Page 70 of Forbidden Heroes

Twenty minutes later I’m back in our small town and passing Blackthorne University. Through the downpour, I spot a familiar white car under one of the parking lot lights and slam on my brakes, forcing the guy behind me to do the same. To the sound of blasting horns and screeching tires, I hook a left, hoping no cops see the illegal move.

I floor it and rip into the parking lot. Fog and water blur her pretty face, but I can still see the shock and surprise in those honey eyes when I pull up beside her and grind the brakes.

Though I can tell she’s as surprised to see me here as I am her, I don’t hold back the clipped anger from my voice. “What the hell are you doing here, Ms. McBride?” I growl with every intention of sending her on her way.

She slides the window down, her plump bottom lip between her teeth.

Oh, this is going to be a problem. Fuck me. I want to reach in and scoop her into my arms. Worse yet, I know where this is heading and I’m about to lead temptation through my front door because there’s no way I’m leaving her in this dark parking lot or sending her back to wherever—or whoever—gave her the now darker bruise of her cheek.

She raises her voice over the rumbling thunder. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same question.”

There’s no humor behind the tight smile she’s flashing.

Her eyes are red and puffy like she’s spent the last hour crying in her car. Damn it to hell, seeing her weakened and afraid makes me do the one thing I know will be the end of me.

I break. Not all the way but enough to have my hand on the handle of her door.

I grew up in a home where gentlemen treated women like ladies and that is as ingrained in me as the need to serve and protect.

But I can’t blame what I am about to do on anything other than my own driving need to touch, possess and protect the soft, angelic creature looking up at me like life has kicked her in the stomach one too many times.

Water drenches my dress shirt the second I shrug off my jacket.

“Unlock the door, Amber,” I command in a gruff voice, and she rapidly obeys. With jerky movements that probably make me look like a mad man, I fling open her car door and reach in, scooping her light frame into my arms and tucking her safely against my chest. Touching more than just her hand for the first time and feeling her tiny body shiver against me has the rage of a warrior unleashing inside me.

“Hurry and put my jacket over your head, sweetheart.” Not that it’s going to do much good. Her flimsy blouse clings to her ample breasts, and I can see the dark tips of her nipples through the soaked material. Her jeans fair no better, and she’s chilled to the touch.

She does as I order, and I quickly carry her over to my truck and slide into the driver seat with her on my lap.

“What are you doing, Dean Spencer?” she asks in a whisper, but in the quiet of the cab I hear it no problem.

With a couple of flicks of a few buttons, I give us more room and then reach for the heater, pointing the vents toward us.

I take the wet jacket from her and toss it into the passenger’s seat then turn my gaze on her.

“What the fuck were you thinking coming out here and sitting in the parking lot all alone?”

Her perfectly bowed mouth falls open. Probably at my choice words. I work hard to keep my reputation clean and formal, but it takes a lot to hold back my natural calling to use foul language. I’m a Marine after all.

“This might be a small town but you’re young, beautiful and a walking temptation. Why the hell are you putting yourself in that kind of danger by being out here all alone?”

My eyes are narrowed and I know I have my Marine Corps Captain face on. It’s a habit that comes in handy when dealing with defiant, cocky students. To help ease her, I rub my hands up and down her arms. She relaxes into my hold and settles her weight on my lap.

A brave façade snaps over her blanched expression and a little by little color slowly seeps into her cheeks. She snorts a bitter laugh. “Because I don’t have a choice, professor… I mean Dean Spencer.”

I hold a hand up. “Let’s solve the first problem. Call me Maddox outside of school walls. And let’s not pretend we don’t know each other beyond that. It will save us a lot of time.”

Amber is the good little girl-next-door always trying to do right by others. She’s about to get a very thick, very hard dose of reality.

“And I want you to know this: you always have a choice, Amber. You should only have to worry about pleasing one person—yourself. I’m going to make sure you understand that if it takes a lifetime to do it.”

Her eyes register surprise, shock… and something warmer that I can’t think about right now.

I lean forward and take her chin between my fingers. Her eyes light up in a way that has my dick twitching. “Now, let me hear you say my name, Amber.”

The yellow light of the parking lot lamp filters through water and glass to highlight the sharp brow she angles my way. And her frown.

Damn if my heart doesn’t tighten in my chest. This woman has too much of my emotions tied up.

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