Page 7 of Nitro

“Hey, kitten.” Nitro gently grasps my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m going to take care of this for you. I know you think you’re all alone, but you’re not. This isn’t just your fight anymore; it’s ours.”

“It is?” I ask softly.

“Yeah. So don’t even think about leaving until you’ve got that divorce decree in hand.”

“What if I want to leave?” I ask.

“You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re mine now. I’m going to take care of you, even if you don’t want me to. And when this is all over, if you still want to walk away from me, that’s up to you. But you won’t.” A cocky grin spreads across his devilishly handsome face.

“You sound confident.” I can’t help but smile at his certainty.

“I know you. I know what you need.” When his gaze locks with mine, I can’t look away from his gorgeous steel-blue eyes. Heat pools low and thick in my core, and it takes every ounce of self-control to keep my hands to myself.

“What do I need?” I ask in a husky tone.

“Me.”

“Nitro, I can’t …Wecan’t … I’m married.”

“Not for long.” As he brushes a lock of my hair behind my ear, his fingers graze my neck. Shivers of desire shimmy down to curl around my rapidly hardening nipples. “All I want right now is to protect you and take care of you.”

“That’s all?”

“For now.”

“And later?”

“Later will take care of itself. Right now, you need a friend who can help you through this. You can’t do it alone. It’s not safe. Your husband could have let you file for divorce, but he didn’t. He set those forms on fire instead. He’s not going to let you walk away without a fight. You need someone on your side. You need me.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Come here.” Nitro holds out his hands. The pull to move into his arms is impossible to resist. I slide to the edge of the bed and wrap my arms around his waist. As he gently holds me against his rock-hard abs, I sigh into his warmth. “You’re not alone anymore, kitten. Just let me take care of you.”

Everything inside me melts because I believe him. I’m not alone anymore. I don’t have to shoulder all the hurt and pain by myself. He’s here to take some of that burden away from me. Not only that, but he’s also offering me something I haven’t had in years—friendship. I’d be a fool to reject his offer, but I know he wants more. I can see it in his eyes. He doesn’t just want my friendship. He wants me.

I can’t give him what he wants. My life’s too much of a mess right now. I can’t focus on anything but escaping the hell I’ve been living in for the last seven years. Nitro’s my way out. I’d be a fool to turn him down, so I won’t. I can’t afford to push away the only person willing to fight for me. I need him.

However, being this close to him feels dangerous. I just escaped from one man, so running right into the arms of anotherwould be foolish. I don’t even know Nitro that well. I can’t allow myself to give in to my attraction to him. If my marriage taught me one thing, it’s this—desire is fleeting. A pretty face and a great body can go a long way toward hiding the monster inside a man. I don’t think Nitro’s anything like Jeff, but until I get to know him better, I need to be careful. I need to go slow. I can’t make the same mistake I made with my husband. Temptation is one hell of a drug, but I can’t succumb to it. It’s too dangerous. I’m not willing to escape one hell only to be sucked into another. This may be my only chance to break free.

Chapter 3: Nitro

I’ve dreamed about holding Holly like this for so damn long I almost can’t believe this moment is real. I shouldn’t want a married woman, but I do. I tried like hell to be respectful of her relationship with her bastard husband, but it was impossible to ignore the chemistry between us. If I’d known he was still hitting her, I would have done something sooner. She’s good at hiding shit. I’ll give her that. But I won’t let her hide anything anymore. She’s mine now, and I’m going to make sure her husband never puts his hands on her again.

Now that her marriage is over, there’s no reason for me to restrain my desire for her. She wants to file for divorce and I’m going to make that happen. I can’t have her yet, but soon, she’ll be mine. Thank God she finally decided to get out, and not a moment too soon. I don’t know how much longer I could have resisted my attraction to her. Not having her in my bed has been pure hell. The club girls tried to get me to fuck them instead, but they don’t interest me the way Holly does. She’s the only woman I want.

I can’t mess this up. She’s terrified and in pain. As much as I want to lay her down and make love to her all night, I can’t. She needs to heal. Doc’s going to get her fixed up and then I’ll be able to make my move. I don’t want her to be in pain when I finally slide into her wet heat. I want her to be ready for all the ecstasy I plan on giving her. It will be worth the wait.

Doc knocks before coming back into the room. I let go of Holly so he can get her cleaned up. After he washes the blood off her feet, he patches up the cuts made by her husband’s teeth. I can’t wait to knock those fucking teeth right out of his head. I want to go after him, but taking care of Holly is more important. Scar and the other guys will hunt that fucker down and bring him back to the clubhouse. Once he’s here, I’ll make sure he pays for what he did to my woman.

“The bandages should be changed twice a day,” Doc says. “Make sure you wash the wounds really well with soap and water, especially the burned area. Then apply the ointment before re-bandaging your feet and back.”

“I’ll do it for her,” I say.

“Nitro, you don’t have to help me. I can do it myself.”

---