Page 10 of Her UnBearable Protector

She moved as if they were dancing, following his lead.

And found herself up against the counter.

He felt her quiver against him and drew in another breath. Under the scent of her body wash he worried that he'd find the sour taste of fear, instead he smelled the spicy scent of her arousal and struggled not to drown in it.

“Oh, wow.”

He felt the tentative touch of her hand on his side and stilled. If she tried to move him back, he'd go.

Heartbeats and seconds passed and she didn't try to move away.

“When you’re this close to me, I can barely think.”

He moved closer still, until his lips brushed against her ear, “And now?”

She leaned against him, her back arching slightly to press every inch of her luscious curves to the hard planes of his body, but he couldn’t seem to get close enough. Neither could she. Natale’s hands slid around to his back and then down as his teeth grazed the edge of her ear. Her fingers grabbed a hold of his shirt as she turned her head, her lips grazing his cheek as his beard tickled her chin.

Salvatore saw her open her eyes, a soft flutter of her lashes before they slid closed again as she sighed against his cheek. He began to close his own eyes, ready to feel her lips against his.

Music blared, the rising tones shrill even though they were muffled by something. Natale hesitated in his arms, her lips pulling away from his cheek as she tilted her head toward the sound. It wasn’t until a voice sang out that she moved. “She works hard for the money!” nearly made her jump free of his arms and with a quick grab to close her robe, which had become precariously loose, Natale grabbed up her purse from where she’d left it and shoved her hand inside. When she withdrew her phone, she pushed the accept button and cupped the phone to her ear. “What?”

Salvatore turned back to the stove, eager to finish dinner. He hadn’t planned to get that close to Natale tonight, but perhaps that had just been a natural thing. Even with his bear happily dozing inside of him, basking in Natale’s presence, he couldn’t seem to control his need to be closer to her. Just the scent of her was nearly overwhelming. Even as he removed the vegetables from the ice bath he could smell her on his skin. He struggled to keep a tight rein on his control, forcing back his fangs when one scratched into his lip. The taste of blood only served to remind him that he had yet to claim Natale.

Bear instinct warred with his human side, but both agreed on one thing. Everything was about Natale. They would claim her, but they would wait until she understood that she belonged… to them.

“No,” he heard exasperation in her tone, but he also heard a bit of humor, and so he continued his preparations, “I haven’t jumped him yet. Ericka, stop! Seriously!” He thought for a moment that he might let her know that even with her desperately trying to whisper into her phone, even with her hand cupped over her mouth, his hearing was easily picking up every single word. “And I'm not going to get the chance if you keep talking to me… yes, he's here. Here, here. Yes. My apartment.” He saw her slide a glance at him as he put the salmon onto plates, then she turned away. “Oh, come on, Ericka! Yes, he has his clothes on.”

He took the plates to the dining table and waited for her to finish her call.

When she approached the table, he held out her chair. She covered it well, but he could sense how tentative she was. It was plain to see that she wasn’t used to people doing for her. As she stepped up between the chair and the table he gently moved her chair forward until she was seated at the table.

He took his seat at her side, not willing to sit across from her, it was just too far away for him.

She picked up her napkin and settled it in her lap. “Fancy.”

He shrugged, his broad muscular shoulders making the simple movement into a grander gesture. “I found the napkins in a drawer.”

“Huh,” Natale smoothed her hands over the soft cotton, “I didn’t even know I had these.”

Salvatore poured her a glass of wine and watched her take the first bite of the meal he’d made for her. A few delicate chews and then she stopped, her face turning slightly before she took another bite. Just when he was afraid that he’d done something wrong in preparing the meal she sighed… no, she moaned.

Her eyes closed for a moment and she took in a deep breath over her plate. When she sat back in her chair she looked straight into his eyes. “It’s delicious!”

His bear rolled happily inside of him, curling up as close to Natale as he could get. And Salvatore watched as she continued to eat through the plate from the salmon with a honeyed sauce and the lightly blanched and seasoned veggies.

Their conversation flowed easily as he asked her about her work and she told him of her vision as a designer and why they’d started to have trouble. “My father felt like he’d said all he’d needed to in fashion. He felt he was out of touch with today’s woman and wanted someone to take Durante in a new direction. Both Caprice and I put together capsule collections to show him our vision.”

“You’re talented.” He saw the shock in her expression. “I don’t understand fashion. I’m at the mercy of my tailor to make sure I don’t embarrass my brothers, but when I see the models wearing your clothes, they really love what they’re wearing. They feel confident.”

He saw tears glistening in her eyes. “Thank you. That’s a very sweet thing to say.”

“It’s the truth, Natale. One has only to look at their expressions, the ease of their posture, the joy in their movements. You don’t cover them up, you enhance their bodies.”

“Not everyone feels the same way,” she let out a long sigh and picked up her napkin to dab at the corners of her eyes. “It’s hard to hear designers that you’ve worked with and admired, talking about you like you’ve lost your mind.” She took a sip of her wine. “I completely understand their reservations. Fashions for years and years have been suited to a standard of beauty based on women who are thin, the thinner the better. Little girls read the fashion magazines and they dream it will be them on those pages someday.”

“Did you want to model?”

She blushed and he wanted to taste the heat from her skin.

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