But it was enough. Enough to make her stop short, turning to look at him.
“Let me hel
p you, Fiona,” he heard himself say. “You don’t belong here, not with these people. I can set you up with the therapist I mentioned who specializes in deprogramming.”
Her gaze searched his face. “Why?” she asked. “What do you get out of it? It’s been my experience that no one does something for nothing.”
“I want to help you, nothing more. I can let you stay on my ranch—your own room—if you need a place to stay.” He let her see some of his inner turmoil in his expression. “I can’t bear to see someone like you under Micheline’s power.”
“So that’s it then. You want to get back at Micheline for what she did to you.”
“No. Of course not.” Considering, he amended his statement, adding in the truth. “Well, I would like to see her pay for what she’s done. Not to me, but to others. A nice jail cell with a sentence of twenty to thirty years would do nicely, though.”
After a startled look, Fiona laughed. Really laughed, the sound infectious and honest and going straight to his gut. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“I do. And I’m also serious about getting you help. You’re too good for this place, Fiona.”
He expected her to argue or protest, to make excuses or to flat out deny. He didn’t expect her to wrap her arms around him and pull him in close for a kiss.
A kiss that seared his soul and stopped all rational thought. As their lips moved together, his heart pounded in his ears, and his body moved, too. Involuntarily pressing his huge arousal into her soft curves.
She let out a sound, a moan of desire, of need. Then, as he fought to gather up the willpower to pull away, she matched him movement for movement. Tongue, hands and that curvy, soft, sexy body that he so badly wanted to sink into.
Damn he wanted her, so badly the need for her made him shake. But still, he held himself back, unable to keep from wondering if this wasn’t yet another soul-crushing trick ordered by Micheline.
Did it matter? Yes. Fiona had to be here of her own free will, not at the behest of AAG.
“Wait,” he muttered, even as his body contradicted his words. Somehow, he managed to put enough space in between them to enable his head to clear. “I need to know. Did Micheline or Leigh ask you to come here and...”
She hesitated, just long enough to give him his answer.
“Sorry, but no.” This time, he wrenched himself free. Despite his arousal, he moved to stand on the other side of the bed, using it as a physical barrier between them. “You’re clearly not in your right mind. I won’t take advantage of you like that.”
Staring at him, she blinked. “I promise you, I’m in my right mind. No one is forcing me to be here.”
“You still didn’t answer my question. Were you asked to come here and...”
“Get you to stay by using whatever means necessary?” She sat down hard on the edge of the bed, dragging her hand through her long, thick, dark hair. “Yes. Leigh used those exact words with me a little while ago.”
His heart sank. The rest of him still had not registered the stand-down order.
“But that’s not why I’m here,” she breathed, her eyes locked on his. “I’m here because I’m incredibly attracted to you. I want you, Jake Anderson. Nothing more than that.”
Every part of him wished he could believe her. He cleared his throat, willing away his unrepentant arousal. “Leave with me,” he told her, desperate to give her one more chance. “Let me take you away from here, get you some help. Then we might revisit this.”
“I can’t.” Her sensual mouth twisted. “I can’t leave. I have a very real reason for being here.”
“Then tell me.”
She shook her head and pushed to her feet. “Come with me,” she said, holding out her hand. “Let’s walk outside.” She pointed to her ear, then gestured around the room as if to say she thought someone might be listening.
He wouldn’t be surprised.
Looking down at himself, he sighed. “I’m going to need a minute before I can walk anywhere.”
Though she nodded, the way she eyed him, as if she wanted to gobble him up, made losing his arousal even more impossible. Tearing his gaze away from her, he moved into the bathroom. He might need a cold shower, but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
Briefly, he considered taking matters into his own hands, just to regain a measure of control. But because he really, really wanted to lose himself in Fiona, he settled for the quick cold shower.