Page 105 of One and Only

I refused to smile even though I desperately wanted to. She was incredible.

I took a step toward her. “Why would you need to apologize?”

She lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug. “I probably should’ve let you do the protective man thing.”

I took another step closer. She eyed me carefully.

“What thing is that?” I asked.

Her chin rose a notch. “You know …get away from my girl. She’s mine, asshole.Those things, which are very fun to hear every now and then.”

I took another step, bracing my hand on the door next to her head. She sucked in a breath, her chest rising dangerously against the neckline of her dress.

“You forgot one,” I told her.

“Did I?” she asked, voice as quiet as mine.

I pulled in a slow breath, nodding slightly.

“Which one?”

I ducked my chin, my lips brushing against her temple. “Touch her and I’ll break every fucking bone in your hand,” I murmured. The words came out with soft brushes against her skin, belying the absolute savagery of how much I meant them.

Because it’s what I’d wanted to say.

It’s what I’d wanted todo.

If I didn’t get to touch her—this wild, fearless creature that was almost, but not quite, mine—then I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it either.

Greer inhaled, shaky and unsteady, and her eyes locked unerringly on my mouth.

There were no sudden movements between us, like we knew exactly what line we were tiptoeing against. I promised myself one thing, and one thing only, before I made my next move.

I could give her the truth of how much I wanted her.

My thumb moved to the doorknob. Greer licked her lips, throat moving in a nervous swallow. I pressed down, and the decisive click of the lock echoed in the room.

Chapter23

Greer

In front of me—so unbearably, painfully handsome—was the most conflicted man I’d ever seen in my life.

It was etched on every part of him, head to toe. In the perfectly still way he held back, the way his brow furrowed, a slight wrinkling that made me want to smooth it out with my fingers, and the absolutely brutal look in his eyes when he looked down at my mouth.

I’d been wanted before.

I’d experienced lust and attraction and the head-spinning ache of desire.

But I’d never experienced this.

Every inch of me ached.

This was yearning.

It wasn’t violent or loud. It wasn’t fast and furious and frantic. It was delicate and perfect. Like he’d knotted something fragile to the base of my spine, curling through my belly, and had the ability to tug me into him, pull me closer simply by breathing.

My entire life, I’d never really known what to do with those kinds of feelings. With the tender and quiet and soft that came with the right kind of love. Maybe because I’d never experienced it.

---