Rough and Ready (More Than A Cowboy #2) - Vanessa Vale Page 0,47

arms. She was safe. I didn’t want to talk. I just wanted to hold her, kiss her, hell, sink into her sweet pussy. But no. I had to know what was going on before we could move forward. While she’d opened up to me, there was a shit ton of stuff left unsaid.

I sighed, felt her warmth seep into me. “Tell me about the guys in the car.”

She stiffened but didn’t move. “They’re here?” she whispered.

I pushed her away from me only enough so I could tilt my head down, meet her eyes. “Now? Yeah. Several other times.” She glanced away, and I gently turned her chin back, so she had to look at me. “Who are they?”

“I… I don’t want to talk about it.”

I looked between her eyes, saw the fear, the anguish. I wanted to take that away.

“Don’t?”

“Can’t.”

I brushed my thumb over the little indent in her chin. “Why?”

She sighed, lifted her hand to cup my jaw. It was the first time she’d touched me, initiated the contact because she wanted to. She was studying me as I had her. “I don’t want you hurt.”

She doesn’t want me—

Something broke in me then. I’d been trying to stay two steps ahead of my past for years. First the military then training with Gray. I fought and fought to escape what I’d done, what I’d become. In and out of the ring. I’d done all that because I wanted to be better than the boy my parents had done shit to raise. I’d even thought I’d done a damn good job of breaking away from it all.

But now? Harper’s words changed it all. She didn’t want to hurt me. If she knew my past, knew what I was capable of, she’d know that was impossible. I could take care of myself. I had my whole life. But now I wanted to be the man she saw.

Somehow, Harper recognized something in me that I didn’t. That no one else did. And that made me want to prove she wasn’t wrong, that I really was the guy she saw. There was nothing on earth that would stop me from kissing her. My mouth met hers, and for a second, she was stunned. So was I. It was better than I imagined, that kept me awake at night. Her lips were so soft, just the feel of them against mine had me groaning. I cupped the back of her head, held her there, gently. Reverently.

This.

Fuck, this. I kissed across her closed mouth, learning every bow and curve from corner to corner, flicking my tongue out to lick, taste. When she opened for me, I didn’t hold back. I took, but I gave, too. Fuck, this was what I’d been aching for since the moment I saw her. All the time, I knew she was thousands of miles away, and I couldn’t touch her. I’d wanted to ease that fear, even of a damn elevator, and I’d ease it now. As long as she was sitting in my damned lap, everything was going to be fine.

She whimpered and began to shift in my lap. There was no chance she could miss how hard I was. I wanted her. Literally ached with the need to be inside her, but it wasn’t the right fucking time. When I claimed her, I wanted her mind solely on me. Hell, I wanted her mind completely blank.

I pulled back but held her head still, took in how her long, dark lashes were fanned over her pale skin. Her eyes opened slowly, met mine.

“Hey,” I murmured.

She offered me a small smile—this time genuine. I loved the way her cheeks flushed, and her eyes had lost the fear.

“This… thing between us?” I slid my thumb over her cheek. “It’s my job to protect you. That’s how this works. You give me your problems, and I take care of them.”

She licked her lips, and I stifled a groan. “Just like that?”

“Just like that. Do I look like I’m not strong enough to take care of you?” Her gaze raked over me, and she shook her head, her silky hair sliding over my fingers. “Tell me.”

She looked down, but I wouldn’t have it. I easily lifted her, so she straddled me, but this time she was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a thick hoodie sweatshirt. My hands went to her hips, held her in place, but my thumbs stroked over her taut muscles. She wasn’t going to avoid me any