Free Steel My Heart by Vivian Lux

flow through his hands like water. Then he smoothed it back, exposing my neck. I gasped to feel his lips press into the sensitive flesh there.
    "Sorry," he murmured without pulling away. "I've wanted to do that since I saw you walk in."
    "You wanted to kiss my neck?"
    He brushed his lips upward, his hot breath in my ear. "No, I wanted to get my fingers in your hair, then kiss your neck."
    I heard myself make a sound, soft and small like a wounded animal. It was halfway between a gasp and a sob. Need rushed in to fill the hollow place inside of me.
    "J.," I whispered from somewhere outside of myself. "J. can we go somewhere? Can we go somewhere, right now?"

Chapter 11

    J.

    It took everything in J.'s power not to throw her onto the bar and have her right then and there.
    Her lips were just as soft as he had hoped. He pressed himself into her, the blood rushing painfully to his groin. Letting his tongue circle hers, he pushed that kiss deeper and she responded with a soft, kittenish noise that inflamed him. He tasted the soft cream of her skin and it was a sweet as he'd hoped it would be.
    Then she asked him to do the only thing he wanted to do.
    J. pulled back from the kiss, ready to move. Rosie had a back room. Or they could go to the clubhouse. Or fuck, they could do it right here on the bar. He didn't give a shit, he needed to have this woman right now.
    Her eyes fluttered at him, unfocused and dazed. She pitched forward, stumbling into his lap.
    "Oh shit, Emmy? You okay?"
    Her head lolled as she looked up at him. She raised her arms sleepily. "Come back," she slurred, eyelids half-closed.
    J. punched himself in the thigh, hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. She was drunk. He wanted her, but not like this. "Hey Emmy, you need to eat some more. Can you eat some more?"
    "Noooo," she pouted, but opened her mouth obediently to allow him to feed her a few more fries.
    Doctor D. was suddenly at his side. "How much did she have?" the older man asked. You could hear the medical training rushing back to him.
    J. racked his brain. "I don't think that much. Two shots and a beer maybe?"
    "That'd be enough for someone who doesn't drink much." Doctor D. looked at him with his sharp eyes. "She needs to go home, J. You okay to ride?"
    J. stood up from his stool, testing. He slid his arms under Emmy, catching her before she slid to the floor. "Yeah I think so. Emmy?"
    "Hmmm?" She smiled sleepily up at him.
    "Can you tell me where you live?"
    She pouted. "You're taking me back to him?"
    "Him? Your roommate?"
    "Not...roommate. Fiancé."
    J. felt his heart sink. Fuck. Of course she was engaged. If he had met her earlier he would have snapped her up too. He punched himself in the thigh again, willing his desire to cool, but her soft, yielding body against his was not helping.
    Doctor D. picked up her pocketbook and pulled out her leather wallet. "Damn, her ID says she live on Rittenhouse."
    J. looked down sharply. She was engaged and she was rich. He felt like a complete fool. Angrily he hauled her to her feet. "Let's go Emilia. You need to hold on to me, okay?"
    "Mmmm," she hummed, but followed him out the door. He deposited her on the back of his bike without a word, then screeched into traffic without checking his mirrors.
    He was a fool. A damned fool. She was a spoiled little princess who just wanted an adventure. All those feeling he had had while they talked, that connection, it had all been in his head. She just wanted to come down out of her palace and slum it for a while.
    His anger made him ride faster. But when he felt her grip loosen, he willed himself to slow down. He was angry, but he didn't want to kill her.
    But when he turned onto Walnut St. he had no choice but to come to a screeching halt. Traffic was still snarled in spite of the late hour. Posh customers were still pouring out of the clubs and high-end restaurants. They milled about on the sidewalks and spilled into the crosswalks. J. could feel their eyes on him and