Page 157 of Wicked Praise

“I won’t hurt you,” he said.

“No. You won’t,” she replied, deliberately looking directly into his eyes in warning.

His smile grew, softening his strong jawline and sending warm shivers through her body. Warmth that had no place being there.

“Good girl.”

God, he was gorgeous. He was just the right amount of bad boy with a spoonful of class. Now that she was closer, she could see just how well his jeans fit, and that his leather jacket was clearly designer. Before she could help herself, a blush hit her cheeks, and she gave him a shy smile.

Damn traitorous body.

Her blush spread its way down her face, across her chest, and descended to her core.

What is wrong with me?

She felt an unreasonable need for him to reach out and touch her. To touch him back.

If I could just run my fingers over those biceps and through his hair.

Willow scrunched her eyes closed at her desperation. She’d never reacted to a man like this so quickly. God, she needed to get laid.

Maybe if she hadn’t been distracted, she would have seen them and been able to avoid the group of kids on skateboards that came flying around the corner. When she attempted to dodge them, she cursed in embarrassment as her ankle gave out. Arms flailing in the air, Willow began to fall, her head hitting the trash can and...

Am I flying?

Large hands caught her and placed her gently on her feet, holding her steady.

“You okay?”

They both looked around at the kids who were rapidly calling out apologies and wisely hightailing it out of there.

Shaking, Willow took a deep breath and ran her hands over her body to make sure her pants weren’t ripped.

“Shit, thank you,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. There would be a nice lump there soon. “How did you catch me so fast?”

He shrugged. “I work out.”

“No kidding,” she replied without thinking.

He let out a little laugh as Willow wobbled on her ankle and stepped out of his hold.

“Seriously though, thank you. God, I’ll probably need another stupid ultrasound.” Willow glanced over at the clinic and cringed. The sonographer was still leaning over the counter, chatting. When she turned back, she found those silver eyes narrowed at her.

“Did that man harass you? I’ll—”

“No. Nothing like that,” she replied quickly, surprised by his response. “It was just a long wait, and I’m impatient.”

He nodded, looking unconvinced.

She wobbled some more. “Hey, listen, I better put this on ice. Thanks for catching me.” Willow gave him a grateful smile, straightened her handbag, and began limping away.

“Wait,” he told her, barking out the order and surprising her again. “You can’t drive like that.”

He had a point. She could feel her ankle swelling and her head beginning to pound. Her house was only a few minutes’ drive away, but it was still unsafe for her to be behind the wheel.

Willow looked around, considering how safe it would be to leave her car if she ordered an Uber.

“Sure, I’ll...” She turned, swayed, and once again, the man steadied her.

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