Page 36 of Protective Heroes

I was so shocked by the contact of his hard body against mine, all I could manage was a tiny squeal.

Also, it was entirely possible I had a few more cherry sangrias than I thought because everything seesawed as he strode across the pool house deck with me hanging upside down over his shoulder.

“This is kidnapping! Call the police!” I pounded on his back with my cuffed hands, but it was like hitting a cement wall.

Nobody moved a muscle to stop Gabriel or our quick exit. Seriously, he moved like he spent hours surveying the layout all the while my so-called friends stood there and gaped as this overgrown ape hauled me out of the hotel I paid for.

“Put me the fuck down, you big suit-wearing thug!” I squirmed against him, but he ignored me and tightened his hold around my waist. Only this time, a hand came down on my ass.

I froze, my heart still hammering wildly.

“Stop, or I might drop you, damn it, woman.”

Yeah, I didn’t relish the idea of my ass hitting marble but I also didn’t like the idea of being carted off like some cave girl being claimed by the mountain man.

I struggled against him again and of course, I realized too late my ass was in the air and being flashed to the most elite of America. My father would love this.

Not.

Steel-like fingers clamped down on my damn near bare ass cheek and holy hell.

I could feel my pulse sputtering and my blood roaring as his hand moved, this time sinking a little lower.

God this is so wrong but I’m actually turned on by how dirty this all is, too. I mean, his hand is gripping my ass. And with every step, I can feel the muscles of his shoulders sway and bunch beneath me.

Something about this cave-man act turned me on. I needed help. Or him between my legs. I couldn’t help but feel the indignation of the whole scene he caused but at the same time…

No. I would not let my mind go there. I did not belong to him or anyone.

I fought a blush before it turned into an all-out wave of red but there was no use. I could feel the heat bloom throughout my entire body.

Well, I didn’t have to worry about the cold at least.

Or not. “Fuck!” I cringe, burying my fingers into the back of his jacket the second he busted out the front door of the hotel and the real winter weather hit my bare skin.

“This trip sucks. I so demand a refund!”

My whole world froze when I noticed cell phones pointed in our direction, recording the whole thing no doubt.

See what I meant about my kind of luck?

Gabriel gripping my ass was going to show up on Instagram later, and damned if that wasn’t a screwed up way to spend Christmas.

He swung the door open to a black SUV with blacker windows and deposited me in the front seat. Blasts of heat hit me. Thank you, sweet Jesus.

I basically threw myself across the vents like a window cling.

“Are you crazy? Who takes a person out in zero degrees weather in a bathing suit?”

He didn’t say a word as he got behind the wheel and drove us away. He peeled off his jacket and wrapped it around me. And I won’t lie. Another hit of his cologne had a different kind of heat rumbling through me.

I grabbed it with both hands. “Is this your form of an apology?”

A pure white blanket of snow covered every inch of the world around us and more swept across the windshield. It looked as cold as the man sitting beside me. But he sure felt hot a minute ago.

He slowed around a tricky curve, gripping the wheel when the wind picked up, whiting out the road in front of us.

I sat up. “Whoa. Maybe we should go back.”

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