Page 51 of Rescuing Tobias

Isabella smiled at him, and he knew he could stare at that face for the rest of his life and still find it as enchanting as he did right now. “Well then, I think you're probably going to be pleased to hear that Becca and I talked, and we still want to run the agency, but we want to do it from here. Neither of us feels like we can go back out there after what happened in Cambodia. I have already put my parents’ house on the market and was planning on buying something close to here so that Becca and Connor would be close by. But given that we’re giving this a shot, I would be open to moving if it’s what you wanted.”

Humbled by her willingness to move away from her support system to be closer to him, Tobias couldn’t resist reaching out, snagging a hold on her arm, and tugging her closer, so her front was pressed snug against his. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Want me to list everything? How about listening to me when I showed up here instead of kicking me out. Understanding where I had been coming from, even though I hurt you. Forgiving me when you could have held me to what I said I wanted, which was no part of the baby’s life just supporting it financially. Agreeing to trust me with your own fears while also taking on mine. Being willing to move to New York to be with me when your best friend is here and we don’t even know where we’re going to end up.”

“That’s the thing, though, isn’t it?” she said softly.

“What is?”

“Wedoknow where we’re going to wind up.”

April 24th

11:37 P.M.

“I really should get going.”

“Mmhmm,” Isabella agreed, fighting back a smile. That wasn't the first time Tobias had made that declaration, and yet he hadn't moved a muscle. He was still sitting on the couch in Becca and Connor’s living room with her snuggled against his side. They’d already watched a movie with the others before the couple had headed up to bed an hour ago. Since then, she and Tobias had been talking, getting to know one another, and she loved learning more and more about this man.

If she let herself, she could fall in love with him.

They’d discussed it and agreed to take things slow, with no pressure for anything to happen. If it happened, it happened, but like she’d told him earlier in the kitchen, they both knew where this was going to wind up.

That instant connection—well, almost instant since she had thought he was a human trafficker at first—was going to grow into something incredible if they gave it a chance.

And she wanted to give it a chance.

Didn't matter how crazy her life was right now, she wanted to see if she and Tobias could fall in love and build a family. But it was nice to know that even if that didn't happen, she wouldn't be parenting alone. She could have handled it, but honestly, she didn't want to, she would much rather co-parent with her baby’s father than be a single mom.

“It’s late, almost midnight,” Tobias continued. “So I really should go find a hotel to stay at.”

“I'm not stopping you,” she reminded him.

“You're not exactly making it easy for me to leave either.”

“Oh?” She batted her eyelashes as she looked up at him, still fighting back a grin, because she knew exactly what she was doing to him. The way her hand rested low on his stomach, her fingers unable to stop tracing the perfectly defined lines of his abs. “What am I doing that’s preventing you from leaving?”

Before she could draw in her next breath of air, he’d grabbed her hips, lifted her, and set her down on his lap, so she was straddling his thighs.

Desire burned brightly in his dark eyes, and she stared into them, almost mesmerized by the arousal there. That night they’d shared she’d come on to him, asked him for sex, and while she knew he’d been attracted to her and willingly slept with her as soon as she assured him it was what she wanted, she also knew that if she hadn't insisted they never would have slept together.

Now he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her, and it stoked an echoing fire inside her.

“You know exactly what you're doing, don’t you, little firecracker,” he murmured, his voice low and seductive, washing over her like a rush of flames setting her alight.

“Tell me what I was doing,” she whispered, her voice husky as her hands moved to continue their exploration of Tobias’ chiseled physique.

Capturing her wrists, he held them with one hand and pinned them against his chest. When he leaned in, his breath was hot against her skin, and she shivered when he placed his lips mere millimeters from hers. “You're provoking me, aren't you, little firecracker? Playing with me, seeing how far you can push until I give you what you want. Is this what you want?”

Keeping her hands pinned, his free hand moved between her legs and stroked along her center. His touch was featherlight and not even close to what she wanted, what she needed, what she craved.

“Mmm? Was this what you wanted?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her hips moving of their own accord, trying to seek more of Tobias’ soft touches.

“If we didn't have company upstairs, I'd already have you naked and spread out before me,” Tobias whispered, his lips above her ear. “Do you know how many times I’ve craved tasting you again? How many nights I've dreamed about feeling you clamp around me when you come? Your screams echo in my mind. How badly I wish that I could have you?”

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