Page 24 of The Enforcer

The reality was so much better. He wanted to devour her. Do filthy things to her. Things she would have no experience with, ‘cause he had a feeling she was a virgin. He didn’t do virgins. Once again, he went through all the reasons why he shouldn’t do what he was about to do, but it all ended the same; his desire for her overrode any rational thought.

“Okay.”

He turned to her. “That’s it? Just, ‘okay’?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Clearly you’re upset and not in the mood to talk about whatever it was that had you cave-manning me out of that room. I’m sure you will tell me when you’re ready, so we can have a rational talk about it.”

Oh, he loved it when she went all prim and proper on him. She had no idea that it turned him on when she used her teacher voice. In his mind, it was her version of dirty talk. Still, he didn’t like that he was the only one burning up with pent-up desire. It was time to even the odds.

When he passed Glen Park, he took an exit onto a dirt road. He parked in a secluded parking spot, in the back, near a wall of trees. Then he plucked her from her seat, draping her over his lap until she straddled him.

“What are you doing?”

She sounded nervous. Finally.

“You want a rational talk? How is this for rational? I took you out of that room because it hit me that I don’t like it when other men see you naked.”

A blush colored her cheeks. “It’s art class. There’s nothing sexual about it, and—”

“I don’t give a fuck.”

“And,” she repeated pointedly, “it’s really none of your business who sees me naked. You’ve been trying to pawn me off to one of your men for days.”

She wasn’t ever going to marry one of his men. In his subconscious, he’d known that. Hell, everyone had known.

“Yeah, about that. Not gonna happen. None of my men will marry you.”

She cast her eyes down. “Please don’t do this. Think about Zoe. She needs me to—”

He lifted her chin. “It won’t happen because they know I will break them if they touch you. So, this is what’s going to happen. You have a choice to make. Either you marry me, or you find someone I don’t know and won’t ever have to see.”

Her eyes widened, but she looked suspicious. “But…?” she asked. “I feel like there’s a catch somewhere. I mean, I already told you that you were my first choice. You declined, profusely. So, what has changed?”

What had changed was that he’d been confronted with what would happen if he didn’t step up. Another man was going to see, taste, and touch all that was Mary. And, yeah, it made him an asshole to consider wrecking up her life just because he wanted to fuck her, but here he was, being an asshole.

“I want you,” he said, and she looked confused. “That can’t surprise you.”

She shrugged. “Half of the time you don’t seem to like me.”

“I’ve never not liked you. I just never wanted you.”

“You’ve lost me.”

Of course he had. He wasn’t making much sense. “I never wanted to be your fucking white knight. Because that’s what you want, what you’re looking for. No, don’t try to deny it. It’s what you deserve, so don’t ever deny or try to downplay it. If I were a good man, I would keep away from you. Like miles away, but I can’t.”

He’d been to Europe for months to track down the fucker who had hurt her, and the distance had hit him hard. He’d come to depend on having her around, even if it was from afar. There was this positive energy around her that he wished he could harness and take into his soul. Keep it in there so maybe, just maybe, it could clean away some of the darkness inside him. He hadn’t taken another assignment that far away again.

“Um… so now what?” She fidgeted on his lap, looking unsure.

He was trying really hard to ignore the fact that underneath his shirt, she was naked. The only thing separating her bare pussy—yeah, he’d peeked—and his cock, was the fabric of his jeans.

“Like I said, now you have a choice to make.” He placed his hands on her thighs, underneath his shirt. “But know this, if you choose me, you will be all mine. There’s no going back. And there will be no marriage of convenience. No sane man would be able to live under one roof with you and not fuck you.” Her face heated up and it probably made him a bastard, but he liked it when she blushed.

“What else? I have a feeling there is more.”

He started drawing circles on her inner thighs. “There is. See, I’m not sure if you know what it’s going to be like between us. I think it’s only fair you get a taste, so you can make the right choice.”

When his finger neared her pussy, her pupils enlarged, but she didn’t pull back. If she had any idea of the things he wanted to do to her, she would probably jump out of the car.

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