Page 90 of Delicate Escape

Shep’s thigh moved between my legs, my hips rising on instinct. That glorious friction had a moan slipping free of my mouth. At the sound, Shep jerked back.

Any hints of amusement and desire were gone from his face. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Thea. I wasn’t thinking.”

I blinked rapidly, my head spinning from the about-face. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

Shep scrubbed a hand over his face. “The last thing you need is me grabbing and manhandling you after everything you’ve been through.”

Everything in me stilled as a cold chill settled in my bones.Everything I’d been through.A mixture of frustration and sadness swept through me as I stared at the man I was falling for. One who saw me as a victim and might never see me as more than that.

“I’m not weak,” I whispered.

Shep reared back as if I’d struck him. “I know that. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be considerate of what you’ve been through.”

Hot tears pressed in behind my eyes. But I refused to cry. “I don’t want you to treat me differently because of it.”

Shep reached out, his hand taking mine. “I just think we should take things slow.”

His words were a kind letdown. And that kindness only made things worse. “Okay.”

“You’re killing me, Thorn.”

My gaze moved to Shep. The way that white tee pulled taut across his chest. How his brown hair was just a bit in disarray... He was beautiful. And that only made it harder. “Really. It’s okay. I know the boundaries are a little muddy right now. I don’t want to mess things up?—”

My words were cut off by Shep’s mouth on mine. His fingers sank into my hair, tipping my head back for better access. His tonguestroked in, strong and steady and so veryShepard. God, it was everything I wanted and more.

But his mouth was gone far too soon, and I was blinking into the space between us.

Shep stared back at me, his eyes blazing. “If you think for one second I don’t want every part of you, you’re wrong. You think I don’t want to know what it feels like to sink inside you, to bury myself so deep I forget my own name? You’re wrong.”

My whole body tightened, nipples pebbling as if every cell was trying to move toward Shep and what his words promised. “What if I want that, too?”

My words were a dare, a challenge, and I knew it.

Shep tensed, his amber eyes turning more gold. “Thea,” he growled.

My heart hammered against my ribs, chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. Each inhale begged for Shep’s touch.

He sat back, shaking his head. “It’s too soon. You’re not ready?—”

“I’mnot ready?” I jerked to a sitting position.

“Thea—”

“Shouldn’tIbe the one to decide that?”

Shep opened his mouth to argue or soothe, I didn’t know which, but neither was a good option, and I was already moving. I pushed off the couch and stalked out of the living room as the strains of the opening music toRockyplayed.

I strode around the corner and down the hallway, slipping into my bedroom and shutting the door behind me with a shove. I wanted to slam it. But knowing my luck, I’d break the danged thing.

So much energy swirled in my body, humming just beneath my skin—anger, frustration, fear that I’d never be able to havenormalagain. But drowning out all of that was that I was turned the hell on.

That sparking attraction I’d been feeling for the past month was now an inferno, and I was about ready to come out of my skin. I might not be able to do anything about the anger, frustration, and fear, but I sure as hell could do something about the attraction.

35

SHEP

“Fuck.”I ran a hand through my hair, tugging on the strands.

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