Page 13 of Unravelling The Hitman: A BWWM Romance

His eyes flicked up and, in that moment, I could have peed myself. There was just so much… power in his words, in his gaze. Though I was resisting, my fear would soon outweigh my pride.

He ducked, revealing his stunning profile to me. “You’re scared.”

“I’m not.”

“You can leave.” He tipped his chin ever so slightly toward the desk. “After.”

I swallowed. Annoyance mounted in my chest. At him. At me. At these stupid feelings that made his every word echo with power and authority.

“Look, I don’t know you. I don’t have to listen to you.”

He bobbed his head. “True.”

“So…” I blinked rapidly. The last thing I’d expected was for him to agree. “Goodbye.”

Feeling proud of myself, I nodded and started heading for the door. Before I took three steps, Boss appeared in front of me. Another second and my feet were whisked off the ground.

I gasped when my shoulders rammed against his chest. My hands automatically gravitated to his neck to keep my balance. Soft hair bent beneath my shaking hands. A fragrance, clean and manly, wafted over me.

His fingers gently dug into the cavern beneath my knees. “My name is Deacon,” he said. Warm breath hit my cheek. I froze, too shocked to get angry or afraid. He turned his head away and walked to the desk. “I’m thirty-three years old.”

My brain computed his words while my body vibrated with electricity from where his skin touched mine.

Never, in my wildest dreams, had I imagined a moment like this.

“The first time I learned that life wasn’t fair was the day I lost my mother to cancer,” he said.

My heart panged.

Sympathy stirred in my chest.

Boss—no, Deacon set me on the desk. “My first love was a beautiful girl I met while stationed in Hawaii. She cheated on me with my best friend. They’re married now. They named their first son after me.”

I gasped. “That’s terrible.”

He took a wet wipe from a container. “The day Reid was born, I made a promise to him. That I’d be there for him, the way my dad never was for me.”

Something cold touched my skin. I glanced down and realized Deacon’s hands were on my leg and he was moving the wet wipe to brush away the sand.

I jerked back. “What are you doing?”

“You said you had to leave because you don’t know me.” He looked up, eyes sober. “Now you know me more than anyone else.”

“That’s… I mean…”

“Hold still.” His hand moved up my thigh.

I dug my fingernails into the desk as my body buzzed. “What are you doing?”

“I have to clean the area before applying the medicine.”

I swatted at the wipe. “Let me do it.”

“I thought you weren’t afraid?” he said, ignoring me and continuing his task. “Is there something else about me you’d like to know?”

“Are you a perv?” I blurted.

He froze.

---