Free Sadie's Surrender by Afton Locke

her lush lips. Should have done this a long time ago. Her mouth stayed closed, so he worked the seam of her lips with the point of his tongue. From one corner to the other, he probed, showing her exactly how much he ached to be inside her.
    When she finally released, giving him access to the sweet, hot cavern of her mouth, he was sweating from the effort. The woman was harder to pry open than an oyster. Her fingers drifted to his shoulders. The sensation of her nails digging into his shoulders made his member even harder. He pictured her under him, scratching his waist raw. Assuming he could pry her legs apart. She’d probably close them tighter than her mouth.
    Pulling back, he gripped both sides of her face. “You’re so beautiful, Sadie.”
    The coldness returned to her eyes, but after she blinked, they glistened.
    “Do you really mean it?” she whispered.
    He gripped her cheeks. “Oh, Sadie. Did you ever doubt it?”
    “But I’m not pretty,” she protested. “Everyone has told me so.”
    “Pretty is boring.” He gripped harder. “You’re beautiful. Your face, your body, your mind, and even your bad temper.”
    “What if I don’t believe you?”
    “Then I guess I’ll have to prove it to you.”
    They stood for a long time, kissing. He tasted her jaw, the lobe of her ear, and the tender skin of her neck. Even her hair. Her soft moans excited him so much, he almost forgot where they were.
    “Hush,” he whispered, nipping her ear. “We don’t want your mother to hear.”
    “Right.”
    When she arched her neck, submitting to him, a violent flood roared through him. Although she was smarter than he was, she made him feel like a man. The only man on Earth.
    The urge to bend her over the table again clawed holes in him. And this time he’d penetrate her. Deep. Instead, he spread a palm over her lower back and then the curve of each buttock. Pressing her and molding her to his groin, which burned for her. He also skimmed his fingers down the side of her breasts, telling her how beautiful he thought she was with each stroke.
    But he was careful not to go too far.
    Finally, he stopped kissing her and simply held her. Except for her mother’s snoring in the next room, the night was silent. Her head nestled against his shoulder. For the moment, anyway, the lioness had turned into a kitten.
    “I want you,” he whispered in her ear.
    “How?”
    “In every way. By my side. In my bed. Mine.”
    “If only we could.” She gazed at him with such bittersweet sadness, it clenched his chest. “But it’s enough to know you desire me.”
    He bowed his head. At least she realized there could be nothing between them. If the Klan saw them in each other’s arms, it would crucify them and their families. The best thing they could do was stay out of each other’s paths as much as possible.
    She’d shuck oysters, and he’d struggle to manage the company. Both of them would be miserable. Even more so than before because they’d gotten a taste of what could have been.
    “I need you at Rockfield’s to help me make decisions. It’ll have to be done in secret, of course. And only if you want to.”
    “Won’t it be dangerous?” she asked.
    “We’ll have to be very careful. It’ll be safer than courting, though.”
    The dreaminess left her eyes, leaving her usual practicality. “You must really trust me.”
    “I do.” He caught her fingers in his. “At least it’ll allow me to be close to you. Will you do it?”
    She nodded. “I’m too excited by the business work to turn my back on it. Will you kiss me once more?”
    He gripped the back of her head and drank from her as if it were the last time. When he pulled away, her eyes were wet with tears.
    “Don’t cry, Sadie. You know there can’t be anything between us.” He hated to admit it to himself, much less her, but it had to be done. “I-I’m in the Klan.”
    “I know.”
    She knew and yet she’d still trusted him. Why did this incredible woman have