Page 3 of Hot For Her Ex-Con

My mouth opens wider to scream, I assume. But the low, almost mournful, needing groan that comes from me in reply is enough to stop this maniac mid-stroke.

Long enough for his penetrating dark eyes to burn into mine, along with a low growl that sees the edge of his stubbled lip curl into a rough smile.

A look of recognition that should frighten me to death but only makes me fight harder to stay conscious once I feel myself doing what any girl would do at the sight of this… thisanimal… doing the most animal thing, right on my bed, using my panties no less.

I faint.

When my eyes do flutter open, I’m lying on the same bed, the face I just saw earlier hovering a foot from mine, his face still contorted, blinking down at me and looking concerned. And not because I just saw him grinding his pepper shaker.

“I’m… I’m Killian,” he rasps, curling a wider, more crooked smile for my benefit.

He’s far from unattractive. Just his intense expression and his exertion make him look extra rugged. But it’s a look to match his hulking frame.

“Allison,” I squeak, crimping my own mouth into a smile I can’t help. I’m already feeling safe from anything, with a guy like this who looks like he won’t dismember me after all.

I sit up with a start, making him recoil. He’s fully dressed, and there’s no sign of my underwear. I wonder if I could have imagined what I just saw, everything else in my room looking pretty much like I left it months ago.

“I-I rent the room here,” he continues, abstractly matter of fact. My expression shifts, and I assure him it’s not his room. Not unless mom’s been renting out my space to dangerous, well-hung men.

Ah, shit. Now that is something my mom would do.

Ever since she split with my dad, she’s been the queen of crazy town.

“Don’t be scared,” he says firmly, those obsidian black eyes of his leaving mine just long enough to glance down the hall. His large, chiseled head is cocked to one side, straining for any other sounds apart from my rapid breaths mixing with his.

“Where… Where’s my mom?” I ask, watching his features shift yet again as if I’ve said the wrong thing.

“It’s not like she says!” Killian snarls, gripping my arm hard and letting it go instantly when I wince.

“I-I just rented the room, okay? Carol’s nice, but it’s nothing like that…”

It shouldn’t matter to me, and I have no real idea what he’s talking about, but a huge part of me is instantly relieved for some reason.

“I-I never knew she had a daughter,” he confesses, looking down and away from me. “I just knew whoever was in this room before…”

He stops mid-sentence. I’m already leaning closer to him, hungry for more of his approval instead of hearing my mom’s name from his mouth.

My hand claws at the air for him, not fending him off or escaping but to feel his grip on me again. The truth is, I kinda liked it when he grabbed me just now.

“Jesus Christ! Killian? What the hell happened to the… Allison?!”

Mom’s home. Yay.

The loaded and cocked handgun she swore she’d gotten rid of sags with her arm. Her look shifts to suspicion at the sight of me on my bed with Killian standing ever protectively over me.

By the looks of it, all three of us have a little explaining to do.

CHAPTER 3

Killian

I’ve blown it.

Well, I nearly did before the reason I’ve come back literally walks right in on me doing what I can’t stop once I’ve breathed enough of her in.

What I mean is I’ve blown any chance of coming across as anything less than fucking crazy. But she’s bound to notice at some point.

The cab pulling up, me getting inside… somehow. Ripping the door off its frame. It’s all a blur until she’s finally here, with me watching over her.

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