Silver Heart by Victoria Green Page B

right. Perhaps we were one of a kind, but it suddenly hit me that I’d rather jump off a thousand bridges and risk a million tears for one tiny moment of happiness than spend any more time living a pretend life with him.
    Preston would never take control and he’d never push me to lose it. He wouldn’t throw himself off a bridge with me in his arms, he couldn’t make my heart beat wildly, and didn’t make my body tremble with desperate longing. Hell, he didn’t even inspire me to pick up my camera and snap his photo.
    My knees wobbled and the ground closed in, but strong hands grabbed my shoulders and prevented me from greeting the pavement with my face.
    “ Whoa ! Are you okay?” I could recognize that voice anywhere.
    I looked up toward the starry sky, meeting Sawyer’s green gaze. Even in the dimness, his light eyes shone with so much brightness, illuminating his beautiful features. And, oh, God…he was beautiful. And handsome. And so, so sexy. Alcohol had nothing on him; the mere sight of Sawyer made me drunk with desire.
    “You coming, Carter?” One of his friends called from the entrance of the bar.
    Sawyer shook his head. “Go ahead. I need a minute,” he said, pulling me up to my feet. “What’s wrong, Silver?”
    “I need to get out of here.”
    His dark eyebrows drew together in a look of concern. “Have you been drinking? Are you going to be sick?”
    “Maybe. But not from alcohol. I just need to breathe.” I reached out toward him. “I want to live.”
    He took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, then lead me to a dim alley on the side of the bar, gently resting my back against the cool brick wall.
    “How can I help?” he asked as he stood in front of me. His tall body shielded me from the wind, and it wasn’t long before I began to regain some warmth.
    I tilted up my chin toward him. “You want to help? Then kiss me.”
    His lips parted, and for a moment I imagined he was going to press them against mine. He quickly tightened his jaw and shook his head. “I can’t do that. You’re clearly tipsy.”
    I rose up onto my tiptoes and grazed his chin with my mouth. “Don’t make me ask again.”
    He exhaled sharply. “Silver…”
    “What?”
    “You’ve been drinking.”
    “So?” I challenged. “You’ve never kissed a tipsy girl?”
    “Sure I have. But you’re not just any girl.”
    “Right now, I need to feel like one,” I told him as I ran my hands up the hard ridges of his abdominal muscles and over his chest, finally wrapping them around his neck. “I need to feel wanted. For me. All of me.”
    “ Shit. ” He groaned as my cold fingers entangled in his hair and tugged his face toward mine.
    I’d never been so vocal about my desires. Pushed to the limits by Preston and partly spurred on by the tequila running through my veins, I felt courageous enough to demand what I wanted. For once in my life. But it seemed like Sawyer wasn’t going to give in that easily.
    He took my hands in his and held me at arm’s length. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly. A war between wickedly delicious lust and chivalrous constraint waged in his eyes. I silently prayed for the lust to triumph. “I meant it, Silver. Are you really okay?”
    I buried my forehead in his chest and inhaled his icy scent. “I’ve never been better,” I said, diminishing the space between us. My skin heated feverishly upon contact with his body. “But I want to lose control. Again. With you.”
    “Goddammit, Silver, you can’t say things like that,” he groaned.
    “You’ve been telling me to let go, so here I am—letting go,” I whispered, ignoring his protest. “I need you to catch me.”
    “I’m here,” he soothed.
    Had he always smelled so good?
    “Please touch me, Sawyer.” I felt no shame in begging. “Kiss me.”
    “ Silver …” he growled in warning. “Stop talking. Please.”
    “Then make me stop.”
    “I can’t do that.”
    “Yes, you can.” My heart was in