Page 3 of The Singer and the Silent Type

My body moved without thought. I watched a stranger place his filthy hand on my angel’s sweet round ass, and the next thing I knew, I was holding him by the throat, shoved up against the wall.

I knew people were staring. I also knew that I shouldn’t be tightening my grip quite so hard. But nobody behaved like that in my town, especially to Lorena.

“You will both leave now, and never come back,” I said, my voice sounding icy, even to me. Dropping him like a sack of potatoes, he hit the floor with a grunt, looking shocked as hell.

His friend dragged him out the door and into their truck, taking off like a shot. I moved just as fast, wrapping my jacket around Lorena to cover her, and slipping her out the back door to the side where I always parked my truck.

I brought her around to the passenger side door so that she was hidden from view, and dug into my duffel bag.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Everything about this sweet girl was soft. Her bright blue eyes, honey blonde hair, and endless curves that were starting to haunt my waking life as well as my dreams.

“I always keep extra clothes in my truck,” I explained, pulling out a clean black t-shirt and handing it to her.

“I’ve noticed you always wear th

e same shirt.”

“The only difference is the level of dirt,” I chuckled, trying to put her at ease. The poor little thing was trembling, and it was physically difficult not to pull her into my arms. “Get that wet thing off before you catch a chill,” I said, turning my back to her. There were no windows on this side of the tavern, so she was well hidden between the door and my body.

I heard her shuffling, then a tiny laugh. “It’s sort of huge.”

I turned back to see my shirt hanging on her like a tent. “Hold still.” Whipping out my pocket knife, I slashed a line at the side from just below her waist to the bottom hem. Tying the two ends in a knot at her side, it gave the shirt some shape. It was pure hell not to place my hands on those lush hips.

“There you are,” I smiled. “You look like a sassy little tomboy.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at me. There was something new in her eyes. After two weeks of trying to keep my distance, here she was inches away from me.

I shouldn’t be speaking to her. I shouldn’t be growing attached. But damn if I didn’t need her, to be holding every inch of her sweetness against me. I felt my mouth fall open to speak, then snapped it shut again.

“Please,” she whispered. “I know you don’t talk much, but I’d like to hear everything you have to say.”

I reached out to tighten the knot at her waist and tuck the extra fabric under, and didn’t even realize it. “I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“It’s okay.” Her eyes sparkled, looking so sweet and innocent that the urge to kiss her was almost too much to take.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I just turned twenty-two.”

I almost breathed a sigh of relief. I was much too old for her, and that was that.

“How old are you?” she nearly whispered. Her pretty eyes looked tense, as if she was forcing herself to ask the question.

“Thirty-eight,” I said, hearing how gruff my voice sounded and trying to soften it.

Lorena nodded, smiling sweetly. “That’s a good age,” she said thoughtfully. “Young enough to be tough and strong, but old enough to know what you want, and how to get it.”

Was she flirting with me? It had been so damn long that I actually wasn’t sure. But then she gripped my arm. “Thank you for saving me,” she said. Her sneakers shuffled forward a bit, as if she was trying to decide what to do.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to stay cool headed. “You should feel safe here, Lorena. Those guys were from out of town. No good man would behave like that.”

Instinctively holding out my arms, she stepped in for a warm, tender hug. I had meant it to be a comforting gesture, but it instantly became much more. It was too hard not to nuzzle her sweet, soft hair, so I gave in. Lorena made the softest murmur as she snuggled tightly against me.

Then her head tipped up, bringing her lips just inches from mine. My shoulders twitched from the effort as I tried not to lean in, and failed. She paused, then her eyes closed gently as she stretched up to meet me. I kissed her softly, afraid to be anything other than gentle with this precious girl.

Her lips parted as the kiss deepened, and I swear I heard a soft moan. We fused together, my hands gripping her full hips, her perfect ass. She kissed just like she did in my dreams. Then I heard a hard-soled boot tapping on the concrete beside us.

We jumped apart, spinning around to see Iris looking at us with a delighted smirk. “For the record, I saw nothin’. I keep things to myself. But I see you’ve found a dry shirt, missy, so maybe you could get back to work.”

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