Obsessed (The Protectors #13) - Sloane Kennedy Page 0,51

abandon I could get out of the arrangement than face the truth of Matias's character, but it was what it was.

"You’ve got two amazing kids, Sam. I know you don't trust me after everything that happened with Declan, but I love Elliot with everything I am. I promise to never give you a reason to doubt that ever again."

"I've seen the way my son looks at you, Cruz. Your feelings for him have never been in doubt. Not in my mind and certainly not in his. You and I are good, son."

Cruz swallowed hard and nodded before returning his attention back to the refrigerator. He seemed embarrassed, so I didn't focus any more of my attention on him as he left the kitchen. But within seconds, his footsteps returned. "Did you forget something?" I asked as I turned to smile at him. I was greeted with firm lips settling over mine and a familiar tongue sweeping into my mouth.

I groaned as Matias pulled me into his arms.

"I didn’t get to do that last night because someone fell asleep on me," he murmured.

He kissed me again before I had a chance to respond. It was the sound of the television turning on in the next room that reminded me of where we were. I pulled free of Matias's hold and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Needed a bottle opener," Matias said as he held up one of the beers.

"It's a twist-off cap," I said.

"So it is," Matias said without even looking at the bottle.

His intense stare had me quivering and if we’d been alone, I would've already been on my knees by now. Or my back. Whichever he preferred.

I shook off the image of him taking me on my kitchen floor. "What are you doing here in the house?" I asked. Not surprisingly, Matias didn't answer.

Elliot calling from the next room made it so he didn't have to. "Come on, movie is starting, guys!"

"So is it true?" Matias asked softly as he pressed even closer to me.

"Is what true?"

"You're not a fan of scary movies."

"You going to poke fun at the movie wimp too?" I asked. I allowed myself a few precious moments to let my body sink into his.

Matias dropped his head and nuzzled my neck. "Don't worry, baby, I'll protect you," he whispered, then he pressed the softest of kisses against the spot where my neck met my shoulder. He held there for a moment before finally stepping back. He twisted the cap off the bottle of beer and tossed it into the garbage can in the corner of the kitchen. Then he was gone, and I was left thinking only one thing.

And just who was going to protect me from him?

"Dino dining!"

As Elliot yelled the phrase, he and Cruz jumped into action to cover my youngest son's eyes and ears, eliciting a warbled laugh from Ryan. My child's delight made everything in my world right at that moment. But I had a feeling it wasn't only because of my son’s innocent joy as his big brother and Cruz made the entire movie experience a thousand times more memorable. No, I was afraid that a good deal of my contentment came from the man sitting on the other side of the living room.

From the moment the movie had started, I'd been on edge that my relationship with Matias would get outed and ruin the evening for everyone, but if Cruz and Elliot had noticed anything odd about my interactions with Matias or, in this case, my lack thereof, they didn't make it obvious. There were no questioning or confused looks from either my oldest son or his boyfriend. By the time the first character had been killed off in the movie, I'd finally started to relax and now as the film was nearing its end, I was caught up in both the action on screen and the things that were happening off it, as well.

Mainly, the looks Matias would send me whenever his brother and Elliot were focused on the television. They were looks of promise and more than once I’d had to excuse myself on the pretense of getting more popcorn when, in fact, what I'd really needed to do was get control of my crazy libido. As much fun as I was having watching Ryan enjoy the movie he'd been waiting so long to see, I was also watching the clock like a hawk. It was already slightly past Ryan's bedtime, so my hope was that he