Page 33 of Erik's Salvation
“Then he is blind. If I lived next door to a woman as beautiful as you”—he gently brushed some hair from her face—“I would treat her like a queen.”
The way he said queen…the way his touch slipped over her skin so delicately…he was like the perfectly crafted bachelor. Almosttooperfect. “You keep calling me beautiful.”
“And I do not anticipate stopping.”
Too. Freaking. Polished. “I think,” she said slowly, her words definitely giving away her alcohol-soaked state, “you’re a bit of a ladies’ man.”
“I am just a lover of women.”
Just? Ha. Yeah, right. The man had Casanova looking like an amateur.
She sucked in a long breath, the alcohol now making her tired. At least, in addition to the snacks, she’d had her dose of insulin before leaving her house, so she knew she was safe from any diabetic episodes.
“Well, I must thank you for sharing an evening with me and my friends and giving me this dance.”
“Stella, the pleasure has been all mine.”
Then he surprised her by cupping her cheek.
She stopped swaying. “Marco—”
“You have had me transfixed all night. And those lips…” He looked down at her mouth like it was the most fascinating part of her. “They have consumed my thoughts.”
There was a beat of silence. He was possibly waiting for her to say something. Maybe shift closer or further away. She did nothing. Absolutely nothing. And when he lowered his head, shestillstood there, like a damn statue.
Goddammit, Hannah, stop this!
She pressed her hands to his chest and opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t feel the same—but a large body shoved Marco from the side, making him stumble. The force almost tipped her over in the process, but strong fingers wrapped around her arm and tugged her upright.
She looked up to see a very stony-faced, very angry-looking Erik.
* * *
Rage.It pumped through Erik’s blood, roaring between his ears, almost deafening him.
Marco had been holding Hannah in his arms. Was about tokissher.
He wanted to kill him. Rip his damn tongue out and shove it down his throat.
Hannah touched his arm. “Erik, what are you—”
“Stay out of this, Hannah.” He kept his gaze on Marco. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Marco lifted both hands. He was pretty sure the stance was supposed to imply innocence. It didn’t. “I was just dancing with your neighbor, Erik.”
He wanted to know how the hell this had come about. Had Marco sought her out?
He stepped closer. The move was threatening, and a normal man would have moved back, but Marco was just as fucking dangerous and didn’t scare so easily. Erik’s voice lowered. “We worked together for a long time. That’s the only reason I’m not knocking you on your ass right now. Stay away from her.”
Intrigue lit Marco’s dark eyes. “Now that I know how much you care about her, I won’t ask her to dance again.”
Erik’s jaw clenched, and it took every ounce of self-restraint to step back. To not pound his fist into the guy and send him to the fucking floor. He turned, ignoring the crowd they’d attracted, and grabbed Hannah’s arm again to drag her toward the door.
“Hey! Let me go,” she seethed.
Not a fucking chance.
He pushed through the door, ignoring Hannah’s tugs and pulls. People were staring, a couple of guys even took a few steps toward them, but one glare from Erik and they stopped.
