Criminal Temptation : Enemies to Lovers Romance (Love in Unexpected Places Book 1)

by Ella Arden

  Once I’m fully inside, I pause and our eyes meet, that electric connection sparking between us once again. I’ve never felt anything like this.

  I pull out gradually, wanting to savor the feeling of her body clinging against me, like she’s reluctant to let me go.

  “Blake,” she gasps, writhing beneath me. “Fuck me, please. I need to feel you.”

  I’ve never been able to deny her anything.

  I thrust back in roughly, watching her perfect mouth fall open, and fuck her like she wants. Like I’ve been wanting for weeks.

  Being inside of her…I’ve got no words to describe it. She’s heaven and hell all at once, scorching hot and sinfully tight, and I never want to stop fucking her. I know that I could take her every day for the rest of my life and still never be fully satiated.

  Grabbing one of her legs, I lift and press it back, the position allowing me to get inside of her just a little bit deeper.

  “God, Rose, you feel so good,” I growl as the wet sounds of me fucking her fill the room. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

  It’s perfect, the give and take between us. Her softness, my hardness, her force pushing back against my own. She’s perfectly matched for me. And with every pound into her, it feels like it’s being stamped into my bones.

  Mine. Mine. Mine.

  I can’t stop looking at her, at her lips parted in pleasure, her tits bouncing with my movements, her chestnut hair splayed messily around her head. She’s so goddamn beautiful.

  “I’m going to come,” she moans. “Don’t stop, don’t stop.”

  I’m close too, I can feel my orgasm twisting low in my stomach.

  “Come with me,” I command, reaching between us to rub her sensitive clit. “Let me feel you come around my cock.”

  She’s nodding and shaking, and then she’s orgasming, getting so tight around me as she says my name in a breathy, disbelieving sort of way. I fuck her as she comes then follow seconds like, helpless against her body and the wet heat of her pussy. My ears ring from the strength of my orgasm as I fill her with my seed.

  Holding myself above her, I breathe heavily as I try to slow my heart rate. Holy shit. I feel weak, shaken to my core as I gaze down at her red flushed face. What is she doing to me?

  I know, deep down, that this was more than just sex.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ROSE

  When I wake up in the morning, Blake is gone.

  I stare at the empty side of the bed and blink back tears. I don’t know what I expected, he made it perfectly clear time and time again what he thought of me.

  I just...I thought he’d felt it too.

  And I suppose that makes me the world’s biggest idiot.

  I sigh, getting out of bed. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to focus after the best night of my life and then being rejected, but I need to get my head on straight. With Wilcox and Banks now arrested, I need to go to the police with my information about Peter. I have to convince them to reopen his case.

  Blake will probably be my best bet but I can’t handle the thought of seeing him right now. Though Peter is worth more to me than my pride.

  And, a small part of me can’t help but hope that Blake’s opinion of me might change once he knows the truth. That I'm not some low life criminal robbing places for money.

  Apparently, I'm still the world biggest idiot.

  I throw on my robe and go to the kitchen, only to see that I’m out of coffee. Just when I thought this morning couldn’t get any worse. I’m two seconds away from bursting into tears and going back to bed.

  My front door swings open and Blake steps into the kitchen, two cups of coffee in his hands.

  “Oh, good, you’re up. Sorry, I thought we could probably both use some coffee.”

  I can’t say anything. My heart feels ready to burst right out of my chest. He came back.

  “Thank you,” I manage to say and take one of the cups.

  He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Listen, Rose...We need to talk.”

  And just like that, I feel sick again, the smell of coffee churning my stomach.

  “I don’t want to—I mean, can we just not—”

  “I don’t care that you’re a thief,” he blurts out, cutting off my desperate ramble.

  “What?”

  He lets out a huffing, frustrated laugh. “I can’t believe I’m saying it but it’s true. I just don’t care. I should, I really should, but...I only care about you. I’ve been trying to deny how I feel about you and I’m sick of it.” He steps forward and takes my hands in his own, his dark eyes meeting mine. “I think I love you.”

  His words rock me to my core. All I can think is that I love him too. But…

  “I need to tell you something,” I whisper.

