He froze, the hard grind of his cock against me coming to a standstill, his hands no longer claiming ownership over the terrain of my skin.
For a long moment, neither of us moved. I could feel his heart pounding against my chest. His ragged breathing filled the living room.
Then he pulled back, pressing his forehead against mine. His eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw clenched tight.
“Hall?”
When he finally spoke he grunted out, “You’ve been through hell.” His voice was rough as gravel. “And you don’t need this… distraction. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m not adding to your troubles.”
“Hall…”
“Go to bed,” he growled. He pulled away completely, leaving me cold and aching on the couch. “Please.”
I wanted to argue and tell him that he wasn’t adding to my troubles, that he was the only good thing that had happened to me in months. But the look on his face stopped me.
He was barely holding on to his control. If I pushed, he might break.
And maybe he was right. Maybe I was throwing myself at the first man who’d so much as looked my way since Rodney dumped me on my ass.
The pain of rejection pierced through my heart. I thought we’d been building something, but I must have been wrong. The feelings were just on my side.
“Okay,” I whispered. I stood on shaky legs, pulling the blanket around my shoulders and grabbing one of the candleholders. “I’m sorry. Goodnight, Hall.”
He didn’t answer. Just stared into the fire, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
The storm was still raging outside, but it was nothing compared to the tempest in my heart. I lay awake for hours, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, my lips still tingling from his kiss.
The pain was from knowing he was just fifteen feet away, wanting me too.
Hemustwant me, otherwise he wouldn’t have been hard. So why was he holding himself back? Unless he was afraid I’d want a relationship with him. And unfortunately… that was exactly what I wanted.
It wasn’t just about his rough hands and his hungry cock, or the mountains of muscles on his body. I wasn’t looking for a fast fuck or a one-night stand. Somewhere over the past few days I’d completely fallen for this man.
Chapter 10
Hall
The next morning I felt like the world’s biggest idiot.
I stood in my small kitchen, staring at the coffee maker like it held the answers to all my problems. It didn’t. Nothing did.
I’d messed everything up. Just like I always did with women.
The memory of last night played on repeat in my head. The way she’d felt underneath me, all soft curves and warmth. The little sounds she’d made when I kissed her.
And what had I done? Come on too strong, just like always.
Cassidy had told me she’d only ever been with one man before. One. And I’d almost turned one tiny kiss into pounding the fuck out of her on my couch like some kind of animal.
She deserved better than that. She deserved someone who could be civilized. Someone who didn’t use their cock like a hammer.
Then the way she’d whispered,take me hard,had thrown me into a tailspin. Those words had reverberated through me all night long.
They’d probably still be bouncing around in my mind fifty years from now.
If she only knew how hard I could go, she wouldn’t have been asking for that. Cassidy was like a soft, delicate flower, entirely too cultured for a man like me.
All I consisted of was hard work and rough edges.
