Chapter Twenty-Three
She looked like some sort of avenging angel, glowing orange backlit by the fire, and radiating such fierce conviction it constricted his throat. Wielding absolution with one hand and terror with the other. Her voice shook when she spoke. “You’re nothing like Johnny, Sterling. Nothing.”
Her words laid him bare. Sliced through his armor and exposed his vulnerable underbelly. She could see his deepest fears. His darkest secrets. Rising to his feet, he stumbled toward her, catching her in a tight embrace, holding on for dear life. “I need you, Emma.” He needed all of her. Her softness to absorb his hardness. Her fierce strength. Her sweetness that tasted like forever.
Bending, he swept her legs up and turned, carrying her into the house. Kicking shut the back door, he s
