Page 93 of Temptation
She’s naked and soft and in my bed. Round breasts. Long legs. Slender hips.
Bare sex.
He wanted to slip between her legs. To put his mouth on her. To wake her up to pleasure. Already, his dick was hard as he gazed at her.
There was a naked Sloane in his bed. How could he not be hard?
But the memories of his past pulled at him, and he felt tainted. He’d meant what he told her before. No way should Sloane have saved herself for him.
He did not deserve her.
He should get out of the bed. He should send her far away from him.
Her eyes opened. Confusion came first. A flutter of her lashes. Then her lips began to curl in one of her gorgeous smiles. Only this time, it was the special smile. The one that made the gold show in her eyes. “Hi,” Sloane murmured.
Don’t look at me this way. Don’t stare at me with that warmth and look at me like I’m someone special.
Don’t look at me that way because…you just make me want what I should not have all the more.
She made him want to keep her, forever. To hold tight and never let go.
Voice husky and warm, Sloane told him, “I have to confess, I haven’t actually slept with anyone until you.”
Same. Because people did not get that close. Because he didn’t want a woman in bed with him if he woke up, thrashing, as he remembered being buried alive.
Or remembered killing a man.
Her smile flickered. “You…” Her smile dimmed completely. She sat up, seemed to realize that she was naked, and she tugged a sheet over her body. “You look upset. You want me to leave?” A brisk nod. “I’ll go to the guest room.”
When she tried to get out of the bed, he reached over and caught her hand. “I don’t want you to go anywhere.” That was the problem. He should make her go, but he wanted her to stay. Every time he closed his eyes, he wanted to open them and find Sloane beside him.
“Good.” Her shoulders slumped. “Because I didn’t want to go anywhere, either.” She snuggled back in bed with him. “This is exactly where I want to be.”
It should not be. “Why in the hell would you choose me?” A shake of his head. “You know what I’ve done.”
“Yes. I do.” No hesitation. “I happen to think that surviving hell, fighting for your life, and stopping a serial killer makes you pretty damn impressive. If you think you’re going to shock me and that I’ll run away in horror, you are looking at the wrong woman.” A roll of one shoulder. “First, it takes a whole lot to shock me in this world. A whole lot. And, second, I’m not planning to run from you.”
“Don’t.” Hard. “Don’t say what you don’t mean.” Don’t make me hope.
“I’m not running.” Very clear. “Not now. Not ever.”
Good. Because I don’t know that I can let you go. He’d found someone who fit him, who reached out to the darkest places inside of him. For the first time in years, he had hope. He had…
A tie.
A reason to keep his control.
He tumbled her back on the bed.
“Preston?”
Heart racing, he yanked the sheet from her. His Sloane. Beautiful. Strong. Sexy.
Alive. Safe. She’s safe with me. I will protect her. I will never rip open a coffin and find her cold body waiting.
Sloane was hot. She was life. She was hope.
He pushed her legs apart. “If you don’t want this, if you don’t want me, say?—”
