Read Online Under His Protection by Karen Erickson - Free Book Online Page A

with his touch. He
was tempted to do more.
    Being around her day in and day out, seeing
her just before she went to bed, and first thing in the morning, it
both turned him on and pissed him off. Being with her so closely,
it made him want things. Things he couldn’t have.
    It frustrated her too. The attraction
between them was palpable, getting harder to deny. Rather than
spend time with him, Blake had avoided him as much as possible. She
was cold and distant, barely speaking to him unless she had to. The
disdain had radiated from her in powerful waves, smacking him right
in the chest, a direct hit to the heart.
    Oh yeah, and to the groin. His cock had
wanted to shrivel up and die. It sucked to be on Blake Hewitt’s
hate list.
    Now that he held her close, her slender form
pressed directly against him, he realized he needed to be in her
good graces again. He wanted to touch her, offer her comfort in
other closer, more feel-good-type ways.
    Nothing new there. The urge was so strong,
stronger than it had ever been. And he was so tired of fighting it.
He always fought it.
    For once, just once, he wanted to give
in.
    He moved his hand, resting it on the back of
her head, sinking into her soft hair. The strands tangled around
his fingers and he stroked down, until he reached the curling ends.
Watched them fall from his fingertips to rest once more against her
back.
    She sighed, nuzzling her face closer,
pressed against the spot where his neck and shoulder met. He could
feel her hot breath on his skin, the faint dampness of her tears
and he closed his eyes, swallowed hard.
    Mason stroked her hair again and again,
unable to stop. Loving the way the soft tumbling mass sifted
through his fingers. Her subtle fragrance wafted upward, filling
his senses with the scent of flowers and rain and the barest hint
of spice and heat.
    “That feels good,” she whispered, her warm
lips brushing against his neck when she spoke.
    God, so did that, he wanted to say, but he
held back. Not ready to reveal how he really felt.
    Eventually, she’d use it against him and
sucker that he was, he’d let her.
    He dropped his hand away from her and she
lifted her head, her gaze meeting his. Glistening blue eyes stared
up at him, her nose red, her lips puffy and swollen. She looked a
mess.
    She looked beautiful.
    He pushed her hair away from her forehead,
his fingers lingering on her soft skin. “Are you okay?”
    With a nod, she smiled, though it didn’t
quite reach her eyes. “I am now.”
    This was what she’d wanted all this time.
After all the flirtation, the taunting dance in the window and the
frustrating, petty arguments, she’d finally landed in his arms.
    And he wanted her there. Hell, he’d always
wanted her there. But before it had been about her sweet little ass
and the swell of her breasts and her pretty face, landing her in
his bed to satisfy the sexual urges he’d fought since the moment he
saw her.
    Now though, after spending so much time with
her, he was starting to feel something. Seeing her distressed, so
upset and not know why or who made her act this way, frustrated the
hell out of him. Angered him. Made him want to shelter her, and not
just because it was his job.
    It was because he cared for her.
    “Tell me why you’re crying.” It wasn’t a
question. He needed to know.
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Boyfriend trouble?” He smiled, trying to
make light of it. He wanted to see her smile for real, wanted to
hear her laugh.
    Her expression didn’t shift. She was one
hundred percent serious as she whispered, “You know I don’t have a
boyfriend. I don’t want any other man.”
    The words except you settled into his
brain, unsaid but heard nevertheless. He knew what she was saying.
It was as if he could read her mind, read her eyes, read everything
about her.
    Unable to resist, Mason touched her cheek,
surprised at the softness, the warmth he felt there. She parted her
lips, still damp from her crying, and he