Page 18 of Royally Embraced: RBMC

“You can put that stuff in my bag if you want,” Jeter offered with his back to her.

Tori stiffened, stopping near the entrance to the main room where he stood looking out the terrace doors.

She didn’t question how he’d known she was there, since she hadn’t made a sound as far as she was aware. “Thanks.”

Jeter looked over his shoulder, gesturing toward the suitcase lying open on the sofa. “There’s plenty of room inside there.”

“Look, I think I should go—”

He spun to face her. She stayed her ground as he walked up to where she stood. For a moment, she panicked, nearly turning around and running like a scared little rabbit.

“Stop looking at me as if I’m the devil incarnate. You have no clue how hard it is to keep my hands to myself when all I want to do is wrap you in my arms and promise all kinds of shit. I’m not a man who does any of that.” He ran his hands through his hair, breathing heavily as if he’d run for miles.

“I’m sorry. I thought...thought you were mad at me.” She looked around, trying to find anything to focus on other than Jeter.

He reached for her hands, trying and failing to hide his grin as he noticed how she’d filled them with things she’d taken from the bathroom. His mouth quirked up in a slight grin.

“Sweetheart, I’m definitely not mad at you. When I saw the way you distanced yourself, I thought you wanted space. I was worried you thought I was coming on too strong, suffocating you. The last thing I want you to feel is trapped by me. Yes, some might consider us stuck with one another, but I promise you, I want to be stuck with you. As far as you going off without me, you can get that notion right out of that gorgeous head, baby. Where you go, I go. The very thought of you going off on your own sends dread straight to my soul. Trust me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you. Until we figure this out, you and I are gonna be like two peas in a pod.”

She shifted on her feet and inhaled a deep breath. God, he smelled good. She had to be losing her mind.

“You’re going to be regretting those words, mister.” Her words were said in jest, kind of. She was sure he’d be ready to dump her ass off at the first shelter within twenty-four hours. There hasn’t been a single person in her life who could stand her to stick around for long. She didn’t think Jeter would be any different, even though she wished differently.

He brushed his knuckles down the side of her face, continuing until he reached her hand that held several items. “I never say what I don’t mean, and I never mean what I don’t say. If I make a promise, I will do my best to fulfill it. Here, let me have those.”

He constantly knocked her off kilter with his kindness. The man was well over six feet tall, built like a football player, and had a voice made for sin. Yet his touch was soft and soothing. He was a contradiction.

They gathered up their things and prepared to leave the hotel suite. One day, she’d love to return and actually spend the nightin one of the rooms. She looked longingly toward the primary bedroom. There was a half wall with a fireplace that separated the main salon and the bedroom. The bed itself looked huge and inviting. Wherever they headed, surely it wouldn’t have a bed that luxurious. Shit. Would there be two beds, or were they going to be sharing one?

Chapter Ten

The thought of sleeping next to Jeter made her heart skip a beat. She wasn’t a virgin, but she was far from a ho. At twenty-two, she’d slept with two men. The first one had been during her senior year of high school. The memory was foggy at best. Her friends had said it would hurt and made all these stories about their first times seem amazing. After she’d done the deed, Tori figured they were full of shit, or her guy was a shitty lay. Or maybe it was a combo of both. She’d waited until escaping to Chicago, meeting someone she liked and thought she’d try again. Nope, he sucked too. Both times. Her friends had raved about toys and exploring her own body. Tori figured she wasn’t cut out for the whole male female relation thing.

“Do you need to let the front desk know we’re coming down, so they get my Bronco?” she asked, needing to divert her mind from thoughts of sex.

“No, it should still be sitting out front, like I instructed them when we arrived. You ready?” He held his hand out for her.

Tori looked at his palm and exhaled. She placed her hand in his, shivering at the strength and security that surrounded her in that simple gesture.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Lead the way, Cowboy.” She swung their hands back and forth, trying to lighten the mood.

He lifted their clasped hands up to his lips. Pressing a chaste kiss against her fingers. “Mmm, I like you calling me pet names, farfallina. I’ll even buy a cowboy hat and wear it for you if you’d like.”

His eyes sparkled when he was happy. She found herself grinning up at him. “I’ll hold you to that. Might need you topractice a southern twang, too. Authentic cowboys always have a drawl when they speak.”

She opened the door with her free hand since he held the end of his suitcase handle in his other hand until they exited the room. Once the door opened, he released her, moving outside first. His shoulders blocked her view as he looked to the right and then the left before he allowed her to exit the room. “It’s clear,” he murmured, placing his hand on her lower back.

Yeah, she knew the drill. That was a lesson drilled into her at a young age. Look both ways before crossing the street and always look for danger everywhere you go. It was a necessity in the world. Life and death situations happened in the blink of an eye. What kept you safe was looking at the details, spotting the slightest change. She’d gotten sloppy in the last four years. If she could go back in time, she could probably find a sign that would’ve told her there was danger lurking in the alley.

Her eyes followed Jeter as they walked toward the elevator. The man made every move with precise execution, as if he mapped out each step in his mind beforehand.

Like he’d done at the door to the room, he checked the elevator for danger, then motioned her inside. Tori knew it was second nature to him, but her silly heart found his actions endearing. Those same qualities years ago got on her nerves. Yet those were her family, not men she wanted with every fiber of her being.

“Farfallina, you keep looking at me like that and we will stop the elevator somewhere between the sixtieth floor and the ground,” he growled.

She sucked in a breath. There was no sense in denying she wanted him. “That would be scandalous.”

He released the suitcase. Pressing her against the glass wall. “Trust me when I say I give zero fucks about scandal, baby. I’dhave your pants off and my dick in you in seconds if you said the word.”

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