“You’re just saying that to get into my pants.”
“You’re not wearing pants.”
15
Ellie
Ringo’s low rumble sent shivers through me.The way his eyes hungered as he scanned my face and body thrilled me.But it was the faith he had in those lies he used to describe me which undid me.“I’m not smart.”
“You are.Street smarts count.You have that in abundance.”
“I blame Kat for that.”
He shrugged, ceding the point.“You can’t blame Kat for you how pretty you are.”
Rogue.“May I kiss you?I promise to be careful and not pull your yo-yo string if you don’t want me to.”
Instead of replying, he swept me close, and his mouth met mine almost instantly.His kisses were starved and overpowering.I wanted sweet, so I met his force and took control of the kiss, allowing a moment of ravaging insanity, then drew back just a little and softened the kiss until only our lips pressed together.But in that movement I poured my heart.
Everything I felt for him, the insecurities and the longing, the wonder and the fear, was softened and rolled into something so big it dragged me toward the center of the earth, but also made me fly.When the kiss broke, his expressive eyes reflected my fear.
“I promise,” I repeated.
He drew a breath.“I want you.”
With deliberate caution, I loosened my grip on his shoulder.But only with one hand.Once free, I slid it down his arm and found his fingers.With only a little tug, I stepped back once.He followed my lead.His eyes traveled to the arch behind me.Immediately beyond the transition from family room to foyer was a door on the right wall.It opened to the room we’d spent every night in since Johnny destroyed my bedroom.Ringo’s eyes fixed on that opening.
“Only if you’re sure.”I’d sleep somewhere else and deal with the nightmares.I’d managed that by myself for over two decades.
He bent and slipped a hand behind my back, and another under my knees.Barely a second later, I was in his arms and he was moving fast.He kicked the door wider with his foot and cleared the hallway and turn with ease.I clung to his neck afraid my weight was too much.
But he’d carried me before.Hell, full-on ran with me tossed carelessly over one shoulder, uphill.He was strong.
Another piece of my heart stripped free of the cage I’d put around it and soared toward the promise that I’d finally found a man who could protect me.I tried like hell to tug it back, caution it, and cajole it to return to its guarded fortress, but it wouldn’t listen.I was losing.
Worse?I would hurt Ringo if I let the rest of my heart follow.Then again, I suspected it was already in mutiny and had found the keys to the prison.It was only lingering behind to wait for my brain to catch up.
And that traitorous organ whispered,you love him.It knew.My heart knew.
Heck, my soul knew him the first moment we met in line at the airport in Vegas.He’d overheard my argument with the airline staff and offered me cash to use Johnny’s ticket to Italy.Since they’d informed me the window to get a refund was closed, I jumped on it.And for the next twenty hours Ringo entertained me with stories, jokes, and even better, was a bulwark the outside world had to crash against to get at me.And nothing did.
He was a seasoned traveler.That made the transfers, customs, and other hoops breeze by.Not even Allie could have arranged things better.
In hindsight, the trip went almost too smoothly.
He waited at the edge of the bed.“You still with me?”
“How did you get through the gate with Johnny’s name on the ticket?”
His cheek grooved with a smile that quirked up only on one side.“Trade secret.”
I sighed.
He let me down.“And…I’ve lost you.”
“No.It’s…I’m still processing, but Idowant you.I was thinking about how we met.”He deserved more honesty from me than that.“About how I recognized a kindred spirit almost instantly.”I met his eyes, so he’d see through the walls and know I was telling the truth.
“I was using you.”
