Page 19 of Her Grumpy Protector

"Banks," she whispers, voice breaking.

I pull her into my arms without thinking. She buries her face in my chest, trembling. I wrap one arm around her back and stroke her hair with the other hand, slow and steady.

"You're okay," I murmur against the top of her head. "It was just a dream. I've got you. Nothing’s going to touch you while I'm here."

She clings to me tighter, her fingers digging into my bare shoulders. "I saw them take Sadie. They had knives like the one in the boutique. They were hurting her because of me. I couldn't stop them."

My chest tightens. I hold her closer, rocking her gently. "Your sister is safe. Mack called her, remember? I’ll text Mack right now to pick her up. Get her protected. She'll be fine. This is just your mind playing tricks after everything you've been through." I grab my phone from my sweats pocket and shoot off a quicktext to Mack. He replies in seconds and says they’re on their way now.

She nods against me but doesn’t let go. Her breathing’s still ragged. I keep talking, low and calm, telling her about the perimeter alarms, about how no one can find this cabin, about how I won’t let anything happen to her or the people she loves. Slowly her body relaxes against mine. The trembling stops.

I should move back to the couch. I should put distance between us. But I don’t. I can’t. Not when she feels this fragile in my arms.

Anniston lifts her head. Our faces are inches apart in the moonlight coming through the window. Her green eyes are shiny with leftover tears, but there’s something else there too. Trust. Need. The same pull I’ve been fighting since the moment she spilled coffee on me.

"Banks," she whispers.

I shouldn’t. I know I fucking shouldn’t.

But when she leans in the last inch, I meet her halfway.

The kiss is soft at first. Gentle. A careful press of lips that says more than words ever could. Then she makes a small sound in the back of her throat and I lose the last thread of control I have left. I cup the back of her neck and deepen the kiss, tasting the salt of her tears and the sweetness that is purely her. She melts into me, hands sliding up my chest, fingers threading into my hair.

We kiss like we have all the time in the world and none at all. Slow and deep and aching. My hand runs down her side, over the curve of her hip, pulling her closer until there’s no space left between us. She sighs into my mouth, body arching againstmine, and heat floods through me so strong it makes my head spin.

I break the kiss just enough to rest my forehead against hers. Our breaths mingle in the dark.

"I shouldn't want you this much," I murmur, voice rough. "But I do. God, Anniston, I do."

She brushes her lips against mine again, soft and lingering. "Then don't fight it tonight. Just hold me."

I roll us so she’s tucked against my chest, my arms wrapped securely around her. She fits there like she was made for it. I kiss her once more, slower this time, savoring the way her mouth moves with mine. The kiss is warm and sweet and full of everything we’re not saying out loud.

She settles deeper into my arms, head on my shoulder, one leg tangled with mine. I stroke her back in long, soothing strokes until her breathing evens out again. The nightmare is gone. For now, she’s safe. She’s mine to protect.

And as I lie there in the quiet bed with Anniston wrapped around me, kissing her softly between whispered reassurances, I realize something I’m not ready to say out loud.

I’m not sure I can let her go when this is over.

FOURTEEN

ANNISTON

I lie curled against Banks's chest, my head on his shoulder, listening to the steady beat of his heart. The room is dark except for the soft silver moonlight slipping through the window. His arm is wrapped around me, warm and heavy, one big hand resting on my lower back like he is afraid I might disappear if he lets go. I should be trying to sleep. Instead all I can think about is how badly I want him.

I want his hands on me again. I want his mouth. I want to feel that solid weight of him pressing me into the mattress until the only thing I can think about is us. It’s been years since I felt this kind of deep, aching want for someone. Years since anyone made me feel safe and wild at the same time. And now here I am, wrapped up in this man who’s supposed to be protecting me, not making my heart race like this.

I shift slightly, pressing closer. Banks's fingers flex against my back. He’s still awake. I can tell by the way his breathing has not evened out.

"Anniston," he murmurs, voice low and rough in the dark.

Before I can answer, he rolls me gently onto my back and leans over me. His gray-blue eyes catch the moonlight as he looks down at me. Then he kisses me again.

This kiss is slower than the one after my nightmare. Softer. His lips move against mine like he’s savoring every second. I sigh into his mouth and slide my hands up his chest, feeling the hard muscle under my palms. He deepens the kiss, tongue brushing mine in a slow, sensual stroke that makes heat bloom low in my belly.

I know I shouldn’t be doing this. I know we said we would keep things professional. But I can’t help myself. I want him too much.

"Banks," I whisper against his lips.