Obsessed (The Protectors #13) - Sloane Kennedy Page 0,25

him mine in every way that I could.

But that was exactly why I'd walked away. Because for the first time in my life, I'd actually been afraid that I wouldn't be able to walk away. That was how I'd known it was time to go. That was how I'd been able to take a step back from him even after I’d touched his warm skin.

By the time I'd reached my car, I'd vowed to never again return to the little ranch style house in the Beaver Cleaver neighborhood. And yet, here I was.

I took a sip of the beer but kept my eyes on Sam the whole time. I watched him as he watched me. Well, my throat, anyway. His eyes were fixated on that particular part of my body as I swallowed the icy-cold liquid. I told myself that I should just fuck him and get it over with, but my brain overruled my body and I found myself turning back around to focus my attention on the window. I'd found the glass in Sam's garage, along with the one for his kid’s window—Ryan… Ryan’s window. My plan was to tackle that job next, then deal with Sam's flimsy locks. He needed a security system too, but I'd focus on the locks first.

"Matias—"

"I knocked," I interjected before Sam could ask me the question.

"What?"

"I knocked on your door," I said simply. "You didn't answer."

"I was dropping Ryan off at his afterschool program. He hasn't been ready to go back to school itself, but he feels safe at the afterschool place because Elliot volunteers there a couple of afternoons a week. He and your brother are going to take Ryan to a movie tonight." Sam paused a beat before he said my name again, but coward that I was, I began nailing the frame for the window into place. I took my time with the task. Assuming my blatantly rude gesture had done the trick and sent Sam scurrying, I reached down to grab a nail from the box on the ground but it was no longer there.

I turned around and saw Sam holding a single nail in his hand. He extended it to me and said, "I can do this as long as you can. We are going to talk about this."

His stubbornness was not a good thing because it chipped away at the wall I'd put up between myself and him… the wall that was keeping me from putting my hands on him again. The very last thing he should be doing was challenging me in any kind of way. I took the nail from him and stepped into his space. He shifted nervously for a moment but stood his ground. My cock filled even more in anticipation. "What is it that we're doing?" I asked.

Instead of answering me, Sam softly said, "Thank you, Matias."

His words caught me off guard and, admittedly, made me more than uncomfortable. I didn't want his thanks. I didn't want his kindness or his understanding. I didn't want him trying to figure me out. I wanted him to keep his distance so I could keep mine. I wanted to not wonder why I was doing this dance with him. I wanted to bury my body within his and be done with it so I could get back to my normal life, even if normal was relative in my case.

"I told you, I broke it, I fix—"

"You saved my son's life. Probably my life too. Blake was clearly unstable. So thank you for what you did. I know I said it that night, but it wasn’t enough. No words could ever be enough."

Sam's heartfelt admission made something in my gut tighten uncomfortably. "Was that the fucker's name?" I asked. It was one of those questions that I already had the answer to, but I was desperate to get the focus off me and back where it belonged.

"Yes. Blake. He worked for me before I retired."

Sam sounded disappointed, but I wasn't sure if it was because I'd swept aside his words of thanks or if he was thinking about his former employee’s betrayal. I chose to believe it was the latter because that was much easier to deal with.

"He was in love with you," I said. Rage began simmering in my blood as I thought about what the lunatic could have done to Sam if he'd managed to abduct him like he’d planned. I slammed the nail into the window frame with one hit of the