Page 200 of Unexpected Hero

Fear of her judgment.

Fear that I’ve just fucked up the best thing to ever happen to me.

Something shifts behind her eyes, warmth effusing from her to me.

“Lettie, what if I wasn’t joking?”

Her nervous laughter rings melodically around the small space. When I don’t share her response, she fidgets with the laces of her corset under her breasts.

After exhaling through perfectly rounded lips that beg to be kissed, she shakes off her bewilderment. “Well, if you weren’t joking, I suppose I’d ask where on earth you learned that? I don’t pretend to know much about the IT world, but that doesn’t sound like the type of skills the average analyst possesses.”

I sit up to get closer to her. The lighting is muted, and I don’t want to miss any reaction that may cross her face.

“You’re right. They aren’t, but I’m not exactly the average analyst. I was Special Operations in the Army — military intelligence. I could do all those things and more.”

The grooves crowded on her forehead gradually lessen as she appears to adapt from a concerned posture to… impressed?

Inching closer to me, she lowers her chin. “Have you done any of those things?” Those breathtaking blue orbs that haunt my dreams spark with heightened intrigue.

She’s fucking impressed.

This woman.

“Some of them.”

“For other women?”

“No,” I respond flatly. “There’s never been another woman I’d do that for.”

Her throat bobs right before she licks her lips again and leans closer. “But you’d do it for me?”

“If someone hurt you or if you asked me to, I wouldn’t hesitate.”

Possibly even if she didn’t ask.

Scratch that. Not possibly, but definitely. I did it already.

Her cheeks and nostrils twitch as a dazzling grin frees itself. “Why is that hot? It shouldn’t be hot.” She mockingly fans her face. “Sexy hacker soldier defending my honor. Oof.”

“I was afraid to tell you about this part of me,” I admit before I think better of it.

“Don’t be afraid to tell me anything. I want to know everything about you. Absolutely everything. Good or bad.”

She can’t mean that.

“Lettie, what if there’s more bad than good?”

Rising to her knees, she cups her hands at my nape and links our gazes. “Listen to me right now. I realize we haven’t known each other that long, but I’m certain you’re a good man. Do you wanna hear how I know?”

Nodding, I wrap my hands around her waist and pull her toward me. The way I crave her closeness has become a physical need.

For as long as I can remember, I never needed to be touched. Never sought out comfort and longed to give it back in return.

Until her.

She responds to my unspoken request, straddling my thighs and removing the space between our chests. “When you found me cryin’ at a gas pump, you gave me all the cash you had in your wallet and got me something to eat. That was a selfless, generous, and good-hearted thing to do. You got me a job, which means you’re resourceful, determined, and look out for others.”

I remain silent. She didn’t ask for a response.

---