Her Marine Next Door - Aliyah Burke Page 0,19
He shook his head. “I won’t.”
The proprietary tone of his words would have been panty-melting if she had any on. “You want me?”
“I want to see where this will go for this short time. I’m home rehabbing. I’m here about a month. Are you okay with that?”
She shook her head, instinctively needing to protect herself. “I don’t know if that’s a smart idea. Like you said, this is just a ruse. I’m not happy with you inserting yourself into my life. I have things to do. Plans. That kind of thing.”
Yes, right there. Be mad again, find that, and hold on to it. It seemed to be one of the few things that didn’t lead her mind to sex with this man.
“Because of the kid? Or is it the parties? The women are there for my friends. You’d be the first woman I’ve been with in over a year.”
She drew back, brow furrowing at his admission. “What?”
His half smile was sexy as fuck. He moved toward her and stopped just shy of touching her.
“You heard me fine, Skylar. I’ve wanted you.” He skimmed his thumb along her cheek.
She closed her eyes, remembering his large, strong hands in her hair last night, holding her where he wanted her. Holding her as if she meant something to him more than just sex. As if this wasn’t more than just a ploy to be a pussyblocker.
Was that even a term? What was that called? Was she still a cockblocker?
“You’re an ass to me.” She scrambled to find a reason this wouldn’t work. A reason to keep up all her walls and do what she could to protect her heart. After what Reggie had done to her, she had to stay strong.
He dragged a knuckle up her cheek with a shrug. “School ground mentality. Pick on the girl who you want.”
Panic began to sink in. She couldn’t do this again. She couldn’t be in a relationship, especially one that would only last a month. She couldn’t handle the pain at the end.
“Just sex? And we stay out of each other’s way unless your baby momma is around.” Damn. She was supposed to tell him they shouldn’t let it happen.
“Is this your way of saying you don’t want to go out on dates with me, Skylar Radford? Because as my fiancée, you’re going to be going out with me a lot.”
“I’m not one who is all for going out a lot.” Not sure she ever would be again.
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “You will be faithful to me. And we’ll have to go out a few times.”
“Yes, as you will be.” This she had no problem with, because it gnawed at her like a dog on a bone to think of those other women being able to touch him.
“Fuck, yes.” He drew her close to his chest.
She loved the scent of his skin and how warm he was. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but think this was a colossal mistake.
“Why don’t you go lie down. I know you didn’t get much sleep. I’ll bring Alpin in.”
“No, thank you. The door’s open and he’ll be in when he wants. I should be getting to my work.”
“Is this your way of telling me I should get lost?”
She thought about the best way to word what she needed to convey. “This is me telling you to go home to your…erm…guests.” She pasted on a smile. “You should at least go see Cullen.”
He chucked her under the chin. “I need you to trust me that I don’t want her.”
“You’re a grown man, Parker.”
He flashed a grin. “Glad you noticed.”
And the arrogant male was back. Hard not to notice. “Go.”
He kissed her, and she sank into him again. Slightly dazed and a bit confused when he stepped away, she touched her lips as he walked out the front door without a glance back. The moment he was gone, she ran for her phone and called Lesli, her sister-in-law. Ex sister-in-law. Late sister-in-law? Hell, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be called, other than friend.
Her instinct was to call Ryliee, her best friend, but she wasn’t able to get calls for another two weeks. Sometimes she hated that Ryliee could be gone and unreachable for these periods of time. Even so, Lesli was a decent second choice.
“This shit better be good for you to be calling me this early, Sky.”
She told Lesli what had passed between