Page 20 of Her UnBearable Protector

There was a glimmer in the darkness that she grabbed a hold of and felt her legs go weak. She knew she’d lost her mind and didn’t seem to care. It felt like there was something as old as time staring back at her from the depths. It didn’t scare her. It didn’t make her run for the hills.

Instead, she dove right in.

Letting go of his shirt, she swept her hands up over his chest, feeling the heat of his skin and the crisp scratch of his hair beneath the fine cotton of his shirt. The ripples of sensation danced along her skin a moment before her fingers brushed along the skin of his neck and her fingers felt like they were on fire. She wanted to burn.

Grasping the back of his neck she pulled him down and kissed him.

She knew she was doing it wrong. The only experience she’d had was a fumbled kiss at a high school dance with a boy named Dale who had cold lips and clammy hands, and he’d done all the work.

She felt a sudden shock when she bumped her nose against Salvatore’s and then the sharp sting as her teeth scored her own lip.

Natale mumbled her frustration against his lips, but that only lasted for a moment until he tilted his head and took possession of her lips.

She wanted to open her eyes and see him, to memorize the moment she lost her heart to a man she barely knew, but she just couldn’t seem to get her body to cooperate. Not when the sensation of his lips against hers sent electricity through every inch of her body, taking conscious thought and rolling it under physical need. She could have fought it and answered the warning bells going off in the back of her mind, but she was tired of fighting.

Salvatore turned slightly, his lips lifting from hers for a moment, and she gasped in a breath.

He cupped her face with his hands, holding her in place as his lips skimmed over hers. As she relaxed beneath the gentle friction of his kiss, she felt the soft scrape of his teeth against her bottom lip. She pressed closer, eager for more and felt a scratch against her skin.

A mumbled apology was followed by the soft swipe of his tongue.

It wasn’t fair, she decided, and she wanted to have a taste of her own. Grabbing a hold of his collar, she pulled him closer, and rising up on her tiptoes she opened her lips over his, touching the tip of her tongue against his lip. He stilled against her, but didn’t pull away and when she felt the heat of his breath against her cheek she leaned closer and tasted his lips in a hungry kiss.

He dropped his hands to her shoulders as he leaned into her, and then wound them around her in an embrace. She felt safe and on the verge of danger, as if he held her at the edge of a cliff, with only his arms to keep her from falling, and she realized that she wanted to fall, but only if it was with him.

And then she decided she didn’t want to wait. She wanted to jump in, right at that very minute.

Natale turned, grazing the corner of his mouth with her lips, unwilling to completely let him go. “Come inside with me, Salvatore.” She felt his body shiver against her, an indrawn breath expanded his chest, nearly squeezing the breath from her body. “Don’t sleep on the couch tonight.”

* * *

She staggered him. Knocked him off balance. Made him feel like he could rule the world. The sound of her voice giving him his name shook him down to the depths of his soul.

All he wanted was to have her forever.

It was so simple and within his grasp. He could easily sweep her off her feet and carry her inside. He could lay her down beneath him and worship her body the way no other man had ever dreamed of. He couldn’t wait to taste her from head to toe, drink in her breathless moans, and take her over the edge.

His bear rose up in his thoughts, eager and ready to claim her, fangs bared and his heart pumping volumes of blood through his body giving him strength.

And flooding his mind with worry.

Natale wanted him, but she didn’t know him. Not really.

She knew the man, but she had no idea about the beast beneath the surface. Could he take her, bury himself in her, and claim her without giving her the truth?

“Natale, wait.”

She’d tugged the ends of his shirt from his slacks and flattened her palms against his skin. The heat of her hands was incredible. She made him burn from the inside out, threatening to push reason from his head. Instead of wanting to pull away, he pressed closer and felt her hands move over his chest.

A growl breached the wall of his lips, instinct to possess her rising like a flood, and he wanted to drown in her touch.

She pulled back a little and reached for the bottom of her blouse, grasping the fabric in her hands and tugging it free from her skirt. She gave him a tantalizing view of her pale belly.

He stepped closer, his hands reaching for her, but stopped just shy of her body. He wanted to feel her soft skin under his lips, to dip his tongue in her navel, to scent her skin and memorize her flavor.

But he knew he had to wait. He had to stop this until he could explain.

She didn’t let him. Her hands were at work, tugging his buttons free and pushing his shirt aside. “Salvatore,” she said his name again and he heard her sigh like a siren’s song, luring him into ruin. “I want this-”

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