Page 124 of Resist

I level a glare her way. “What was the big news he couldn’t wait to pay a house call and tell you?”

“Something to do with Lucy’s dad, Brian.”

“Joey. Brian. Can we stop talking about other men here? That would really help calm me some,” I say, part joking, part being serious.

“Oh, poor baby.” She crawls across the couch so that she’s on all fours, her face so very close to mine, and that bottom lip of hers stuck out in a pout. “Are you feeling left out?”

She leans in to kiss me.

“If I say yes, do I get another one of those from you?”

“You mean like this?”

Another kiss. Sweet and seductive and dick hardening.

We both groan when my cell rings. I pick it up off the table and decline the call without looking at it and toss it without watching where it lands.

“Vaughn?”

“Mmm?”

“I’m sick of being interrupted.”

“Then ignore it.”

“I’m sick of the distractions.”

“Then focus on me.”

“Oh, I’m focused all right,” I say and move her hand atop my dick so she can see just how focused it is.

“Mmm.”

“We need to get away,” I murmur as she presses her lips to mine, and her entire body tenses at my comment.

“Away?” She laughs and leans back to look at me.

“No,” I groan. “Come back here. You’re too far away.” I pull her toward me until she’s cradled across my lap so she can’t escape. “Go away with me. Where there’s no distractions, no interruptions. I’ve been chasing you for months . . . and now that I have you, I want to be selfish.”

“You can be selfish right now.”

Another kiss.

“Just for a few days. We can—”

“Thank you, Ryker . . . but I don’t fit in your world.” She rests her forehead against mine.

I start to laugh and then stop myself when I realize she’s serious. “I don’t care about where you fit in or don’t fit in. I just want you with me. I’d never ask you to change to do that.”

“Mm-hmm.”

There’s a disbelief in her murmur that I fucking hate.

And love.

The lack of pretention. An abundance of doubt. A realness to her that I’ve never gotten from anybody else, and while it’s humbling that she can be like this with me, it’s also terrifying in all the right ways.

“Vaughn. Look at me.” I put my hands on the side of her face and guide it up when I lean back. When she meets my eyes, I see it. Her unease with anyone who wants to treat her right. Her sudden shyness. “It’s okay for me to want to spoil you and keep you all to myself.”