I turned my hand so that our palms touched, and I laced my fingers through hers. Although her hand was so much smaller, it fit perfectly in my careful grip.
“Where do you live?” I asked. “I’ll take you home.”
“Towne Apartments. Thanks.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me. I’m happy to do it.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
One corner of my mouth ticked up. She really was adorable. “You don’t have to apologize, either.”
Her hand tensed in mine, and I knew she was feeling awkward. I’d watched her often from across the bar, noticing how she’d stiffen with anxiety and fiddle with her fingernails when boys talked to her.
I wasn’t a boy, and I definitely didn’t want to make her nervous.
Not in that way, at least.
The familiar fantasy of Ashlyn trembling beneath my touch flashed across my mind, and I barely managed to keep my fingers gentle on hers.
“Relax,” I urged. “You’re safe with me.”
I heard her take a breath, and the tension drained from her body. I kept my hold on her hand as I drove the short distance to her apartment. The silence that filled the car wasn’t uncomfortable; it was thick with sensual tension, and I didn’t dare break it with an inane question about her studies. Besides, I didn’t want her asking too many questions about my life. I’d resolved to put my dark past behind me, and that meant hiding it from everyone in my new life, even her.
Especially her.
I’d never experienced such a strong physical connection to any woman, and the long weeks of denial had only intensified the feeling. If we’d shared a quick fuck on the night I’d first laid eyes on her, maybe I could’ve gotten her out of my system. As it was, I idolized her. In my mind, I’d made her into more than just another beautiful woman. She was the life I craved, everything I couldn’t have and didn’t deserve.
Tonight, I’d finally get a taste of what I so desperately wanted.
I parked outside her apartment complex and got out to open the car door for her. She was already halfway on her feet by the time I got to her, but I took her hand again, as though she needed my help. A stupid, delusional part of me was enjoying playing the part of her white knight. I’d protected her from Stu.
I’d do my best to protect her from the darker parts of myself, too. I owed her at least that much.
She didn’t pull her hand from mine when I closed the car door behind her.
“I’ll walk you to your door.” I was going to see her safely into her apartment, and I would taste her lips before I left.
She glanced up at me and licked those lush, pink lips. My cock throbbed in response to the sign of desire.
“Okay,” she agreed softly. “My place is this way.”
She started walking toward the brick porch that lined the front of the fancy townhouses. I kept step beside her, still holding her hand in mine.
We arrived at one of the ten identical units, and she retrieved her keys from her purse. When she unlocked the door, I squeezed her fingers lightly, calling her full attention back to me. Her sapphire gaze caught mine, and her pouty lips parted on a little sigh.
“Thanks for bringing me home. You didn’t have to—”
“Yes, I did,” I interrupted her. I hadn’t had a choice. Not once Stu put his hands on her. I wouldn’t have been capable of working the rest of my shift at the bar. I wouldn’t have been capable of thinking about anything but branding her with my touch, erasing the taint where he’d grabbed her.
Unable to hold back, I reached out and caressed her cheek, relishing the softness of her skin beneath my fingertips. She didn’t flinch away from the intimate contact; she tilted her face into my hand, welcoming more. I slid my fingers into her dark, silken hair and hooked my thumb beneath her jaw, capturing her. Her soft intake of breath went straight to my cock, and I closed the distance between us with a hungry growl.
I didn’t take her lips with the tender care she deserved. I crushed my mouth to hers, and she opened for me on a sharp, shocked gasp.
She didn’t shrink from my sudden aggression. Her arms twined around the back of my neck, and she pulled me closer as she pressed her soft body against mine. Lust ignited my system, pulsing through me with visceral intensity I’d never known before. My fingers tightened in her hair, tugging the silky strands and tipping her head back so I could take her mouth more deeply. My tongue swept inside to glide against hers. She tasted like the fruity cocktail she’d sipped at the bar and something darker, more delicious. Her body melted into mine, softening and heating as she molded herself against me. I wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. She shivered in my hold, but it wasn’t the chilly night air that elicited the response. The heat between us was too intense for the cold to touch either of us.