Page 154 of Damaged Protector

I smiled and lifted her hand to my lips for a kiss, holding it there for a long moment, inhaling the scent of her. “Wouldn’t have happened,” I informed her. “Your body is for my eyes only.”

But not for long, a niggling little voice whispered in my ear.

We had dinner at a nice restaurant housed in a historic old building with thirty-foot ceilings. The server told us it was a saloon back in the 1800s. Mallori and I shared the same side of a booth, and I couldn’t stop touching her.

“You look so beautiful tonight,” I whispered in her ear. She was wearing a pretty red dress that showed off her tanned legs and left one shoulder bare. I kissed her there, and she tilted her face toward me.

“I don’t want to leave tomorrow,” she said, and I scooted her closer to me, my arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t either,” I admitted, closing my eyes against the stinging sensation in my eyes. Dammit, what is this feeling? I’d never been this drawn to another person in my life.

We were interrupted by the waiter bringing our ticket, and Mallori straightened out of my embrace. “I’m excited to see Coconut though. Blaire texted me a picture of her today. She was napping with Danica. It was so nice of her to offer to kitty-sit.”

Pulling out my wallet, I handed my card over to the server, and a few minutes later, he brought it back to me.

“You want to go listen to the band at that place we passed today?” I asked, and she nodded.

The club was nice, with brick interior walls and a huge mirrored bar along one wall. The band was good, playing a mixture of hard and soft rock that we knew all the words to.

I recognized the opening riff of “Feel like Making Love” by Bad Company and took Mal’s hand. “Madam, may I have this dance?”

She giggled and nodded, seeming a little surprised. On the dance floor, she curled her arms around my neck, and I banded mine around her waist, holding her so tightly you couldn’t have fit a hair between our bodies.

As we danced, rotating our hips together, I couldn’t stop looking at my Little Bee. Her face was bare of makeup, but she didn’t need any. Her natural glow was enhanced by the slight sunburn kissing her nose and cheeks from our time outdoors. She’d pulled her hair up on one side with a sparkly barrette, the rest of it falling down her back.

Mallori Fitz was absolutely the most stunning woman I’d ever seen.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispered, and I tasted the sweetness of the wine she’d drank on her breath.

I kissed her softly, letting my tongue sweep through her lips. “I’ll miss you too, Bee.”

Her eyes glistened with tears. “I know we’ll see each other, but it won't be the same. We won’t be… us.”

My jaw tightened, and I tilted my forehead down to rest on hers. “I know.”

Unless you just stayed with me, I thought as our bodies moved to the sultry beat of the song.

Mallori and I had had sex every night and morning since we’d been at my cabin, but this… this night felt like so much more. When we’d gotten home from the club, I’d spread a blanket on the floor of the porch, and we were kissing like we’d never see each other again. I was on top of her, and she had her legs wrapped around my waist. My hands cupped her gorgeous face as I stared down into her eyes.

God, I think I’m falling for her.

As soon as I pushed deep inside her body, feeling her tightness and hearing her soft, sensual moan, I amended that statement.

God, I have totally fallen for her.

Chapter 44

“What do you mean you don’t have any rooms left in the graduate student dorm? I sent in my deposit months ago.”

A harried man in his fifties with glasses and a combover sighed. “Exactly what I told you, Miss Fitz. This is the only room left on campus. We’re at capacity.”

I rubbed my fingers over my forehead. At this rate, I’ll have wrinkles before I turn twenty-five. “I can’t stay in the undergrad dorms. I need quiet so I can study.”

“I’m sorry. The only thing I can suggest is that you fill out the form online requesting a room change. If anything becomes available, we place students in the order in which the forms are received. If it makes you feel any better, we often have a few dropouts after the first round of examinations.”

“And how many people have filled out forms so far for this semester?”

He clicked the keys of his computer for what seemed like an eternity before answering. “Ninety-two.” My hope plummeted. Sliding a card toward me with a sympathetic smile, he said, “The web address for the form is on here. Best of luck to you.”

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