  And I do. I tell him about Fiona and Peter, about Peter’s unfair arrest, his charges and my quest to get proof to set him free. About my time in foster care and the skills I picked up there, about my risky plan with Wilcox and Banks.

  “I’m sorry I lied to you,” I finish, guilt heavy in my chest. I should have trusted him from the beginning. “I’m sorry about it all.”

  I gasp in surprise when he grabs me and pulls me close, kissing me fiercely. His mouth is hot and demanding but his lips are soft against my own.

  When he pulls away, he’s smiling and laughing.

  “You’re crazy,” he tells me, disbelief and awe in his voice that makes me blush. “Completely insane, and brave, and selfless, and so crazy.”

  I’m laughing too before I can help myself. He’s right but I’ll never admit it.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to take it back now? What you said earlier?”

  “That I love you?” He pretends to think as my whole body heats at his words. “If the criminal thing wasn’t enough to make me not love you, what makes you think crazy will?”

  I’m smiling so big that my face hurts.

  “I love you too.” The words feel so right and I pull him in for another kiss.

  I burst into laughter when he picks me up again, haphazardly taking my coffee from me and setting it on the counter. His arms are strong and warm around me and I know he won’t let me fall.

  “I know we need to go to the station and see about getting your friend’s case reopened, but I’m going to make love to you at least two times before I let you leave this apartment.” Blake’s face goes serious for a second. “Don’t worry. I promise I’ll get him free. Banks and Wilcox don’t stand a chance against me.”

  There’s no doubt in my mind that my detective will pull through for me.

  “How about, three times and I get to watch you interrogate them?”

  His laughter echoes around my apartment as he carries me into the bedroom. “That’s my girl.”

  EPILOGUE

  BLAKE

  I can hear Rose laughing before I even open the front door. I’ll never get tired of the feeling of coming home to my house and my amazing wife after a long day at work.

  “That’s a terrible name,” she giggles as I open the door. “Blake, listen to this. You’re going to lose it.”

  On the couch across from her, Peter shakes his head while Fiona just laughs.

  “Go on, tell him,” Rose goads. “Since you think it’s so great.”

  Peter gives me an apologetic look as I shrug out of my jacket and hang it next to the door. “I was just suggesting something a little more unique, maybe a bit classier than the usual. And, following that, it only seemed natural to suggest Ferdinand—”

  Fiona and Rose bursting into hysterical laughter covers up the rest of what he’s trying to say. Rose looks ready to fall out of her chair.

  “Sorry, I have to side with them on this one.” I cross the living room and kiss Rose then reach down to rub her stomach. “No kid of mine is going to be picked on for having a ridiculous name.”

  “I dunno, he’s been kicking a lot today. Ferdinand seems like an appropriate punishment to me,” my wife teases.

&
nbsp; Peter throws his hands up in defeat. “Fine, fine, I’m done making suggestions.”

  Next to him, Fiona gives him a fond look. “How about, when we decide to have kids, you just leave the naming up to me. In exchange, you can change diapers.”

  Everyone laughs but I’m looking at Rose, at how gorgeous and healthy she looks. Her feet are propped up on the ottoman and she’s got a blanket on her lap, but I want to make sure she doesn’t need anything else. She won’t admit it but she’s been tired lately, our growing baby already showing he has his mommy’s spunk.

  “How was work?” Rose asks sweetly. “Chasing down bad guys all day?”

  I wink at her. “You know it. I had to chase this dealer six blocks today before I finally tackled him into a car.”

  She bites her lip, eyes hot. “Mmmh, tell me more.”

  “And that’s our cue to leave,” Fiona announces, standing up. “I will never understand why these stories always get you all hot and bothered.”

  “If you had a husband who kicked ass and looked sexy as hell while doing it, you’d understand.”

  Peter pretends to look offended while Fiona snorts in amusement.

  They say their goodbyes and the second the door closes behind them, Rose is turning back to me with a mischievous look in her eyes.

  “So, tell me more about how you tackled him...Did you dent the car?”

  About The Author

  Ella Arden

  Ella Arden spends her days writing fun, flirty stories with relatable women and the sexy men who can’t resist them. She’s a firm believer that the perfect story has lots of sweet, just enough heat, true love, and an always happy ending.