fought her awareness of him. The towering frame. The rough exterior. That face and those eyes that followed her everywhere.
She’d pretended she wasn’t aware of him. All through the negotiations as he stood by the door, she’d tried to mentally block him. When Bast finished the deal, Gabe took over and started planning. He switched from quiet but determined watchdog to drill sergeant, issuing orders and making decisions as if she didn’t get a vote. She’d been planning to put an end to his dictatorial reign when he drugged her water bottle, scooped her up and brought her here . . . wherever “here” was.
He shook his head. “You even wake up arguing and difficult.”
Not the first time she’d been called either. Still . . . “Excuse me?”
“Makes me sorry the drugs wore off so soon.”
The idea of nailing him in the gut tempted her. Lower would work even better. “Since you knocked me out against my will, changed my clothes and dragged me out here, you shouldn’t try taking the high road.”
“Had to be done.”
Typical. He thought he knew what she needed. She decided to remind him of a very basic fact: “I am trained.”
“True, but I’m better.”
When it came to stalking his prey, he likely was. Snipers excelled at shooting, but the real skill came with the ability to move in and around without anyone knowing where they were. Not that she was ready to concede anything to this guy. “Get off me.”
“No.”
The bruising cold of the ground contrasted with the warmth of his body. He wore an outfit similar to hers, jeans and a flannel shirt, but heat poured off him. Forget the dropping temperatures and never-ending fall of snow. None of it appeared to affect him.
She shifted her hips and felt the bulge in his pants and the way it pressed against her. Not erect, but the man was not small and seemed to have an issue with personal boundaries. That only made her more determined to impose a few. “Are you so hard up for sex that you tackle random women?”
“No.”
“I can feel you.”
He didn’t bother to lift up or move. Didn’t spend one second hesitating or looking guilty. “I would think so, since I’m basically on top of you.”
It was hard to argue that point. She started to buck her hips with the idea of knocking him off balance but changed her mind. The friction could take them in the wrong direction, and she needed every ounce of concentration right now.
The icy cold of the ground seeped into her bones. The combination of the drugs and the dropping temperature had her body in freefall. She’d start losing feeling soon, much faster than she normally would, and if she didn’t get inside and dry, she could be in huge trouble. The weather appeared to have no impact on him. He stayed warm, got hard. Never even shivered. Of course, no one had messed with his body or brain to get him out here.
She decided to go with the obvious problem. “Your dick is against my thigh.” She could feel all of him everywhere. The muscles across his chest and his flat stomach. For a big guy he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him.
“Where should it be?”
The way he acted, like it was no big deal and not a threat in any way, had her thinking he might have even fewer people skills than she did. “Not on me.”
“Sorry about that.” Nothing more. Not even a shift to the side.
“That’s your response?”
“Yes.”
The whole he-man thing should have pissed her off. Instead, confusion had her brain cells sputtering. He didn’t take any crap but didn’t flinch when she fought back. She couldn’t intimidate him. He didn’t resort to stupid insults like the ones she used to hear whispered behind her back at the office.
She couldn’t put the pieces together in her head, but she could fall back on the denial that served her so well in the past. “I don’t want your protection.”
“So you keep saying.”
His exasperated exhale blew over her, but she ignored his frustration. “You should listen then. I’m not great with repetition.”
“Fine, I heard what you want.”
“And?”
“Tough.” He sat up and moved back. Still straddling her thighs, he pulled her up and got her back off the ground.
Her instincts told her to take a shot. Knock him back and run. But she didn’t. She sat there and waited to see his next move. Might have had something to do with the very