Page 30 of Deserving Lara
“Thanks.” She picked up one of his hands and brought it to her mouth, where she kissed his knuckles. “I’m glad your hands are okay.”
A jolt of arousal shot through Owl once more. Seeing her lips on his skin made him think of her lips somewhere else. It was inappropriate as hell, and he kind of hated himself for thinking such carnal things, but he couldn’t help it.
“Me too,” he said unsteadily.
When she lifted her gaze to his this time, Owl could’ve sworn he saw the same arousal he was feeling reflected in her eyes. But it was probably wishful thinking.
“Come on, lazy bones. If we hurry, we can probably catch the tail end of Pipe’s training.”
Owl stood, taking Lara with him. He should’ve dropped his hand from around her waist, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. All too soon, she’d be strong enough not to need him…and he was dreading that day more and more.
* * *
Lara was only a little embarrassed when everyone turned to glance at them when they re-entered the conference room Pipe was using for the self-defense lessons. But thankfully, no one made her feel weird about leaving halfway through. Then again, she didn’t really expect them to. The women she’d gotten to know at The Refuge were good down to their cores.
This time, when she was practicing kicks on a very patient and trusting Owl, instead of thinking about how useless this would be against Carter, who was bigger and stronger than she’d ever be, she imagined kicking his knee out from under him. Pipe said over and over how the goal wasn’t to completely overpower an attacker, it was simply to incapacitate him long enough to get away.
During a break from practice, while Cora was demonstrating on Pipe the different places to hurt someone, and how to use other parts of your body than just hands and feet—using elbows, knees, and even your head as a last resort—Lara became hyper aware of Owl standing next to her.
They were so close, his arm was brushing against hers. She could smell the soap he’d used in the shower that morning. She was keenly aware that if she moved even a little, she’d be pressed up against his side. And she had no doubt that if she did that, he’d lift his arm and put it around her waist so she’d fit against him even better.
Blinking in surprise at the sudden jolt of arousal that shot through her, Lara held her breath. She’d thought that after…Well,after…she’d never feel arousal for a man again. That Carter had ruined any kind of desire to be intimate.
But she was definitely feeling desire at the moment.
She thought back over the last few months. Owl had been nothing but careful with her. Giving her the space she needed. Only touching her now and then. But with every day that passed, and she felt less scared and needy, Lara wanted the man even closer. And not just because she needed him to feel safe. He did that for her, of course, but more than that, shelikedhim.
As a person. As a friend.
As a man.
Glancing at him, she saw he was paying close attention to what Pipe was saying. She recalled him mentioning once that he wished he’d gotten a lot more hand-to-hand training. Now, it was obvious he respected his friend and was getting as much out of the lesson as the women.
He must have felt her staring, because he turned his head and caught her eye.
“You good?” he asked as his brows furrowed in concern.
Lara gave him a small smile and nodded.
He reached around her and squeezed her upper arm briefly, before turning his attention back to Pipe.
That simple touch sent sparks down her arm, straight to between her legs.
Damn! If that simple embrace made her feel so tingly, what would their entire bodies touching skin-to-skin feel like?
Lara blinked, shocked at the idea. Did she really think she could be intimate with Owl? After what she’d been through?
Yeah. She thought she could.
Owl wasn’t Carter. Wasn’t anything likehewas. Owl would rather die than hurt her in any way.
And just that suddenly…Lara wanted him.
The question was, did he want her the same way? Maybe he was simply being the kind man he always was. Maybe he thought of her like a sister. He might be horrified to learn that she thought of him in a sexual way.
“Lara? Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
She jerked. Shoot, he’d turned to look at her again, and she’d missed it because she was thinking about what it would be like to be naked in bed with the man.Thatthought made her lick her lips in anticipation. He’d kissed her a couple times, tender kisses to her temple or forehead, and suddenly she wanted to know what his lips might feel like against hers.
