Free Delta: Retribution by Cristin Harber Page A

dropped the belt on the ground. “And I can’t stay away.”
    She shrugged. “So we have good sex.”
    “Great sex.”
    “Great sex.” Her clit throbbed, knowing how close he was. “Doesn’t change the fact that it’s a small tub.”
    He dropped his pants and stood in front of her, fully erect, long solid shaft palmed in his strong hand. His gorgeous physique towered so close she shuddered. His thighs were ripped. How was that even a sexy part of the body? All that muscle made him a powerhouse. He could drive and thrust. Her legs could wrap around his hard body and feel as though they were meant to be there.
    Trace grabbed her out of the tub, making her feel light as the towel wrapped around her. His rough hands dried her haphazardly, feeling her up, massaging her body more than they wicked away water.
    “Sexiest thing I’ve ever touched,” he growled in her ear as the towel fell to the floor.
    He grabbed his wallet, found a condom, and rolled it on. Again, lifting her as if she were air in the steamy bathroom, he had her pinned against the door. Towels hung behind her, Trace stood in front of her, and her arms locked around his neck. His cock pressed at her entrance. Tenderness made her hurt but still crave more than just a tease, reminding her he’d just been in her, making her moan and come.
    “Mar, you’re the only thing that clears my head.”
    She nodded. “Me too.”
    Her lips found his neck, and she rocked her hips. Trace pushed into her, thrusting, and her mind stilled. Every sore muscle remembered how he felt inside her. She hooked her legs behind him and bit his shoulder, meeting each push into her.
    “Goddamn, girl.”
    “Harder. Please.”
    He slammed into her, deep and destructive. Orgasm built while she clung to his body. His name moaned out of her mouth. The sound of flesh slapping flesh in the humid bathroom, mixed with the intensity of his body pushing into hers, pushed her over the edge. She came hard, climaxing and feeling the ripple of her internal muscles coaxing him to come with her.
    He did, straining. Groaning. Pinning her to the wall, calling her name into her ear, catching her earlobe between his teeth.
    Their labored breaths tangled into a lip-lock. She went lax, and he held her off the ground, letting her stay in his protective hold.
    “You should know.” His face inched away. “I’ve fallen for you too.”
    ***
    Trace pinched his eyes closed, loving the weight of her body in his arms. “But I’m a lost cause.”
    Her face fell, and he wanted to kick himself. But it was the truth. Doing right by her meant not leading her on.
    “I really am sorry, Mar. It’s just… I’m damaged goods.”
    She laughed. The sarcastic bite echoed in the bathroom. “Unreal.”
    “What?”
    Pushing out of his arms, she wrapped herself in a purple robe that looked as soft as she did. “If it’s not one extreme, it’s the other. My dad always said no one would stoop to the level of being with me. That I’m not worthy. I’m really sick of people defining me, making my decisions for me.”
    “I’m not making a decision for you.”
    “No. You’re just telling me what’s not an option. Same difference.”
    He dropped his head back, staring at the ceiling and feeling like a dick. “Look…”
    “I’m looking.” She brushed her hair and stared at him in a misty mirror. The nonchalance killed him. “Let me tell you about me. I made up a fake name because I was working on a classified project, and I had no idea what else to do to keep myself safe.” She shrugged. “I mean, I could walk around with a gun.”
    “You own a gun?”
    “No.”
    “I don’t get it.”
    She slumped against the sink. “I wrote a paper on biological weapons that was picked up by a journal. Some super special government person saw it and sweet-talked me into working with them. Made me feel so… smart. They capitalized on it. On me. The whole thing scares me. Before I was taken, I could see how I was