“Did you look?” His eyes blaze with anger as he brushes past me and kicks the door shut.
“What do you mean, did I look?” His body vibrates with energy sending my anxiety through the roof. “I don’t have time for 20 questions. My head hurts, and it’s been a long day.”
“Tough.” He grabs my chin. “I take it you didn’t look through your peephole to see who it was before you opened the door.”
“No. I didn’t. You said you were coming here.” I inhale and gnaw on my bottom lip. This isn’t getting any easier. I want to curl up on the sofa and go to sleep. In his arms.
“Damn it. Don’t give me that doe-eyed expression and prey on my weaknesses.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I was unaware that you had any weaknesses.”
“You,” he growls and runs his thumb along my jawline. “You are my weakness. And you insist on putting yourself into dangerous situations. You were almost attacked tonight. Again.” His nostrils flare as if he’s envisioning Tripp hitting on me. I shudder as the same scenario plays out in my head. “What would have happened if I wasn’t there to intervene?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. The tension in his shoulders eases, and he runs his fingers through my hair until he’s cupping the back of my head. “Someone’s got to watch over you. Give me your phone.”
I fight the urge to touch him. But why? When I wake up tomorrow, this–us–is impossible. Not that he said, ‘I’m going to move in and live inside your skin to protect you.’
When I grab my phone off the end table, he snatches it from my fingers and scrolls through the screens while working with his phone simultaneously. When he’s satisfied, he hands it back to me. “I put a GPS tracker on your phone that I can monitor. It’s also linked to a security company that will alert the police if you press this button.” He points to the app on the screen. “Open it up and practice.”
This seems like a little overkill, but I follow his directions.
“If anything happens to you….” He swallows and clears his throat. “If you’re in danger, tap on the icon and hold down. It has a built-in safety feature if you click it by accident. Hold it down for five seconds. If you don’t, an alert will go out over the system and notify my phone and the police.”
“Don’t you think this is a bit much? The police? You? What if I hit the wrong button, and everyone comes crashing into my bathroom when I’m in the shower?”
“No,” he growls, grabs the phone, tosses it onto the sofa, and braces his arms on either side of my head with my back to the door. “It’s not overkill because if either one of those assholes or anyone else touches you or harms a hair on your head, I’m going to destroy them.”
My breath catches in my lungs as his head dips down and his lips brush my ears. Tears spring to my eyes. I can’t do this.
My bottom lip quivers as I force the tears to remain at bay. I can’t. I want him to protect me. I want him to be the man I wake up next to in the morning. But that would destroy him. His reputation. His future.
I suck down a gasp of air. What about my future?
For the first time, I don’t care. If I could be with him, I would give everything else up. My father’s face flashes before my eyes. His anger. His sense of betrayal. Alexander’s disownment. I can’t destroy either of them. I’ve got to walk away from this before we’re all destroyed.
He pulls back and cups my cheek, swiping my flesh and collecting a tear that escaped despite my valiant attempt to remain strong. “When I saw Tripp touching you tonight, I wanted to rip each of his fingers off and shove them down his throat until he choked on them.”
“You need to go because I can’t do this. I want things with you that I can’t have.”
He closes his eyes and stills. Slowly, he opens his eyes. The pain and desire swirling inside them makes my knees weak. “I can’t walk away from you. You’re all I think about. You’re all I dream about. Seeing you and not being able to touch you is killing me. I know being together would ruin everything we’ve worked for. But I need you to breathe. So, if you want me to go, open the door and kick me out. I can’t walk out on my own.”
I slide my arms around his neck and press against his hard body. “Please, stay.”
His mouth slams against mine. Our kiss is frantic and all-consuming. Our tongues clash as our hands grope and demand more. Every second of the frustration of being unable to touch him when I wanted floods out of me in desperate, jerky movements.
He rips my shirt from the waistband of my jeans and rakes his palms over my skin. The rough sensation sends goosebumps in all directions. “Baby girl, there’s nothing I’d rather do than stay with you. I’ve dreamed about nothing else since the night I met you.” He steps back. “I need to touch you, so strip and let me devour you.”
Oh, my God.My clit twitches, and my toes curl at the same time. With one touch, he ruined me for anyone else. I’ll never be able to look at another man and have him measure up. In the morning, we’ll still be in the same boat. We can’t be together. But tonight…. Tonight, I want everything.
I toss my clothes in all directions and stand motionless as he surveys me. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” He strokes his cock through his jeans. “I want everything at once. I want you on your knees sucking my cock. I want you sitting on my face until you’re suffocating me. I want your legs wrapped around me as I plow into that tight wet pussy. I don’t intend to stop until you pass out from coming.”
“Please,” I whimper and press my back into the door to keep from falling on my ass. The cool wood is the only thing keeping me from igniting.
“Yes, baby, please.” He licks his lips and runs his hands along my body, tracing my curves, and flames settle deep inside my core.
“You’re so freaking beautiful.” With one hand, he cups my breast, and in the other, he holds my hip, yanking me closer. “All this is mine. Anyone else touches you, and I’ll rip out their throat.”
He pinches my nipple, causing me to moan. “That’s it, baby. You’re all mine.” His mouth descends on my nipple, biting down and sucking it deep.