Page 44 of Property of Anchor
“Working hard?”I asked, my voice low and rough.
She looked up, startled for a second before her mouth curved into a small smile.“Always.”
My boots echoed off the floor as I stepped inside, slow and deliberate.I stopped a few feet from her and watched the way she moved.The kind of woman who got things done.The kind of woman who made it hard for me to think straight.
She turned, paintbrush still in hand.“Just cleaning up the trim.Bernice is upstairs working on the torture room.”
I raised a brow.“You say that like it’s just another Saturday chore.”
Pearl laughed softly, and the sound tugged at something deep in my chest.“After this week?Nothing surprises me anymore.”
I let her talk.Let her show me what she’d been doing: fresh coats of paint, patched-up walls, a few details she was proud of.But the whole time, I wasn’t listening.
I was watching her mouth.
Her fingers.
The way her tank top dipped low and exposed the curve of her collarbone.
I stepped in closer, just enough to feel the heat rolling off her.She hesitated, and her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes lifted to mine.
“You done showing me around?”I asked, my voice low.
Pearl swallowed hard.“I...guess.”
“Good.”I reached out and brushed a stray curl from her cheek.“Because I didn’t come here to check the paint.”
She didn’t say anything.Didn’t have to.
Her eyes said it all.
I slid my hand around her waist and pulled her to me.Her breath caught again, but then her lips were on mine, warm and hungry.I kissed her like I’d been starving because I had been.
She melted into me, her hands clutching at my cut, her body pressed flush against mine like she couldn’t get close enough.I ran my hands up her back, one of them gently fisting in her hair as I deepened the kiss.She tasted like mint and heat and everything I shouldn’t want, but did anyway.
We broke apart for a second, both of us panting.
“You sure about this?”I asked, dragging my thumb along her bottom lip.
“Are you?”she shot back, eyes flashing.
I grinned and kissed her again.Harder this time.
I tugged at the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head.Her skin was warm and smooth, and I let my hands roam up her sides, down her back, like I needed to memorize every inch beneath the fabric.
I backed her up against the wall, one hand braced above her head, the other on her waist.She tilted her chin up and kissed me again, hungry and fast.Her hands slid under my shirt, nails grazing my skin, and I growled low in my throat.
Just as I dipped my head to kiss down her neck, my radio crackled.
“Anchor, you there?”Skull’s voice rang out.
I clenched my jaw and ignored it.Pearl’s fingers dug into my arms, and her lips traced my jaw.
“Anchor?”Skull again, more urgent.
I cursed under my breath and held her tight, lips brushing her ear.“Don’t move.”
I grabbed the radio from my belt and growled, “What?”
