“You don’t ever have to thank me for protecting what’s mine.”
Her breath caught, and I knew she’d heard exactly what I’d said. I’d said it before, but this seemed to be the first time she’d reallyheardit.
Slowly, she lifted her face and brushed her lips against mine. I let her lead, but my hand came up to cradle the back of her neck while the other stayed firm against her waist. The quiet little sigh she breathed against my lips sent heat rolling through me with enough force to tighten every muscle in my body.
I felt her confidence growing with each passing second that we kissed. Her fingers curled into my shirt before one hand slipped lower, tentative but determined, until it rested against my belt.
I caught her wrist, and she froze.
Breaking away, I rested my forehead against hers again. Every part of me wanted to toss my control straight out the damn window, but wanting something and doing it were two different things.
“Look at me, baby.”
Her eyes lifted immediately, and I hated the look of disappointed embarrassment in them. I needed her to know I wasn’t rejecting her.
“I want you.” The words came out rough from the effort to stay focused. “More than I’ve wanted anything in a long damn time.”
Color flooded her cheeks, and relief began to trickle back into the pretty blue.
“But I’ll wait.”
She blinked.
“I don’t want your first time with me to happen because some son of a bitch hung a threat on your gate.” My thumb brushed slowly across her cheek. “I don’t want fear making this decision for you. When I finally have you, I want it because you chose me. Not because I make you feel safe.”
She was quiet for a moment, drawing a slow breath that lifted her chest before she let it out again. I could almost see her gathering courage. “Brogan.”
Her fingers found my jaw, trembling just enough for me to notice.
“I was falling for you before any of this happened. You fixing things, bossing me around, carrying me off ladders, and making room for yourself in my house…” A quiet laugh escaped her. “You make me feel safe because of who you are, not because someone tried to scare me.”
She took another steadying breath.
“I’m here because I want to be.”
I cupped her face in both hands, searched her eyes one final time. When all I found was quiet certainty looking back at me, I closed the distance between us and claimed her mouth with mine.
The kiss went from controlled to fucking ravenous in the space of one breath. Jacqueline opened beneath me with a soft moan, her fingers sliding into my hair as I took her mouth hard. I wrapped one arm around her waist and rose from the couch with her still straddling me, carrying her toward the stairs while her legs locked around my hips and the rigid length of my cock pressed into the heat between them.
She gasped when I tightened my grip beneath her ass, but the sound melted into another hungry kiss as she clung to me. Her body felt lush in my arms, every soft curve fitted to the harder lines of mine while her breasts crushed against my chest and her hips shifted restlessly over my erection.
The friction nearly made me miss the first step, which would’ve been a humiliating way for a former Delta team leader to die. But feeling Jacqueline grind against my cock made the risk seem almost fucking reasonable.
“You keep rubbing that sweet little pussy against me, we’re not gonna make it to the bedroom.” I let my teeth catch her lower lip before soothing the sting with my tongue.
Her face turned hot beneath my hands, yet she rolled her hips again, the shy movement bolder because she knew exactly what it did to me.
“Fuck,” I grunted.
My cock throbbed so hard behind my jeans that the pressure bordered on pain, and the urge to pin her against the wall and take her right then was riding me hard. But I managed to carry her into the bedroom and set her on the center of the mattress before following her down.
Jacqueline’s hair had started slipping from its braid, chestnut strands spreading across the quilt as she stared up at me with wide blue eyes and swollen lips. She was so damn beautiful. I planted one knee between her thighs, braced myself over her, and let her see exactly how close I was to losing my sanity.
“Last chance to slow me down.” My hand closed around her hip, holding her still when she instinctively arched toward the heavy ridge of my cock.
“Please, Brogan,” she whispered, gathering the black cotton of my shirt in both fists as her gaze dropped briefly to my mouth.
That plea snapped something primitive inside me. I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her again, then dragged my lips along her jaw toward the delicate skin beneath her ear. Her pulse hammered against my tongue as I tasted my way down her throat, and every small sound she made fed the possessive hunger twisting through my body.
