Page 23 of Protected Hearts

He scraped his fingers through his hair. “Christ, Shiloh. No. I didn’t phrase that well. You’re tired. I thought you should lie down.”

Her shoulders drooped. “Sorry—I’m edgy.”

“Understandable. If you’d like to get in bed, I’ll stay with you a spell.”

“I…I…” Her pretty mouth twisted, but she didn’t issue a single sound. This woman was in control like no other…but she was also in emotional turmoil.

Fuck.

What now? Vets, he knew. He didn’t do well with emotional women.

He could hear Carson in his head, telling him there was no time like the present to gain experience.

Oaks stepped forward. His hands hovered near her arms, but he was afraid to touch her.

When she let out a deep, roughened breath that sounded too much like a sob, he tossed his reservations out the window, stepped up and wrapped his arms around her.

Tugging her against his chest, he turned for the bed and eased her down on it. She crumpled onto her side and curled up into a ball.

Unsure how to proceed, he patted her shoulder.

“Shiloh?”

She took another shuddering breath. Her stare was fixed on some far-off point as if she was watching a movie play in her mind.

“It’s going to be okay. You’re safe. Just rest.” He started to climb off the bed, but she reached out and snagged his shirt front. Her slim fingers twisted the cloth.

His heart pinched hard. Easing himself down beside her, he stretched out on the mattress with Shiloh in his arms.

Her body was long and lithe against his, despite the thick terrycloth robe.

“I don’t break down.” Her voice was small and her cheeks dry.

“Crying isn’t a weakness. It’s a release.”

She tipped her head up to meet his gaze. “Is that what you tell all the people you protect?”

“As a bodyguard, it hasn’t come up much. It’s a therapy thing.”

“I see.” She fell silent for a moment, her breaths coming more evenly. She still felt immensely fragile in his hold, but he’d seen her strength back in that compound and he saw it now.

“I’ve never cuddled with my ward before.”

“Ever…kissed one?” Her voice came out as a smoky murmur.

Holding back a groan, he ran his tongue over his sore bottom lip. “Since a lot of my wards are men, no.”

She made a soft humming noise in her throat, tipped her face up and brushed her lips over his. His blood jolted as desire sparked inside him, but he remained completely still as she skimmed her mouth over his once…then twice.

Fuck—he couldn’t let this happen. No contract existed between them, but a marriage certificate with a fake name and probably a falsified license.

As she applied soft pressure to his lips, he couldn’t hold back and returned the caress. He didn’t claim her the way he would another woman. Shiloh wasn’t just any other woman.

There was an echo of their lusty encounter in the bathroom, but her mood had shifted. He felt her succumbing to the kiss in a new way.

His stiffening cock molded to his fly, and he had to force himself not to roll her underneath him and satisfy her the way a beautiful woman like her deserved.

Slowly, he drew back. Her eyes were bluer than ever, as if some of the stormy gray clouds had blown away.

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