Page 186 of Protective Heroes

Seven

Ahalf hour later, Dyson closed the door behind the last of the detectives. He propped himself in the doorway to the guest room, watching Shay soak in the moonlight.

She was as stubborn as she was beautiful.

So young to have so much weight on her delicate shoulders. A burden he wanted to relieve for her if she would only let him close enough to help.

Bautista had almost succeeded in taking her from him tonight. He’d be damned if he waited another day before making sure she understood she was his. Heart and soul.

Making her see through the wall she held firmly in place might prove the hardest damn thing he’d ever do in this life. When Bautista’s goons broke through the sliding door, his instincts had kicked in, flooding his thoughts with nothing but protecting what he cherished most in the world. He’d never had to do that before. The battlefield carried a different set of emotions. Fighting this close to home shot his system full of fear, his mind screaming at him to take out the enemy. And he had.

Good thing he was just as stubborn as she was. Otherwise, going back in there and opening himself up to the same rejection his father dished out all his life might take him out faster than enemy fire.

He walked to where she stood by the upstairs window.

“What will it take for me to show you just how deep under my skin you are?”

He crossed the room in long strides and scooped her into his embrace, and buried his face in her hair, filling his lungs with her sweet smell. “Shay, this is it. The fear of losing you or you walking out is tearing my heart in half, and it fucking scares the shit out of me. Tell me what you want.” He’d open a fucking a vein if it would help her understand his need for her.

“I saw fear in your eyes tonight when Bautista had his gun pointed at me. I’ve seen that fear before. Inside myself. Instead of running away from it or giving up, you showed me something else. You pushed back, which saved us both.”

He watched as resolve replaced the panic she’d held so close before and he stared in awe.

“Tell me what to do, Shay, because I don’t know anymore. I don’t know how to make you see I’m worth having by your side. Or how much I love you.”

She anchored her hands around his where he cupped her face.

Shay tightened her hold at the impact of his words. “You have it wrong, amor. I’m not leaving.” She pulled him tighter, closer. With their gazes connected, she continued. “If anything, you’ve proven to me that fear is just as powerful as love. That it can drive us to reach deeper than we’ve ever done in our lives. I had it all wrong, Dyson. You were right. Grabbing onto what we love and holding it tight can save us from ourselves.”

God, she would do anything to erase the hurt she saw in the depths of his eyes. She had no intention of letting anything come between them again.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is if you still want me, us, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been a fool, unable to see the gift of love right here, right now between us. I should have latched onto the love you offered six months ago.” She was so lucky for such a patient man. “Maybe Bautista was just the thing I needed to have the blindfold ripped away.”

“Then maybe I should be thanking the bastard.” Dyson’s voice washed over her, filling her with relief.

“Not so fast. I’m not sure I want to thank him. He almost killed the man I love.”

“So you’re not afraid anymore? Afraid of opening your heart to love? Mine in particular?” A small smile tilted the corner of his lips and she melted into his soft touch on her face.

She shook her head. “Amor, I’m scared out of my mind. Not of opening my heart to let you in, not anymore, but of never knowing what it’s like to wake up to your smile every single day of my life.”

Dyson eased his hands beneath the hem of her shirt to run the pad of his fingers along her abdomen. “Maybe we should see what it’s like to make real love then?” He lifted the edge of her cotton T-Shirt and pulled it over her head to reveal her bare breasts. Warm air pushed between them to harden her nipples. His attention honed in on her.

Dyson slipped the tips of his thumbs into the band of her sweatpants, his mouth poised over hers a beat before he slowly dipped his head. His lips, soft and tender, pressed into hers, lingering. As if he wanted the special moment to last as long as possible.

He pulled back, kissing her from neck to bellybutton as he lowered himself to the floor. With each kiss, he removed her pants a little farther until finally she stood before him, her body—her heart— revealed for him to see.

A rush of desire washed over her, leaving small quakes of lust to rock her heated core—the heat almost beyond what she could bear.

He lowered his mouth. With a single tug and nip along her lower abdomen, he took control.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and she molded to his touch. With each kiss and lick across her skin, her heart had nowhere to go but straight to him. He made sure of it.

She whimpered and buried her hands in his hair.

Heat pooled between her swollen folds and overflowed to coat her thighs. He slipped a finger across her already swollen bud, pulling a gasp of delight from her.

“Show me the juices I know are already spilling down your thighs. Show me what’s mine,” Dyson demanded when she hesitated.

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