Luis confirms with the bob of his head. As I take in his massive frame and stoic presence, those pieces fit together. If I were hiring a bodyguard or wanted to intimidate someone, I’d choose him, too.
“While I appreciate it,” I say, “that sounds… a little intense.”
Simon doesn’t falter, his voice dead serious when he says, “I don’t care. He threatened you. He’s done.”
The conviction in his voice tightens my belly, his passion for me and my protection singing through my veins.
I stare at my disheveled hero in his hospital bed, torn between gratitude and cautioning him to leave it alone. A lot of men promise the world, all talk. But this amazing man who kept me safe during a violent attack is definitely a man of action.
He claimed he’d do anything for me, and in this moment, I’m utterly awestruck by it. More, I believe him.
I return to Simon’s bedside, taking hold of his hand and glancing between him and Luis-the other two suited men stand like silent sentinels at the door. It distracts me for a moment, as I swore there were four of them sweeping the lobby.
Seeing the both of them are currently dead-set on my safety, I sigh and give in. “Just promise you won’t do anything reckless.”
Luis snorts. “Nothing reckless. I like to refer to it as delivering justice.”
He must recognize that doesn’t go very far to calm my nerves, because he straightens like a soldier about to salute his drill sergeant. “If that’s all, I’ll go handle… that thing we discussed.”
“You need to hone your improvisation skills,” I tell him as he starts for the door.
It’s miniscule, but I’m glad to see that twitch in the corner of his mouth. Having a sense of humor goes a long way on bonkers days. Specifically ones with ludicrous plot twists like mean cousins who call up ex-stalkers and goons who swing baseball bats.
What’s sad is I let Elon keep me away from my hometown and my family’s ranch for far too long. What’s even sadder is I don’t know if I’ll ever be wholly safe here. It’s why I’ll probably reside in New York for years, regardless of how often I miss Texas.
Luis gestures toward the hallway, and he and his bodyguard brigade head out of the room like they’ve got more criminals to pursue.
When I return my attention to Simon, he has the nerve to give me a sheepish grin. “Did I at least make the hospital stay entertaining?”
“You’re ridiculous,” I say. I’m about to crack a smile as well, no matter how hard I try to hold it back.
He chuckles and brings my hand to his mouth for a kiss. “But I’m your type of ridiculous.”
My chest tightens, warmth blooming like a raging campfire after weeks of smoldering embers. “Yeah, and that’s the most dangerous kind-the kind I can’t resist.”
I lean closer, bending at the waist to kiss his cheek, the rasp of his five o’ clock shadow ticklish against my lips. “Hopelessly charming.” I drag them across the top of his cheekbone, resting my mouth there for a beat. “Infuriatingly handsome…”
Inclining my body over his, my heart goes aflutter as he loops an arm around my waist, tugging me into the bed with him. I use the nearer access he grants me to pepper kisses along the firm line of his jaw, savoring the contented, grumbly sound rumbling through his throat and his chest.
I finish up at the spot below his ear, a thrill cascading up my core at the twitch and flex of his muscles. “Just impulsive enough to keep life extra interesting.”
Releasing a sigh to give myself another couple of seconds in his arms, I finally make it to the good news portion of the evening. “And since the doctor’s cleared you and we’re free to go, I’d like to take your fine, ridiculous ass home now.”
Simon
Faint, flickering candlelight casts golden reflections across the vanity mirror and wallpapered walls of the bathroom.
The doctor warned I might be sensitive to bright lights after the knock on the head, so Victoria insisted on using the battery-powered candles her mom set up as a honeymoon suite.
The air is thick with steam, swirling from the hot spray coming from the showerhead. Victoria insisted on helping me inside the bathroom, in case I was more lightheaded than I realized. She also turned on the water so it could warm up before I got in, coddling me far more than necessary.
Not that I’m complaining. Who am I to prevent her from playing sexy nurse?
Her delicate throat works a swallow as she undoes the button of my formerly white dress shirt, now splattered with blood. With each button, her pupils dilate further, gradually overtaking the blue.
As soon as she’s undone the last button, she glides her hands from my exposed abdomen to my shoulders, nails dragging lightly across my skin. As soon as she shoves the fabric off my shoulders, she tugs the shirt down my arms to fall to the floor.
Soft pink lips part, her hot puff of breath stirring the hair on my chest. Her gaze moves to the waistband of my pants, and my cock pulses to life beneath my fly. “Do you need help with your pants?”
Admittedly, I have to look away from her hands, so near where I want them in order to respond properly. And when I speak, my voice comes out extra husky. “That’s a very interesting question, fairly open to interpretation.”
At the two creases that form between her eyebrows, I gently cup her chin and tilt her face to mine. “I can tell you that I want you to stay.”
Her tongue darts out to lick her lips, and my growing erection strains against the seam of my pants. She’s unraveling me with every timid perusal and glance. Every glint of desire that plays across her ethereal features.
It’s like she wants me, but she doesn’t think she should.
I take hold of her hand and bring her palm to the center of my chest. Placing it over the spot where my heart’s hammering away, I let her feel the rapid pounding. “You make me feel this way.”
Curious eyes flick to mine, passion and longing glittering in the depths and kicking off another wave of similar cravings within me.
I reach for my belt buckle. The zing of metal and leather sliding through belt loops clangs and echoes in the small space, bouncing off the tile of the sweltering mist from the shower.
As I lower the zipper and shove my pants to the floor, Victoria blinks. That sensual mouth of hers that’s frequented my dreams as of late, falls open.
Inside, my nerves riot-she’s as aroused as I am.
While I still have a barrier or two to break through to get to where I want to be with her, I’m confident we’ll get there. Sooner rather than later, too, a notion that sends adrenaline pumping through my system.
My blood turns molten as she openly stares in appreciation. “So, are you just gonna keep looking, or are you gonna join me under the stream of hot water?”
At that, she jerks her gaze and her hand away, flustered. “I-I’m gonna let you…” She gestures to the door, now looking everywhere but me. “I’ll go.”
Everything within me screams no as she pivots on her heel.
I take a large step and catch hold of her wrist, applying gentle pressure as I firmly entreat her not to leave. Using my grip on her, I slowly spin her back to face me. In that split second that follows, her toe catches on the rug and she loses her balance.
I catch her-of course I catch her. She’s plastered against my chest, one of my arms looped securely around her waist. At the breathy whimper that escapes her pouty lips, I push her against the wall.
Droplets of water splat against my skin. The shower curtain drifts in our generated breeze. Inclining my body over hers one extraordinary, torturous inch at a time, our gazes lock, spark, and catch fire.
Steam curls around us, the humidity now thick enough the thin T-shirt and shorts she threw on once we arrived home from the hospital cling to her skin. The swells of her breasts rise and fall with her ragged breaths and my arousal bobs, extra insistent.
Ever so slowly, I dip my head and fuse my mouth to hers. “Victoria,” I groan against her lips, and the beautiful woman pinned in my arms fucking melts against me.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.