Page 76 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

Before I can pull her back, she’s rolling out from under me, her body slipping away. I huff out a frustrated laugh and flop onto my back, staring at the ceiling as my cock throbs, still rock-hard, aching for release. I turn my head, and she’s on her side staring at me.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

I look back up at the ceiling and close my eyes.

Get your shit together, Michael.

I turn on my side to face her. Our faces are only inches apart. Her eyes are wide and conflicted in the dim light.

“It’s okay. I can wait.”

“I want to,” she says, her fingers twitching against the pillow as if fighting the urge to reach for me.

“Then what’s stopping you?”

She bites her lip, the flesh turning white under her teeth, and I have to clench my jaw to keep from pulling her mouth to mine.

“Michael, I’m not the kind of girl to just sleep with a man she’s known less than a week.”

I reach out, my thumb brushing gently over her lower lip, freeing it from her teeth.

“Katie, I get it.” I murmur. My hand slides to cup her cheek, feeling the heat there. “But damn, being this close to you, it’s torture.”

She leans into my touch, her eyes fluttering half-closed. My free hand moves to her waist, fingers splaying over the soft skin there, pulling her a fraction closer.

“I know it’s fast,” she whispers, her breath fanning my neck as she nuzzles in. “But every time you touch me, I forget why I should wait.”

Her hand trails down my arm, the light graze of her fingers igniting sparks that shoot straight to my groin, my cock twitching under the sheets. She pauses at my hip, her palm hovering there.

“Before I completely lose control here,” I murmur, my voice rough with the effort to hold back, “tell me about this fucker at the bar.”

“It was nothing,” she whispers, her gaze dropping away from mine. She stares at the shadowed curve of my shoulder instead.

“Don’t lie to me, Katie.” I reach up, tilting her face until her eyes lock onto mine.

She swallows, her throat working under my thumb. “He grabbed me. When I told him to let go, he didn’t. He pinned me.”

“I’ll fucking kill him,” I growl, the promise slipping out before I can cage it.

Her breath catches, eyes widening as she searches my face, a mix of shock and trust or fear of what I might become for her. She doesn’t pull away; instead, her hand presses flat against my hip now.

“Michael,” she breathes, her voice trembling but leaning into my touch. Her free hand comes up to cover mine on her chin, guiding it down to her neck where her pulse races wild under my fingertips. “You’re scaring me. Promise me you won’t do anything.”

I don’t promise shit. Not when the image of that bastard’s hands on her skin burns in my mind. Instead, I slide my hand to the nape of her neck, pulling her closer until our foreheads touch.

“I’m sorry I scared you, but no one ‘s going to lay a hand on you and get away with it,” I say instead, the words vibrating between us, laced with the possession I’ve felt since the first day I saw her.

She exhales shakily.

“Michael, I know you care about me, but it will be okay. Rick kicked him out. He’s not allowed to come back.”

Caring doesn’t cover it, but I don’t say anything. I nod against her, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair, and shift us so she’s tucked against my chest. Her leg slips over mine in a tangle that’s innocent and torturous all at once.

“Sleep,” I tell her, my hand stroking down her back. “I’ve got you.”

She relaxes into me, her breathing evening out, but I lie awake, mind racing.

Chapter 30