Page 44 of Hidden By the Convicts
“Well, if we were back on Argus, I wouldn’t be cursing. I’d have a clean, organized apartment.”
“You clean, Harlis?” she teased, because his clothing landed everywhere.
“I had someone to clean for me. I keep my lab clean. The house won’t explode if my shirt falls on the ground, so why bother?”
“It sounds like you’d do all the right stuff to impress me.”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m glad we’re on Narkos.”
“No one’s glad to be on Narkos.” His brows narrowed. “Why would you say that?”
“I get to see the real you. The good and the bad, though there hasn’t been much bad since those first few days. You stopped seeing me like a possession to be used.”
He winced. “Fuck, I hoped you’d forget that. I was mad at Bowen and the guards. Sort of everything. I seriously thought the guards brought women here against The Company rules. I didn’t think you were a prisoner. I assumed that you got paid to be with them.” He stared at the boarded-up window.
“Even though you found me hiding in the greenhouse? Someone who was paid wouldn’t run.”
“If she got hurt, she would. Honestly, Teagen, I didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t conceive of any other reason a woman would be in East Side, or anywhere on Narkos for that matter. I was told Narkos didn’t take women. I didn’t know there were a few in West Side at the time. They’re hidden away, apparently. I made an assumption about you, which I shouldn’t have. I don’t always think clearly. Not like Bowen and Gavin.”
When she pulled out of his arms, his entire body sagged, as if he thought she wanted nothing to do with him. She shimmied her shirt above her head and tossed it in his face. “You’re forgiven, my impatient one. I’d like to get to know you better, Harlis. ”
His eyes lit with excitement. “Are you sure? I mean really sure?”
“Just nothing rough, okay?”
Anger flashed across his face, which made her pull back.
“Ah, fuck, princess, don’t think that I’m upset with you. I was thinking of the guards who hurt you, who made you so afraid. It wouldn’t take much to poison them, or blow them up, or—”
She put her fingers over her lips. “I misread you. Let’s start again, and not talk about anyone else, okay?”
His hands slid down her arms. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m nervous.”
“Then how about I just hold you?”
“That’s a good start. Maybe undress, so I don’t feel so naked?”
His grin reappeared. Why did that stupidly seductive grin of his make her feel so normal?
Harlis stripped, revealing an amazing body. Well-defined muscles, from thick thighs and trim waist to a washboard abs. He wasn’t as broad as Bowen, but those muscles made him look every bit as sexy and handsome.
His cock, long and thick, stood erect. Her nervousness disappeared, but more amazingly, she felt comfortable with Harlis. Shetrustedhim.
He tipped her chin up and kissed her. Slow and warm, gentle. Nothing like she had imagined from a man who seemed so impatient with the world around him.
Why she had this almost implicit trust of Harlis, she wasn’t sure, but it felt good to let the apprehension slide away, to accept his touch without fear. Her body eased against him as his tongue swept through her mouth, passionate but not aggressive.
Teagen trailed her fingernails lightly over shoulder blades and then lower, stopping at his ass. This felt normal, better than normal. Her boyfriend on Narkos, that louse that had left her after draining her bank account, had never taken his time with her, never let her explore. And she had avoided touching the guards.
“What’s wrong?” Harlis asked, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes. “You tensed.”
“A flashback.”
“We can stop.”
