Page 18 of Make You Mine

“No…” he walks away before I can finish, pushing the doorbell on his way “…problem.”

For a few seconds, I stand there, and…nothing. So, I knock. Hard.

I don’t like being out in the open like this, and my escort has disappeared around the corner, so I pound my fist a couple of times to make sure I’m heard. It takes a few harsh knocks from me and the push of the buzzer for that door to open, and when it does, what I find is a thigh-clenching and naughty-dream-inducing specimen of masculinity.

Lord, have mercy on my soul. Amen.

7

ELIJAH

“Detective Ford?”

Christ, she’s beautiful. Those pictures in her file and on social media didn’t prepare me for the stunning brunette standing before me with blue, innocent eyes and lush lips. For the way my body reacts to her curves, and I feel like a right asshole for it.

For being attracted to the woman I’m meant to protect, not fuck into the nearest surface.

This is the last thing she needs after what she’s been through.

“And you must be Miss Ava Perry,” I manage to say, fighting back the need to move closer, and yet my voice still drops into a husky cadence as I taste her name on my lips, a soft touch of pink grazing the apples of her cheeks.

Fuck me. This is bad.

“Yes.” Her lids close and her chest expands, rising and falling with each deep inhale. She’s nervous. Maybe a tiny bit intimidated. Unsure. However, that doesn’t stop her from doing an exploration of her own. Right before they shut, her gaze sweeps over my face and then lower, down my broad shirt-covered chest and then stomach…

I can’t stop the clench of my abs, nor the way my cock gives a jerk beneath the confines of my sweatpants, something she notices, and the hint of heat that flashes through those baby blues is proof of how fucked up this is.

It’s why she’s refusing to look at me now.

This sudden attraction is mutual. Palpable. Tempting.

She needs my protection, not my dick. Don’t make her uncomfortable.

Even as I repeat that mantra, my feet carry me closer without permission, aching to touch her. Comfort her. Tell her that everything will be okay, but I stop just before the heat coming off her skin seeps into my bones. Before she can innocently test my control.

Instead, I bring her sweet scent into my lungs and then take two steps back. It rocks me. Makes my mouth water, and I swallow hard while fighting the pull.

Son of a bitch, what is wrong with me? After this is over, I’ll kill Captain Perez myself.

Fuck old age getting to him.

My eyes take in her body—posture—the way she cocks her hip on the right and how her tiny hands clench. She doesn’t move for a few minutes, not so much as a tiny shift, and it isn’t until I clear my throat a few times that she looks at me. “Where’s your luggage?”

“Down in my truck,” one of the two men walking toward us answers, stopping a few feet from a quiet Ava. My reaction is immediate, and I move past her, reaching for the gun tucked into the waistband of my pants, but the gleam of dog tags makes me pause.

The I.D. tag on the one who spoke reads Jaime Suarez; he’s tall, muscular, and giving me a grin that borders on cocky as he holds out an overstuffed book bag. As if he’s privy to informationI’m not. “Nice to meet you, Detective Ford. I’m Jaime…” he points at his friend “…and this is Adam.”

“Elijah, and likewise…” I trail off, knowing nothing of this man past the fact he’s been responsible for Ava up until this point.She’s my responsibility now.Someone I’ll protect from a lunatic stalking her. Nothing more than another case.

Jaime extends a hand for me to shake then, and I do before his eyes shift over to the woman standing beside me now. “And I believe you’ve already met Miss Ava.”

“Not exactly.”

“Why is that?” Adam asks, his brow arched, eyes shifting between us. “Is something wrong?”

“Better yet, why was she left alone on my doorstep?” Because that deserves an explanation. It’s more important than my sudden attraction for my temporary ward, even if we both know she’s completely safe here. More than the conflicting thoughts running rampant through my mind, because now isn’t the time to decipher what it means.

I want to hide her inside my home and wrap her in a cozy blanket, shielding her from the world. And in the same breath, I want to lay her down across my bed and part her thighs before licking?—

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