for you when this is over.”

She struggles under my embrace and climbs on top of me. My cock is still hard, but she pumps it a few times to see if I’m still interested.

I am. So I wrap my large hands around her tiny waist and place her on top of me, urging her to begin. She eases down slowly, then lifts up. “I don’t believe you. I don’t think you should make promises you can’t keep. And if you die, James, I will die with you. Even if I live, I will die with you.”

“Stop,” I chastise her. “I don’t want to hear that kind of talk.” I play with the blonde strands of hair that are falling down the side of her frowning face. She’s not convinced. “I came back for you, didn’t I? I promised to come back and I did. And it’s only been nine days. I’m early, baby. I over-delivered.”

That makes her smile a little and I reach around to cup her ass, lifting her and letting her drop as she slowly rides my cock. Her long hair brushes against my chest and sends chills up my whole body. I fucking love this girl.

“Hold on,” I tell her, grabbing her waist again and flipping us over. She spills out onto the sheets beneath me, her legs wrapped around my hips, her arms around my neck. “I want to fuck you from behind.”

“I want you to fuck me any way you want.”

I lean down and kiss her pretty lips, biting the lower one just enough to make her squeal. And then I rise up on my elbows and knees to give her space to turn. “Face down on the bed, Harper.”

She looks me in the eye as she flips, and when her hips are up in the air, and my thick cock is dangling over her ass, I push her legs closed and lie down across her back. My dick squeezes between her cheeks, seeking out her pussy. She gasps when I enter, thrusting hard. I reach in front of her and find her slit, my fingertips rubbing her clit hard. Making her pussy wetter and wetter. Driving her wild and sending her bucking and moaning. I cup my hand around her mouth, forcing her to quiet down, and then I pump my cock into her, over and over, my balls slapping against her wet sex.

When I know she’s almost there, I pull her hair. I make her back arch up and her head fall back, her mouth in easy reach.

And I kiss her.

I kiss her hard.

I kiss her like I’ve never kissed a woman before in my life.

I wrap my hand around her throat and squeeze her chin so there’s no possible way for her to stop this kiss.

And then when I feel the walls of her pussy clamping down on my cock, I pound her one last time until I come inside her. Spilling my seed deep in her womb, until I collapse on top of her back, all sweaty and sticky with her sex and her scent.

“Never,” I whisper, my eyes closing from the days of travel and work.

Harper squirms under me until I let her out, and then she angles her body into mine, her head resting on my arm, her hands tucked up underneath her chin. “Never what?” she asks sleepily.

“You have always been mine, Harper Tate. You have always been mine and I will never let him have you.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

James

The cock of a shotgun stuns me out of my sleep.

“Don’t fucking move,” the voice whispers, the barrel pressed against my head.

Vincent.

I smile. “I have no plans on moving. I’ve got her right where I want her.” My cock is pressed against her ass, my hand on her breast, her hand gripping mine.

“You’re a sick fuck, James.”

“Your DNA is the same as mine, brother.” Harper squeezes my hand and I know she’s awake. “And I hope you know what you’re doing with that shotgun. Because you pull that trigger, you splatter both of us. Not just me. So think carefully, Vincent.”

He chuckles. “I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Take her down with you? Sick. Fuck. Get up.”

I remove my hand and Harper withdraws hers without otherwise moving. I ease away and roll out of bed. Vincent backs up several paces as I stand up to my full height. We are eye to eye. We have the same body. The same hair. The same face. The same eyes. But we don’t have the same instincts.

I have the instincts of a wild animal.

He has none.

He eyes my nakedness and I laugh. “Like what you see?”

“I’m going to put you down like the dog you are. It’s the only death you deserve. Step away from the bed. Don’t hide behind an innocent woman.”

I put my hands up and walk towards him. He backs up and then pivots so he’s got himself between me and Harper.

And then she attacks.

She springs from the bed like a lioness. Her hand wraps around his throat and she squeezes. I grab the gun before the dumbshit pulls the trigger. And then I turn it around and clock him on the head with it. He’s already half asphyxiated from Harper’s squeezing, so it doesn’t take much to knock his ass out.

He crumples to the ground and Harper lets go.

“Jesus,” she says, looking at him with what I can only describe as slight disgust. “That was easy.”

I grab a tie back from the curtains and bind his hands and then grab my trousers and pull them on. I turn to Harper, who is already dressed. “Watch him for a moment. Let me go look for something to drug him up.”

She nods and I let myself out into the hallway. It’s quiet up here, but I can hear lots of noises downstairs as preparations are made for the dinner tonight and the party tomorrow.