“Fine. I just—” The explanation died on my lips when I ran into a hard block with enough force, my phone was pitched from under my chin, my purse flung several feet. Even worse, I slipped on a patch of snow, grabbing whatever was in front of me to keep from falling.
The sense of weightlessness was a drop kick to my stomach. Only seconds later, I’d dragged the source of the thunderous boulder down with me.
There was a thud as my body hit the solid ground, but the huffing sound expelled from my lungs was from the pressure of the heavy weight crushing down on my chest.
And the rest of me.
With another gasp, I blinked furiously until I could focus. Staring back at me were a pair of the deepest emerald eyes I’d ever seen. With the waning sun casting shimmers of sparkling light, I could swear they were luminous irises framed in specks of gold.
And the rest of the man’s face was… incredible, his features resembling a Greek god, his bone structure carved to perfection.
Yet I was right about the dark aura. The energy surrounding him was thick, ominous in a way that not only caught me by surprise but was close to being suffocating. Yet there was also pain, miserable, uncontrollable pain that he was quickly able to mask.
I remained caught in a momentary blip in time, incapable of uttering a single word, and not only because the full weight of his body was pressing down on mine. I’d collided with the mysterious stranger.
Mr. Prince finally narrowed his eyes, jerking up as if I’d run into him on purpose. But I noticed he wasn’t moving, other than shifting the weight of his pelvis.
Oh, my God. The man was hard as a rock. No, not his leg, but the intense throbbing of his cock. I hadn’t expected a moan, but that’s the only sound I could make.
The sound broke the ice, or the hypnotizing moment.
“What the fuck were you doing?” His growl was husky, a deep baritone that could easily keep me in suspended animation. Had it not been for the sneer on his face. Or the look of utter admonishment following.
“What are you talking about? You ran into me.” I tried pushing him off, but it was like attempting to keep a boulder from crushing my most intimate parts.
And those lady parts were hot and wet.
Somehow, I managed to drive my palms between us, using every ounce of strength I had to shove him away. His single question had been confirmation I’d been right about him.
An arrogant bastard.
I struggled to free myself, wiggling until the rest of me managed to escape. He remained where he was even as I stood. My glare was harsher than normal, maybe because of the way he was looking at me. As if I was the issue.
After brushing snow from my jeans, I raked my hand through my hair, strands escaping the braid. Why wasn’t he moving? The sexy stranger continued to stare at me. “What do you want, an invitation to get up?” When he remained silent, I threw out my hand.
“What?” It was doubtful his bark was worse than his bite. He looked like he wanted to kill someone.
“Do you want my help or not?”
“I’m fine.” He was spitting fire as he tried to stand and it was impossible to keep from laughing when he fell on his butt once again.
He lifted his head, allowing me to enjoy a few seconds of how handsome he was. The cane caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. My giddiness faded and I retrieved it, feeling like a shitty person. “Here you go.”
“I can do it!”
His attitude irritated every ounce of my being, but as soon as he snatched the thick metal from my hand, our fingers touched. The crushing jolt of electricity was a sensation I’d never felt before. Certainly not from a single touch. The shock must have brought a look of surprise to my face.
There was one of ire on his.
Using the cane, he finally managed to stand. But as soon as he swayed, I did the neighborly thing and grabbed his arms, almost pulling us down once again. Now I was laughing.
He wasn’t.
His expression only darkened, his lips tightly pursed.
“I told you before. I’m fine. Just watch where you’re going.” He wasn’t about to allow me a third chance to drag him down, turning abruptly and hobbling away.
Jesus Christ. Maybe his father was a decent man, but he certainly wasn’t. What a son of a bitch.
