Page 4 of Dangerous

From the corner of my eye, I caught a hint of sadness and longing in hers. Fuck me. I was the ass. It had been too long since I was last able to show Katy how I felt and here I was acting more worried about possible consequences—and by extension pushing her away—than I was showing her how I truly felt. If I didn’t handle things correctly now, there wouldn’t be anything to handle when she turned eighteen.

I wrapped my hand around hers, bringing it to my lips, and kissed it, making sure to trace a little circle with the tip of my tongue. Her soft gasp was music to my ears and brought a sense of rightness to my chest. It wasn’t just Jarrod who could elicit those sounds from her. I could, too. “I’ve missed you. And supper is my pleasure.”

Her gaze lifted to mine, and I let her witness the sincerity my eyes held. It might be dangerous and tough, requiring a lot of secrecy, but I wanted her to know without a doubt just howmuch she meant to me. My actions may have projected that I was an asshole and uncaring, but it was the furthest thing from the truth. Unfortunately, I might have lost my way for a little bit, trying to run away from my feelings, but I’d grown up, matured, in the past year. And I wasn’t going to run anymore… at least not consciously. Old habits might rear their ugly heads from time to time, but I’d fight against them the moment they were spotted.

“Perfect. Now let’s dig into this deliciousness because I’m starved.” Jarrod held out a forkful of the lemon pepper fried pickerel to Katy’s mouth, effectively breaking the growing tension. The immediate rush of anger stopped in its tracks when her shoulders relaxed, and she moaned at the flavour. With those types of sounds, I couldn’t even get mad at him for changing the mood. Not when the change was needed.

Only the scrapping of cutlery against the plates and the sounds of enjoyment filled the first part of supper as we all tucked in, hungry after a long day. With my burning hunger sated, I slowed down, letting my fork rest on my plate. “It’s been too long since we spent any time together, Katy-bear. How’ve you been doing? Anything exciting at work today?”

She set down her fork as a smile lit up her face. I did that. Just by asking about her, I’d made her happy. And that knowledge made me feel like I was ten feet tall.

“Mostly studying and end of year school stuff like you.” She shrugged. “Tonight, I met the guy who stayed with me at the party while I waited for you and Jarrod to get me.” Redness rose on her cheeks as I went through another myriad of emotions. Laughter wanted to break free at her cuteness while drunk off the local punch. Then there was the heat at the memory of our kiss. One that made me want to pull her across the table and onto my lap so we could relive it. And finally, that newfound possessive instinct took over which didn’t help to curb my need for having her on my lap, tasting her, showing her who shebelonged to. Even a glance at Jarrod revealed he fought the same feelings, making me feel a little more rational.

Not that being rational completely stopped me.

I pulled her off her chair and onto my lap as I wrapped her up in my arms. She chuckled, but the sound was husky and deeper than her normal laugh. “Wh-what’s this for?”

I pressed a kiss to her temple before resettling her to sit on my knees with her back pressed up against my chest. “Just wanted to hold you while you finish eating. I don’t get to do it enough.”

She squirmed a little bit, getting comfortable and making me decidedly uncomfortable, but I wasn’t about to move her off me. No. I’d put up with a hardon for hours without any hope for relief if it meant she was here with me.

But while I basked in her nearness, Jarrod homed in on the cause of our possessiveness. “And just who is he? Peter said he wasn’t a student he recognized.”

She swallowed her mouthful of salad before placing her fork down on her plate and pushing it away. “He’s Danny’s cousin and just moved here. I don’t know much else except he has a pomsky puppy. But I did offer to show him around when he comes back. I guess he had to go back to Winnipeg for the next two weeks for some reason.”

“Ahh, our little Miss Welcoming Committee, making sure the young man will never want to leave,” I said while nuzzling her neck.

“I-it’s not like that.” She canted her head, trying to protect her sensitive neck as she shivered. Little goose bumps popped up on her arms. Jarrod and I shared a sly grin over her head. One day we’d be making her shiver like that when she was laid out between us. We just needed to get through the next year first.

“You made me want to stay.” Jarrod bopped her nose, changing her indignant huff to a laugh as he stood, gathering up the empty dishes.

She jumped from my lap and while I was sad to see her go, I knew it was for the best.Next year,I chanted over and over again as I stood and helped.

In no time at all, the kitchen was clean. Jarrod stepped out to use the bathroom, leaving Katy and I alone. I lifted her up onto the counter and stepped between her spread legs, keeping my hands on her waist so I wouldn’t run them up and down her thighs. “You know I didn’t mean anything by my earlier comment, right, Katy-bear? You know I love how giving and welcoming you are. You help make this town so wonderful for people.”

“I do.” She ran her fingers through my hair before holding onto the back of my neck.

“Good.” I pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “And I don’t want to stop being that way even if it’s with other guys. Like Jason and Jarrod have both told you, I’ll be here waiting for you. What happens between us is at your pace. If you want to go out on dates with other guys, to experience what other girls your age are doing, I’m okay with it. I might get growly and extra touchy, but I promise, Katy-bear, that I’ll never hold it against you.”

She stared into my eyes as she licked her lower lip. The movement hypnotized me, pulling me closer, drawing me. And just as our lips were about to touch…

“Greg, how nice to see you. Won’t you come in?”

Fuck!!!

4

Peter

Katy pushed at my chest; mouth opened in horror. Of course, the moment I was about to give into my fucking feelings, all hell would break loose. And the guys wondered why I preferred to deny them.

Not wanting her to get hurt when she got off the counter, I lifted her down, forgetting to take a step back. Any other time I would have loved feeling her body slide down mine, but not now. You’d have thought that the real fear of being caught with her in a compromising position would have negated the effect her body had on mine, but no, my dick twitched, reminding me of his presence and need to be close to her. I wasn’t really into public sex despite rumours to the contrary, but I couldn’t stop the thoughts of about lifting her back up and ramming my dick into her until she came, knowing Greg only needed to take a few more steps into the house and he’d see everything.

Fuck me.I jumped back, running my hands through my hair as I took a couple of deep breaths, needing my heart rate to come down. What the fuck was I thinking? Not only would I never putKaty at risk like that, I wouldn’t treat her in that manner. She wasn’t like the other women I’d slept with. She wasn’t a “bed ‘em and forget ‘em” girl. She was someone I wanted to romance, to take my time with when we got to that stage… and it certainly wouldn’t be when my colleague, who could have me up on charges and thrown into jail, was around.

“Mr. Taylor, how are you doing? Would you like something to drink?”

The sound of Katy’s voice, welcoming him into my house, jolted me into action. I’d been so lost in thought; I hadn’t even seen her slip out from between me and the counter. I raced after her, needing to protect her.

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