his eyes. He didn’t just spout bravado; he meant to keep his word even after taking a serious injury.
“Who’s out there now? Does Trent have anyone posted up?”
She gaped at him. “Just a scratch? Seth—”
“Lilah, if you don’t tell me what’s happening outside this room, I will be forced to get out of bed and find out for myself. Do you want me to tear my stitches?”
“No. No!” She let off an incredulous laugh. The fucking balls on him. She’d be impressed if he wasn’t so damned determined to be stupid. “Everything is handled. Stay in bed. Please.”
“Okay, I’m getting up.”
“You absolutely are not! Hailey told me to keep you in bed.”
He ignored her. With a wince that said his insides wanted to finish cracking him open, he maneuvered to sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Seth,” she warned.
The idiot man groaned and pushed to his feet.
Lilah rushed the few feet separating them and planted her hands on his chest. Heat flashed through her and warmed her cheeks. “You need to rest,” she insisted.
“I need to make sure those fuckers aren’t sneaking up as we speak.”
They swayed, both off balance, both trying to figure out where to step. In a tangle of feet, Seth fell back on the bed and dragged Lilah down with him.
Lilah tipped her head back and met Seth’s gaze. She saw the truth of his words, the depths of his promise, and more. So much more. Words failed her entirely.
Slowly, gently, he pressed his lips to hers.
Wrong. So wrong. He was bad for her. He didn’t listen to reason, for one. He threw himself into danger at the drop of a hat.
He’d kept her safe. From the assholes trying to kill her and from her own misguided decisions.
His mouth slid over hers, moving with an expertise that both excited and alarmed. She wanted more. Craved more. And worried how much more complicated her life had become.
Seth slid his hands into her hair, and all her objections vanished before they were fully formed. Hot desire spread through her veins the moment he swept his tongue over the seam of her lips. She opened for him, melting into him as he deepened the kiss.
A low groan rumbled in his chest, vibrating through her, simmered in her middle. He tightened his fingers in her hair, then ran his palms down her back. She whimpered against his lips when his fingers grazed over her ass. The noise was the permission he needed to hear because a second later, he grabbed a handful and hauled her closer.
Lilah’s breath turned to needy pants as she felt his hard length trapped between their bodies. He felt so good. So right. She wasn’t Lilah the Victim with him. She wasn’t ignored, shoved aside, thought of as crazy. He saw her, kept her safe. Made her feel normal and wanted.
Which was wrong, she tried to remind herself. Another groan—his, hers, she couldn’t tell—wiped away the thought and pulled her back into him and the feeling of his hands, his mouth, on her body.
He eased back with a final nip to her lower lip. Lilah lifted herself up on her forearms, fingers still splayed over his chest. Dark, hooded eyes watched her with an intensity that both startled her and kept the fire burning in her core.
She ducked her eyes to hide her smile. Dryly, she told him, “There had to be an easier way to get me to share the bed with you.”
“With you?” Seth snorted. “I’m surprised it only took being clawed.”
A beat. A flush spread over her cheeks. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
Seth lifted a hand to her face and stroked a thumb over her cheekbone before sliding deeper into her hair. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Chapter 14
“Rise and shine, fuckleheads!”
Seth cracked his eyes open and squinted in the daylight. Fuck. He didn’t know exactly when he’d fallen asleep, but he sure as hell slept through the morning chores.
He turned his head to the weight on his shoulder. Lilah curled against his side, her soft hair tickling his skin in the draft from the air conditioner.
Not a dream. Or maybe the best kind, where he kept on dreaming through whatever disturbance waited for him out of bed. Either way, he tightened his grip on her shoulder and pulled her just a little closer.
Her sweet scent filled his nose and left him aching for another taste of her lips. His cock throbbed to life with the idea. It was all he could do to