Page 11 of Fast Vengeance

“I have more respect for you than you know.”

His quiet words speared through her. Until that moment she hadn’t realized how much she needed to hear them. She trusted him on an intrinsic level, and there was no denying she was attracted to him.

From the moment he’d caught her in the woods and wrapped her up in that blanket, he’d always…been there. In the back of her mind, sometimes in the flesh, but always there and she thought about him constantly. Not sexual attraction at first, given her headspace. Something deeper.

“Thank you.” So…now what? She waited there perched on the stool, half-frozen with a combination of anxiety and hope. And maybe even longing.

She let it all flow through her, stopped fighting the need to feel. It wasn’t like she was risking her heart or anything. She liked and trusted him, but this was purely a business arrangement. She merely wanted his help in taking this final step back into the land of the living, and wasn’t looking for an emotional attachment.

You’re already attached, who are you trying to kid? It was true. Except she didn’t know how to stop the progression. He made that impossible.

In the quiet his eyes dipped to her mouth and her thoughts scattered. The hand at the side of her face shifted, the edge of it curling around her jaw, warm and gentle. Victoria held her breath, heart thudding, letting her eyes half-close as he leaned down toward her.

But when he got close, something made her plant a hand on his chest without thinking and push until her elbow locked. Literally keeping him at arm’s length.

Brock straightened but didn’t move back, staying right where he was. The heat of him all but singed her palm, the thud of his heart steady beneath it, the hard contours of his pectorals a solid ridge.

Realizing what she’d done, she flushed and dropped her hand. “Sorry,” she said with a weak laugh. He hadn’t made it to first base—hell, he hadn’t even made it out of the damn batter’s box—and she’d already balked. “It’s been a while. When you leaned over me like that I just reacted without thinking,” she rushed to explain.

“Don’t be sorry.” He took a step back, giving her room to breathe, her palm cooling fast without his body heat to warm it. Yet instead of moving away or calling it quits as she’d feared, he held out his hand to her, palm up.

Victoria lowered her gaze to it. She’d studied his hands in secret so many times over the time they had known each other, during meetings or their sessions at the firing range together. She loved his hands. Long fingers, callused at the base. Clean nails cut right to the quick. Hands that were trained to wield a weapon with lethal accuracy, or to incapacitate anyone who posed a risk to him or his teammates.

But whenever he’d touched her, it was to help. To protect. To reassure. She’d imagined what they would feel like on her naked body so many times. Now was her chance to find out.

Reaching out, she met him halfway and placed her hand in his. His fingers curled around hers, his grip sure but gentle. Her heart sped up as he tugged her to her feet and drew her toward him.

She expected him to pull her to his chest and kiss her, gasped when he reached out to wrap those powerful hands around her hips instead. Before she could react he lifted her effortlessly, turning to gently boost her onto the kitchen counter behind him. Putting them almost at eye level, his flat stomach inches from her knees.

“Better?” he murmured, lifting a hand to brush a lock of hair away from her cheek.

The consideration behind his gesture touched her. The tenderness of his touch and the heat in his eyes turned her inside out. Yeah, you’re more than attached, girlfriend. Be careful. “Much.”

Brock smiled a little and lowered his hand, set them both flat on the counter on either side of her hips, his face inches from hers. Victoria slowly reached up to place her palms flat against the hard planes of his chest, a little giddy at finally being able to touch him like this.

God, he was so warm and solid. Beneath her hands his heart beat in a calm, steady rhythm, his breathing slow. Enjoying this slow exploration, she slid her hands up to his wide shoulders. Muscles stood out beneath her palms and fingers, the sheer power of him making something in her abdomen flutter.

Gathering her courage, she raised her eyes to his face. Brock stood absolutely still and stared directly into her eyes, forging an intimate connection that made her heart pound. There was no mistaking the banked hunger in that stare, the masculine interest. This wasn’t a sacrifice or obligation for him. He actually wanted her.

Breaking eye contact at last, he leaned forward and settled his lips against the center of her forehead in a warm, lingering kiss. Victoria curled her fingers around his shoulders as her heart did a terrified little backflip, closed her eyes to better absorb the sensation. She’d steeled herself to block out the bad memories he might trigger. But she had no defense whatsoever against this heartfelt tenderness.

His warm exhalations bathed her hairline for a long moment, then his lips skimmed gently over to her temple, paused there a moment before blazing a trail down her cheek to the edge of her jaw where his teeth scraped ever-so-carefully over her skin.

Oh God, he was so much more sensual than she had imagined. And she had imagined his kisses a lot. Goosebumps broke out all over her body, her nipples tightening in a sudden rush. It was a shock to get turned on after suffering so much.

She turned her head slightly to meet his lips, hungry to feel his mouth on hers. He ignored her, taking his sweet time scattering kisses across her jaw to her chin, up the other side of her face before ending with a kiss on the bridge of her nose.

She was dissolving inside, all her anxiety swirling away under the caress of his lips. He wasn’t even touching her with his hands, and suddenly she wished he was holding her tight, his thick arms wrapped around her.

Her own crept up to wind around the back of his neck, her fingertips playing with the ends of his soft, brown hair. She sighed and leaned in closer, dying for him to kiss her for real. Those intense gray eyes stared back at her, a mix of silver and gunmetal with a darker charcoal ring around the irises.

His dark lashes lowered as his head finally dipped down once more, the muscles in his shoulders bunching. She tried to meet him part way, made a little sound of confusion and frustration when his lips brushed the corner of her mouth instead of landing flush on hers.

He eased an inch to the right, tenderly caught her upper lip between his before moving to the lower one. Nibbling. Sucking. He did it so slowly she could barely breathe, the sudden rush of yearning taking her off guard.

Unable to stand the slow tease another moment, she gripped his neck tighter, pulled so she could fuse her mouth to his. Brock made a soft, deep sound of either enjoyment or approval and angled his head, parting his lips slightly as he finally kissed her properly.

Heat suffused her entire body, turning the warmth in her belly into a molten need. This huge, sexy man was kissing her with such care and without haste, as though he planned to spend all night doing nothing more than kissing her. It shocked her how much it made her quiver inside. She felt vulnerable yet cherished. Beautiful, even though she was scarred inside and out.

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