Page 59 of Easton’s Claim

A nod.

Lowering his arms, he eased back a few inches to stare down at her in the wash of light coming through the back windows of the main house. “You’re trouble,” he said.

And yet he couldn’t stay away from her. The urge to protect her was overwhelming and he couldn’t shut it off.

Her gaze flicked up to meet his, those deep, dark eyes focusing on him with a spark of anger. “They attacked my home, my family. Was I just supposed to sit on my ass and wring my hands while you guys handled it alone?”

Yes.He didn’t dare say it aloud, because he suspected she’d rip his balls off if he did. “No, but I didn’t expect you to run for the nearest rifle and chase after the shooter, either.”

“I was backing you up.”

“No, you took off on your own and put yourself in danger. That’s not how teammates back each other up.”

And I couldn’t get to you in time.

That’s really what was bothering him. The thought that she could have been hurt or killed tonight.

Her eyes widened in outrage. “Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m weak or defenseless. You think that just because of my gender and occupation, I don’t know how to handle a weapon? I was raised in a household of four Marines, and even if I didn’t serve like they did, I still shoot like a Marine.”

He struggled not to smile at her sass and the pride in her voice. The way she’d faced that shooter and taken him down had both shocked and impressed the hell out of him, and he didn’t do either of those things easily. “Yeah, you sure as hell do.” God, he wanted to kiss her.

She blinked and eyed him in suspicion. “That’s right.”

Kissing her now would be a really stupid move, but it was hard not to. Charlie burned with an irrepressible energy that was palpable the moment she walked into a room. She did something to him, brought the most possessive and protective parts of him raging to the surface, and tonight had made that even stronger.

“Remind me never to piss you off.”

She glared up at him. “Too late.”

He smothered a laugh, fighting the urge to crush her to him and pillage that sassy mouth. Her eyes glittered up at him in the dimness with pure annoyance, and he lost the battle.

To hell with it.

Unable to help himself, he cupped the back of her head with one hand and leaned in to capture her mouth with his. She sucked in a swift breath, put her free hand on his chest as if to push away.

No way. Not after the way she’d scared him to death and then taken that shooter out. Not with this need to protect her burning inside him.

He wrapped his free arm around her waist and hauled her up against him, groaned at the feel of her softness melded to his body. It was the first time he’d allowed himself to be the aggressor with her.

That night at the club, he’d simply followed her cues and given her a taste of what she’d wanted. The memory had haunted him ever since. The idea of any other man putting his hands on her made him insane and it drove him nuts because she’d made it abundantly clear she didn’t want anything serious.

Well, he was as serious about her as he’d ever been about anything, way more than he’d been with any other woman. Now, he was the one in control and this was more than a kiss—he was staking a claim. Part of him didn’t care that he was making out with her on the lawn within sight of the house where any member of her family might see them.

The feel and taste of her, those little sounds of pleasure she made at the back of her throat as he tangled his tongue with hers made him want to drag her back into the woods for privacy and fuck her deep and hard. It took monumental effort for him to ignore the impulse and settle for this hard, hungry kiss.

Instinct told him that to win Charlie, he had to leave her wanting more. Even if it killed him to pull away, she needed to know she didn’t call the shots between them.

More sirens sounded to the west, where they’d just come from, giving him the perfect excuse to end the kiss. He raised his head to stare down at her in the dimness, fierce satisfaction raging through him at the almost drugged look in her dark eyes. Her lips were shiny and swollen and her hair was mussed.

“Cavalry’s finally here,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb over her satiny cheek.

Her eyes cleared and she licked her lips, a slow smile playing at the edges of her mouth. “Late as usual.”

“Mmm,” he agreed, and just because he couldn’t help himself, he went back for one more taste. This time slower, tender. Savoring her because he didn’t know when he’d get to taste her again. “Let’s get back to the house before they send out a search party for us.”

Blue and red flashing lights came up the driveway, another convoy of police cars roaring toward the house. The moment Charlie walked into the house, both her brothers and father were there to pull her into a tight hug, then Austen and Piper hugged her as well.

It did his heart good to see how much they all loved her. His own family was back in southern California and he didn’t get to see them that often. He was sure as hell calling them tonight.

---