Free Take It Down by Kira Sinclair

secret to world peace.
    “I know they were just worried about me. I couldn’t afford an expensive apartment and settled for one in an area of town that had a reputation. But I refused their help. And I refused to move back to my dad’s. I needed to live on my own, to support myself.”
    “To show them you could do it.”
    Her eyes were sparkling as she glanced over her shoulder toward him. He felt as if he’d just received a gold star from his favorite teacher.
    “I’m surprised you understand. I would have expected you to agree with them.”
    “Well, apparently you’re successful enough to afford a vacation at this place, so it’s easier now. I probably would have agreed with them then.”
    Her lips twisted in a grimace telling him she didn’t like his answer.
    Something snapped between them. Understanding. Attraction. Connection. A sizzle of energy he hadn’t felt in a very, very long time. It was seductive and scary.
    After Felicity’s death, he’d pushed everyone away. It was easier than dealing with their pity and sadness. He had enough issues of his own to contend with, he couldn’t handle everyone else’s, too.
    But it was lonely, this solitary confinement he’d condemned himself to. At first, he hadn’t minded living in his own head. Simon was here if he’d really needed someone. Although, their relationship had never really been like that. They would do anything for each other, but they didn’t get too deep into the important things.
    Elle intrigued him. And he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be pulled into anyone’s orbit—especially that of a woman who might be a criminal. He’d tangled with enough criminals, and Felicity had been the one to pay the price. While Elle didn’t strike him as the kind of person to hurt someone…he wasn’t sure he trusted his instincts anymore.
    He found himself stepping closer to her anyway. Dust motes swirled between them in the weak sunlight that filtered deeper into the room. Her eyes widened, the pupils dilating, pushing out the gray for a black circle that dragged him in.
    Her lips parted and her breath sighed across them, waiting. He reached for her. He couldn’t have stopped himself even if he’d tried. He should have walked away. But all he could think of was kissing her until they were both numb, senseless with desire.
    The scent of her, a mixture of sunscreen and tropical flowers, slammed into his chest. The tempting tip of her pink tongue darted across her lips, leaving them gleaming. His arm wrapped around her back, arching her into his body. There was no easing into the moment. He wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t careful. But then, neither was she.
    His lips crushed hers. His palm buried in the hair at the nape of her neck, forcing her into an angle that brought them tighter together. The strands of her hair slipped through his fingers, soft and silky, even as their tongues, teeth and lips dueled against the strength of an attraction neither of them wanted.
    Warring emotions—hunger, misgiving and blind greed shot through him as her teeth nipped at his bottom lip. He growled deep in his throat. Somehow they made it across the room. In the back of his brain, he heard the reverberation of her back hitting the wall, the rattle of paintings and sconces jarred for the first time in years.
    She’d whipped him into a frenzy with little more than her lips.
    Her fingers dug into his back, raking down his skin even through his shirt. His hands raced over her, trying to experience everything all at once. One of her legs found its way up over his hip. She used her heel to press into him and urge him tighter against her. The welcoming warmth of her body awakened feelings and sensations he hadn’t experienced in way too long.
    A purr of satisfaction vibrated through her as he dragged his lips down the column of her throat. It tickled and awoke in him a need to taste her entire body, to touch and lick every inch of her before he starved to death.
    A loud