Christian
It’s nearlymidnight when I finally come home. After everything that happened, I just needed some time.
Once the cops let me go, I took the truck and went for a long drive up to Granite Rock Lookout, where I was planning on just sitting and thinking until the sun went down. But as it turned out, sitting and thinking was impossible with Kate constantly invading my mind.
What did she say to that son of a bitch to get him to drop the charges anyway? Whatever it was it can’t be good for me—for either of us.
So I went on a long hike after that, trying not to think about that prick with his hands all over Kate, because every time I did, I was so filled with rage that all I wanted to do was go back down to the resort, find him, and have a repeat of what nearly got me thrown in jail in the first place.
I’m just so damn protective over her that every male instinct I have kicks into high gear when she’s around. Whether it’s lust or protectiveness, it doesn’t matter. So when I saw that guy grabbing her by the hair and her fighting against him—well, let’s just say he’s lucky all he got was one punch to the face.
The house is dark when I push open the front door. I reach for the light switch but stop at the sound of a voice.
“Leave it off. They don’t know I’m here.”
My heart rate jumps.
“Kate.”
As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see her outline seated in a chair. She rises and comes over to me as I close the door behind me. My hands reach out as if they have a mind of their own, wrap around her waist, and pull her to me.
Her scent sweeps over me, embedding in my lungs and taking me to that place that only she can take me to. Her body is soft and feels like home. Every bit of stress that was ruining my day is instantly gone as I hold her and she puts her delicate arms around me.
This is it. This is where we both belong.
In each other’s arms.
“I am so sorry, Christian,” Kate whispers. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not. Don’t be silly. And after all, you managed to keep me out of prison. How’d you do that, by the way?”
There’s a pause. I feel Kate stiffen in my arms.
Uh oh.
She pulls back and looks at me, her eyes carrying some kind of pain I can’t quite read. Then, as though it weighs a thousand pounds, she raises her left hand shows it to me.
A ridiculous engagement ring sitting on her finger.
And then I understand.
“Ah…I see.”
“You hate me,” she says. “Please, don’t hate me!”
“Kate, of course I don’t hate you,” I nearly laugh, pulling her back to me.
“I’d hate you if you were marrying some girl,” she mutters.
I chuckle. “Well, that would never happen. But I understand your situation. I don’t like it, but I understand. You did what you did to keep me out of jail, and I owe you for that.”
I’m not lying, but the sting in my heart when I think of her standing at the altar with that bastard—sharing a house with him—is certainly real.
“So…what are we going to do?” she asks.
“Well, that’s a good question,” I reply, running my hands down her lower back and slipping her shorts halfway down her hips. “Right now I have an idea…”
I lift her up, and like the good girl she is, she wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her up to the bedroom, her lips playing delicately at the base of my neck the entire time, causing my cock to grow beneath my pants. By the time I’m laying her down on the bed beneath me, I’m rock hard and absolutely ravenous.