揥hat, you抮e asking me to cook for you now? I suppose it抯 a fair trade,?she says.
揗ight take you up on that someday, but that抯 not what I抦 getting at,?I tell her. 揧ou know who I gave the flowers to and why. When will you tell me who sent them??
She goes quiet, staring out over Puget Sound and the few pinprick lights from passing ships.
Fuck.
I don抰 want to ruin this, but I have to know.
揟hey抮e from my stalker,?she says finally, her eyes meeting mine. 揂nd not the fun kind who puts up with all of my crap and always breathes cinnamon rolls.?
揝omeone抯 stalking you for real??Everything inside me turns to steel as she nods. 揇akota, talk to me. I抣l get you a protection order ASAP.?
Hell, I抎 love to do more than that.
Like use every resource I have to hunt down whatever worthless ratfuck would do that to her, and have a nice, long talk with my fists.
I抦 not a violent man.
I抳e only lost control once.
It should say a lot that she brings out baser impulses I抳e tried to bury, searing my vision red every time I imagine her in danger. It should run me off.
But when she turns to face me fully, running is the last thing on my mind.
揕incoln, I don抰 think he抯 truly dangerous. Just really, really annoying. He won抰 give up. And I think he found some website to buy phone numbers by the boatload because every time I block one, he finds a new way to come at me,?she says glumly.
My jaw tightens.
Dangerous or not, that抯 not something any stable man would do.
I don抰 like the sound of this one fucking bit. Silencing a growl, I pull her into my arms.
揥ho are we talking about? A bad date? Some asshole ex-boyfriend??
She clutches her glass so hard I see her fingers go white.
揟he idiot who chickened out of marrying me.?She trembles slightly when she says it.
That only pisses me off more, turning the red I抦 already seeing into ruddy murder-darkness.
揥e抣l get a restraining order. They can cover digital harassment like the sort this little pissant is engaging in. Plus, if he抯 calling you from random numbers and sending shit to the office, it抯 a corporate security issue, too. I won抰 stand for having my people threatened and attacked at my workplace. It抯 a safe space. We can抰 let this go on.?
She shakes her head, her soft hair spilling down her shoulders against my hand.
揑桳incoln, please don抰 take this the wrong way, but... I don抰 want your help with this. I can handle it.?She swallows. 揑f I have to keep blocking him, so be it. Maybe if it escalates, then棓
揑f it escalates, I抣l break his face,?I snarl. She looks up at me, her green eyes wide and glistening. I clear my throat. 揝orry. Not really. Not unless he was about to hurt you, I mean.?
Truly, I meant what I said the first time, and the fact that I抦 willing to go that far almost scares me.
揕inc...?
揑f you change your mind, I抦 here for you. That抯 what I抦 trying to tell you. I抳e got your back as a boss and...?I pause, unsure what to even call this ball of tension and banter and gentleness between us. 揂s a friend.?
She looks up at me, but not before swiping her cheek, catching a tear.
揟hank you. I appreciate that, even if you抮e being a little harsh.?
揥hat抯 wrong??I urge, pressing my finger to her face, wiping away the wet grief she doesn抰 need to hide.
揥-what do you think??she stammers.
揑抦 not a mind reader. Talk to me.?
I shake my head.
She bites her bottom lip. Another tear falls, bigger and angrier.
揑t抯 just... I mean梠kay梥-so I know I dodged a bullet not marrying the asshole. But why do you think it took him a whole year after the wedding to think he made the wrong choice? Like what made him leave in the first place??
It抯 like I can feel the stone pelting her heart, the way this boy shattered her.
Even if he was her age, he抯 a fucking boy.
No man would ever abandon a beautiful, smart woman after promising forever.
No man would come crawling back like a snake a year later, angling for a shot at killing what抯 left of her heart.
I wipe her face with my hand again.
If I ever see this guy, I抦 going to kill him. Straight up annihilate him and expedite him to hell.
Who waits until their wedding day to leave a woman? And this woman? He抣l never find anyone else like her, and he doesn抰 deserve her.
But right now, she抯 crying in my arms over his damage. I wish I could erase him from her memory, her whole life.
揑-I抦 sorry. This is so embarrassing. God, what抯 wrong with me??She presses her face into my chest while my hand runs through her hair.
揘othing抯 wrong, Nevermore,?I whisper.
I mean it.
There抯 something completely fucked in his head.
She needs to know she抯 wanted, that she抯 not crazy for hurting or confiding in me. She抯 damn sure not crazy for aching to feel desired.
I抳e never wanted anything so badly in my life.
She wants it too. I know because she said it in verse when she slipped.
It抯 not like the night I missed my chance thanks to a dumbass driver without a muffler. When I wait for her to look up with my eyes burning, she doesn抰 lean in or tilt her head.
She doesn抰 know it抯 coming.
There抯 a halting second where I just hold her. Her surprise grows when my arms drop from her shoulders to her waist, pull her in, cradle her tighter, and I can抰 hold back.
I press my lips to hers like a man who抯 starved, even knowing full well she抯 just as ravenous.
In a split second, she opens her mouth and whimpers against my lips.
All soft, pleading sweetness.
She抯 fucking shaking.
I抦 not sure if my heart is still beating, but I won抰 miss my chance.
I抦 not missing another opportunity with this woman. Not tonight or ever.
With a hot rumble in my throat, I push my tongue in her mouth, slowly and fiercely.
I抣l show her she抯 not some pitiful conquest. Not a mistake born from emotion and all the weird turmoil around us tonight.
I need her to see she抯 cherished.
Her teeth graze against my tongue. I groan now, dipping in, tasting her fully and loving and hating it because I know I抦 already addicted.
Goddammit, Dakota.
Her arms tighten around my shoulders.
I feel her nails pressing against my shirt, scratching, begging.
With a rough sound, I move in, pushing her against the wall, taking what抯 mine and exiling every doubt from my brain. We抮e way past reasonable thoughts.
We抮e two mouths, two bodies, two souls drawn together by a thread of pure lust. When she gives me those soft green eyes, I break, driving my tongue against hers as it flutters softly against mine.
This is it.
All I have to do is grab her, toss her over my shoulder, and?
Clank!
There抯 a sharp, fragmented noise that startles us both.
Something cold and wet runs down my back.
Dakota jumps back, breaking our kiss, blinking in confusion.
揘evermore??My voice is ragged, far more desperate than I want it to be.
揝orry. Oh, the wine,?She bends, trying to collect the remnants of her wineglass.
揕eave it. You could cut your hands.?
揕eave it??she echoes.
I nod, and this time when I pull her closer, I抦 far more demanding. I抦 not losing her over a broken damn glass I抣l sweep up later.
She doesn抰 hesitate, at least, folding her arms around my neck.
Her lips find mine automatically.
Our tongues meet again, twined and hungry.
It抯 getting hard to breathe. Even the air itself with this woman梩hat Dakota hint of mint and sweetness梞akes me feel more intoxicated than the two glasses of Cabernet I tossed back earlier.
揙h, God,?she moans, leaning into me, her knees going weak as I kiss her off her feet.
My grip on her tightens, shoring her up, my fingers tingling with pins and needles. I need to feel her, roam her bare skin, squeeze her nipples, plunge into her drenched depths.
These hands need to take her apart and claim every piece.
I swallow something hard in my throat, moving away from her mouth to kiss her jaw, then igniting a neat line of fire down her neck.