Better Late, But Never His Again novel Chapter 188

She crashed heavily into Zachary's chest, the impact knocking him backward right off his metal chair. They hit the concrete patio floor with a sickening thud, Hazel sprawled entirely on top of him.

Her palms were planted flat against his chest. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could feel the rock-hard wall of his muscles and the frantic, thunderous pounding of his heart beneath her hands.

The rhythm was wild and erratic. She jerked her head up, locking eyes with him. Those perpetually cold, detached eyes were now glazed and burning with a feverish intensity.

Hazel's own heartbeat was roaring so loudly in her ears it drowned out the ambient noise of the bar. Panic spiking, she scrambled to push herself up.

But Zachary's hand suddenly clamped onto her waist. His palm was scorchingly hot, his fingers digging firmly into her side through her blouse.

With a slight flex of his arm, he locked her tightly against his body.

He stared up at her, his vision clouded. The alcohol had finally obliterated the last remaining dam of his self-control, washing away his psychological defenses entirely.

Hazel froze, the instinct to fight completely short-circuiting. She stared down at him, paralyzed. The ambient streetlights cast harsh, angular shadows across his jawline.

Without warning, Zachary's hand slid up to cup the back of her head, and he pulled her down into a bruising kiss.

It tasted sharply of bitter hops and despair. His breath was a furnace against her skin, and his lips were shockingly soft.

Hazel's eyes blew wide open. Her brain completely shut down, flatlining in pure shock.

She could feel his fingers tangling desperately in her hair to hold her in place. His other arm banded like steel around her waist. The kiss, which had started as a frantic collision, slowly morphed into something dangerously deep and consuming. Zachary let his eyes flutter shut, rolling his hips to flip their positions, pressing her firmly into the unforgiving concrete.

The freezing bite of the ground seeping through her clothes jolted Hazel back to reality. Adrenaline flooded her system. She slammed both hands against his chest and shoved him backward with everything she had, gasping for air.

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