Obsessed (The Protectors #13) - Sloane Kennedy Page 0,11

but instead of answering me, Matias reached for the bandage in my hand. I let him take it from me, assuming he just wanted to wrap his hand himself. But instead of doing that, he dropped the bandage on the bed. The piece of gauze I'd applied had a little bit of adhesive on the pad, so it stayed put on its own.

"He loved you?" Matias asked.

It was the very last question I'd been expecting. The fact that we were once again back on the subject of Mac should've angered me, but I was too focused on his question. One of the hardest things about losing Mac was that I hadn't had anyone to talk to about him once he'd passed. He hadn't had any family, and I hadn't had any kind of relationship with my own. And the men he’d once called friends had been the same men who'd betrayed him and put him, however indirectly, into his coffin. So to have this man in front of me, this virtual stranger, ask me about Mac stung like a son of a bitch, but there was this odd sense of relief too. In so many ways it felt like I was forgetting everything about Mac, but the one simple question from Matias had instantly caused a host of memories to go through me.

Things like where we'd been when Mac had told me he loved me for the first time, my excitement when he'd asked me to move in with him, my fears and joys when he’d told me he wanted us to have children.

"In the best way," I admitted, because saying yes to that simple question didn't do the answer justice.

Matias nodded. "It feels wrong, then?" he asked as he slowly stood up. I didn't get a chance to ask him what he meant, because he continued on his own. Though, as soon as I heard the rest of what he had to say, I wished I hadn't.

"Wanting me.”

Chapter 5

Matias

Cruz had always said I lacked the filter that most people had when it came to the things they said. In my mind, it just made it easier for those people to lie. And I had absolutely no interest in lying to Sam.

In addition to the no-filter thing, many of the guys I’d fucked had told me afterwards that I was a callous son of a bitch who got off on using people. I’d never bothered to clarify that I didn't get off on using people, I used people to get off. Though, I supposed, maybe it really was the same thing. That was why I always made sure the guys I was with knew the score… the no-filter thing came in handy in those cases.

I’d figured it would help cut through any unnecessary bullshit with Sam too. I got that he was hung up on his husband, but the man had been dead a long time and Sam was very much alive. It was as simple as that.

Those were the words I told myself, anyway, as I watched Sam's expression fall for a moment before hardening into what I could only classify as pure fury. It was exactly what I needed to happen. What I'd been waiting for.

The second Sam opened his mouth to lay into me, I reached out to snag the back of his head and dragged him forward at the same time that I crashed my mouth down onto his. Sam was so surprised that he didn't move for several seconds. He didn't kiss me back either.

When he did react, not surprisingly, he shoved at my chest hard and yanked his mouth from mine. I had my fingers threaded in his hair while my arm was around his waist, so he wasn't able to escape me completely. His breath came out in heavy pants as he dropped his left hand to the forearm I had at his waist and dug his fingers into my skin. The mere fact that he wasn't trying to push my arm away from his body had me leaving my arm exactly where it was.

"Let me go," Sam demanded, though he still made no effort to step away from me. While my hold on his hair was firm, one twist and he could have easily gotten away from me.

I dropped my mouth to the shell of his ear and nuzzled the soft skin just behind it. "Is that really what you want?" I whispered to him. I had no interest at all in