CHAPTER SIX
DALLAS
Morning light breaks through the small gap in the curtains, drawing me from sleep. Vanilla teases my senses before I'm fully awake.
Sometime during the night, I must have slipped beneath the covers, because I'm warm and relaxed. I haven't slept that good in years. A decade maybe.
Loud bass thumps from a car outside, waking me further.
I crack my eyes open and find waves of honey-blonde hair around me.
Gemma.
Her soft body is curled against me, head tucked beneath my chin, and one delicate arm stretched across my chest.
I freeze.
I've never woken with a woman in my bed. Never even slept beside one.
I’ve never let anyone this close.
Last night, when she asked me to lie down with her, I only meant to stay until she fell asleep. Nothing more.
But sometime during the night, she shifted closer. Trusting me in her sleep when she has every reason not to.
Jesus. I scrub my hand down my face, careful not to disturb her.
The weight of her body is the sweetest feeling. The way her breasts press against my chest and her legs tangle with mine. Her warm breath fans across my skin, making me achingly aware of every place our bodies connect. The silky fabric of her little pajamas, the satiny skin on her lower back where the top rode up and my hand is splayed. The feel of her thigh against my rapidly filling cock.
Waking with her in my arms feels... right.Too damn good.
Not because she’s a woman in my bed. Because it’sGemmawho’s wrapped around me.
I know I should move from the bed. Shut these feelings down and give her space. Just because she's comfortable with me doesn't mean she wants more. Not when she knows what I am. But I don’t. I can’t.
She sighs in her sleep and snuggles closer.
I lay still and hold her. This may be my only chance.
For the first time since I was eleven, I let myselffeel. Tenderness and respect for her. Warmth and possessiveness. Something stronger that I don't have a name for. It's a tightness in my chest when I think about someone hurting her or the possibility of walking away from her forever.
I've never been anyone’s protector. Not until her.
Never had a desire to be. With Gemma tucked beside me, sleeping so peacefully, I realize that there’s nothing I want more. Not retirement. Not more money.
Just this woman.
Could there ever be a future where she accepted me? A man who has spent his life in shadows. One who hasn’t had a lot of run ins with emotions.
I wrap my other arm around Gemma and hold her close.
Roark won’t touch her.
I’ll die before I let that happen.
I thought the contract on Arthur Townsend was my last job before retirement. I was wrong. It's dismantling the company from the top so Gemma can be free.
Roark won't stop a contract unless the client revokes it. It'll be damn hard to change his mind when it's open season on me.
