“Look at it this way,” Kane muttered behind him. “At least you have a reason for being pu**y-whipped. No need to be ashamed.”
Taber eyed him in irritation. “You know, Kane, when Sherra finally decides to show you what you keep daring her to, I’m going to enjoy giving you back every smart-assed remark you’ve ever made. Count on that.”
“Meow.” Kane chuckled. “Good luck, Garfield. Catch ya around.”
“Roni?” Taber questioned her when she didn’t move from the doorway. “Is everything okay?”
It wasn’t. He could smell the desperate heat coming off her body, but mixed with that, he could sense the pain she was fighting so hard to tamp down.
She glanced at the other men. “I’ll come back. I didn’t know you were busy.”
“That’s okay.” He shook his head in response. “We’re pretty much finished up here.”
He moved to her, amazed at the sensitivity of his own flesh as he neared her. As though a part of him longed for nothing more than her touch. It was a strange feeling for a man who had never known such a weakness before.
He watched the way she glanced at the others uncomfortably, her gaze flickering to them before lowering. A light blush stained her cheeks and the soft color only added to the beauty that never failed to amaze him.
“What’s wrong?” He nuzzled her cheek gently as his hand cupped her hip, moving her against him just enough to feel the warmth of her body.
“You know what’s wrong.” Her voice was tight, tense with the heat he knew traveled through her body, through his own. “And don’t think for one minute I’m pleased about it. Now let me talk toReginald so we can get him the hell out of here. Tell your guard dogs to back down.”
“Cats, Ms. Andrews,” Kane laughed. “Wrong species.”
Various snarls greeted his words, not the least of which was Taber’s. He was running out of patience with his loosely related brother-in-law.
“No.” He finally turned back to her, regretting the anger that flared in her eyes. “Not yet, Roni. Not until I know how dangerous he is. I won’t allow you to see him.”
He watched the fire that snapped in her eyes, his c**k thickening in arousal as he felt her preparing to defy him.
“Won’t allow me?” she snapped furiously. “You won’t allow me? Since when, Taber Williams, do you have the right to allow me anything?”
He smiled tightly, tamping down the need to show her, rather than tell her, exactly what gave him that right. She was tempting him. Daring him. Pitting her stubbornness against his own, and he was about to inform her who would win. In no uncertain terms.
“When I took you to the floor and mounted you, I took the right to protect you as well,” he informed her coolly. “Mate.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The office cleared out rather quickly after Taber’s words seemed to echo around the room. His voice pulsed with ire, with lust, setting her nerves on edge, causing the blood to thunder through her veins. She couldn’t figure out how he managed to do it. It had to be that damned hormone he kept infecting her with. To say his kiss was addicting would be an understatement in his case.
“You have no right to tell me what to do, or how to handle my own father,” she snapped, slamming the door behind her. “And you sure as hell don’t own me just because you managed to infect me.”
“Infect you?” he snarled. “Goddammit, Roni, it’s not a disease.”
“Bet me,” she dared him recklessly, her anger and her lust merging. “It’s painful, Taber. And I don’t like the reaction it produces.” The lie nearly seared her lips on its way out. There was nothing she liked more than the results of the searing heat they shared. “And I sure as hell don’t like this possessive attitude you seem to want to take.”
“Too bad.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he stared back at her furiously. “Guess you’re just going to have to live with it, aren’t you?”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her lips thinning with her rising anger. Now, if she could just get her br**sts to stop swelling and her vagina to dry up, maybe she could really blast into him. It was hard to be pissed when all she wanted was to be f**ked.
“Taber, I’m about to lose my patience with you.” She sighed roughly, pushing her fingers through her hair, hating the sensual feel of it sliding along the bare skin of her upper back. She knew better than to let Merinus talk her into wearing this damned dress.
“Why?” He laughed in surprise. “For God’s sake, Roni, all I’m trying to do is protect you, not lock you up. As soon as we figure out what the hell he’s up to I’ll let you run him off personally.”
She gave him a resentful look. “No you wouldn’t. It might be too dangerous .” She drew the last word out mockingly.
Taber sighed. The sound of it pricked at her conscience.
“Is it so bad, Roni, to need to protect you?” he asked her softly, watching her with a heated, lust-filled gaze.