Page 36 of Mine to Protect

She shook her head, resuming her back-and-forth pace. “No thanks. I’ll walk Benny home before heading out for my shift.”

“I’ll take that ride,” Peters chimed in. “I need to get the Suburban.”

John headed for the door as Peters shoved off the couch, turning to me with an extended hand. “Keys, you asshole. And don’t lock the fucking door again.”

A small hand rose from the other side of the room. “My bad. Force of habit. Can’t say I’ll be able to stop, but I’ll try.”

The back of the soft, worn couch molded around my back as I dug into my shorts’ pockets for the keys. One-handed, Peters snatched them before they could soar over his head.

“Be back in a few,” he said with a smile. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I know I’m onto something,” Alta muttered after the door had clicked closed behind Peters. “It can’t be a coincidence. I’ve seen the general public in this park, and those guys are not the average man around here.”

Instead of turning on her heels to make another fast-paced loop, Alta stayed straight, rounded behind the couch and stopped in front of the door. Her right fingers twitched on her thigh like there was an internal battle urging her to reach up and flip the lock.

“I have to lock it,” she whispered, then turned with an apologetic glance. “I know it sounds silly to you, but it’s one more defense I put up to not be taken by surprise.”

The cushions groaned under the fists I plunged into them to help me stand. Not looking away from her hazel eyes, I paused just out of reach. “I’m here.”

“I know, and I do trust you. I do know you’ll keep me safe, but it’s been a part of me for so long. I’ve kept myself safe for almost ten years by keeping doors locked, windows secure, a deadly dog by my side. I hide water bottles under the sink so no one can find them and slip something inside. I only drink from things I can break the seal myself or pour myself. There’s a gun by my door, Taser under the couch, a knife under my pillow and mace hanging in my shower.”

Her back hits against the door with a soft thump and rattling of the hinge. Each breath looked to be a struggle, but her watery gaze never left mine.

“I don’t know how to be normal, and I might never figure out how, but this is how I cope. This is how I survive.” Using the pad of my thumb, I swiped a single rogue tear trailing down her freckled cheek as she whispered, “I’ve avoided physical contact for so long.” Flush crept up her neck before turning her whole face a bright pink. “It’s been years since I’ve kissed anyone.” She broke our stare to look down at the floor.

Emotional shit had never been a strength, so when she paused, still not able to look back up, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. Instead of saying the wrong thing or giving in to what my dick wanted to do—shove her against the door and break the dry spell she’d sentenced herself to—I stood silently, waiting for her to continue.

“Right. Okay, nothing else to say, then, huh? I’m quirky and not worth the trouble? I get it, don’t worry. I need to get Benny home.”

Her soft voice cracked my hard, cold heart. The door creaked open an inch before I slammed my palm against it, shoving it closed.

My chest pressed against her back, forcing her against the door to support my heavy weight. A shudder shook my fingers as I yanked her hips back, sealing us together.

“Normal isn’t something I understand or want, Lady. It’s fucking overrated.” Jerking her collar low with a single hooked finger, I slid my lips up and down the length of her neck. A jolt shook her shoulders, and a happy, mischievous smile curled the corners of my lips. Every cell in my damn body twitched to take her against the door, sink in deep, and show her just how much I didn’t fucking care about her quirks.

But I wouldn’t, even though her firm, round ass kept shifting against my hard dick, making it near impossible to resist fucking her right then and there. To silence my groan, I bit her soft flesh, savoring the way my teeth sank deep, which would no doubt leave the lasting mark I hoped for.

“More,” she begged between rapid pants, eyes sealed shut, her forehead resting against the hard wood of the door. ”More. More. More.”

“No,” I growled at my tipping point.

Releasing her hips, I smacked both palms beside her head to keep them from ripping off her pants. “I’m going to do right by you, Lady. You’re not ready for all the things I want from you.” A faint whimper escaped her parted lips, making my dick pulse against the soft fabric of my shorts. “And right now, I wouldn’t be slow, wouldn’t be fucking gentle like you need. Right now,” I gritted out into her ear while grinding my hard cock against her ass, “I want to fucking claim you, make you scream my name so that fucker boss of yours can hear it and know you're mine.”

12

Alta

“Do it,”I begged with what little breath I had left. “Please.”

Never in my life had I been so turned on, so hot and wet for a man. Even boyfriends in the past never provoked this kind of need. And we hadn’t even done anything yet, except for that erotic bite that sent my head spinning and a steady pulse to pound between my thighs.

Each place he licked, each touch, every breath against my skin, I wanted more. Zero disgust, no withdrawing from his touch. This—him—was what I’d been waiting for. This primal, sexual, undeniable pull. And here it was delivered in a hot-as-hell, tattooed killing machine who knew all the right buttons to push.

“No, Lady. Not yet.” I whimpered at the sudden disappointment. “We talk first.”

“Talk?” Apprehension bloomed in my gut severing the lust-induced daze I’d sunk into. “Talk about what?”

His massive hand tugged my shoulder, flipping me to press my back against the cold wood. Hooded dark brown eyes roamed down my face and lingered on my heaving chest. “You.” A deep groan rumbled in his chest as he turned on his bare heels and strode with purpose toward his bedroom. “Lock the damn door. We’ll talk after I’m done.”

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