When he focused on her again, he’d donned a mask of cool indifference. “Baby, I never claimed to be nice.”
“Good, because sometimes I don’t want nice,” she whispered. His clean scent filled her nostrils. His touch nourished her, rebuilt a part that had been broken. The air was charged with her anticipation and his lust. His cock was hard and wedged between them, pressing against her belly.
On impulse, she clutched both sides of his face and kissed him.
Chapter 8
A rough, playful action, the kiss took Rock by surprise, and before he had the chance to react, it was over. She carelessly poked a stick at the beast he’d chained, with no idea what was inside. Even Amber women found his proclivity for extreme sex more kinky than they desired. He relished the challenge presented by this impulsive and unpredictable woman who zigged when he expected her to zag.
The lone fixture burning in the kitchen provided enough shadowy light to see the lovely sight before him. He focused his attention, seeking to read what wasn’t said with words. In a flash, he flipped them until Laila was on the couch beneath him.
She gasped. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes danced. She was playing with him.
“Yeah, I’m mean.” The gravel in his voice was as menacing as he could make it. “And depraved.”
Her breaths came faster.
“Demanding.”
Her pupils dilated.
“Controlling.”
The pulse at the side of her neck quickened underneath his index finger. She hung on every syllable, unblinking.
He leaned in closer. “Domineering.”
Her lush lips parted, and displayed the barest peek of her sweet tongue.
“And strict.”
Her pupils swallowed up the deep brown of her irises, and her peaked nipples hardened against his chest. He shifted slightly, positioning his lips next to her ear, and whispered, “I’m the kind of man your mama told you to stay away from.”
He finished the sentence, and she’d stopped breathing. Their faces were mere inches apart again. “Breathe,” he whispered.
Wide-eyed, she inhaled a hearty gulp of air.
Breathing heavily himself, Rock was a hair trigger away from unleashing his lust. “Now, I’m tired. Didn’t sleep well last night. Let’s go to bed.” He sat, bringing her with him.
She squealed.
“To sleep.”
She frowned and pouted. He lifted her until they were chest to chest. She wrapped her legs around him, and cupping her cute little bottom, he carried her up the stairs.
He set her on her feet next to the bed and took a knee in front of her. Hooking his fingers at the waistband of her shorts, he slid the material down and lifted each of her feet to free her of the garment. “Lie down.” He turned away from her while he folded her shorts and placed them in one of the dresser drawers he’d emptied that afternoon. He removed his T-shirt and jeans, stowed those away as well.
Laila spread out under the top sheet.
He shut off the light and slid in next to her. Covering the ache in the middle of his chest with his palm, he allowed himself to feel more in that moment than he had in a year. His defenses were gone, with this Amber woman, and he was about as wide open to an onslaught of emotions as he’d ever been. He’d always known someday he wouldn’t be able to contain them any longer. He’d expected he’d end up murdering someone when they broke free, but this was bearable.
Laila scooted close, burrowing into his side until he turned toward her and completely surrounded her with himself. Her slow, regular breathing followed, and didn’t it just figure, he was wide fucking awake.
She’d surprised him today. He didn’t surprise easily or often. He prided himself on that. Her courage with Morgan, her reactions to his words—breathtaking.
She needed more than benefriends.
So did he.
The possibility she might be able to give all of herself to him, hand everything over completely and trust, made anticipation thrum through him.
Rock hovered on the threshold of sleep, his thoughts roaming in a lucid dream while his consciousness was completely aware of the woman who slept next to him.
He dozed for a few hours but was fully awake earlier than normal. Above him, high windows displayed the slight fade from black to navy blue in the eastern sky. He’d be generous and call it five thirty in the morning, but just barely.
Laila was beside him, her hair partially covering her face. Her light breaths fanned his chest. Their legs were entwined, his dick hard and demanding attention. Throwing an arm over his eyes, he groaned. He was screwed.
Rock gingerly slid out of bed and padded downstairs. The house hadn’t cooled much overnight, and it was going to be another hot one today. Not ideal for Laila’s first day of real training, but this would be the first of many hot days of exertion for her. She might as well know what she was getting into.
The lone light burning over the center island in the kitchen beckoned. He sat at one of the high stools and put his earbud in his ear. “Call Dad.”
“Two nights in a row?” His father answered the call with a raspy voice. “This new assignment got you in a twist?”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Bullshit, or you wouldn’t be calling me in the middle of the fucking night.”
Rock chuckled.
“Have you spent time with her yet?”
“Yeah. Her name’s Laila Lewis. She grew up Amber.”
“Tell me about her.”
“She’s…” Rock fell silent until he found the right words. “She’s intelligent, fun, Amber through and through. She’s been soaking up the touch time since she found out I’m from Amber too.”
“Pretty?”
“Very.”
“Sounds like you like her. You going to take her on in a personal capacity?” Rock could tell his father smiled as he asked the question.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Rock’s chest clenched and guilt sat heavy in the pit of his stomach.
His father sighed. “You’re alive, Rock. You didn’t die on that floor. You have to start living again.”
“I know. I just feel guilty. Like I’m betraying her by even having this conversation.”
“All I’m saying is, it’s okay to let go.”
“How do I do that?” he asked, louder than he’d intended. He reined in his knee-jerk reaction. “Because I don’t know how. Not without making what we had seem less somehow. Less mind-blowing.” The sob stuffing his throat made it difficult to speak. “Less gut wrenching. Nothing about what we had was less, Dad.”
“I know, son. I loved her, too. But I love you more, and if you have even a slight chance to build something again with someone else, you have to take it. It won’t cheapen what you and Emily had. And, Rock, she would have wanted you to be happy.”
Silence between them lengthened. Rock tried to lighten the mood. “Well, in any case, it’s a good thing I don’t have to spend the next couple of months with a troll.”
His father laughed. Then, after