I look at Alexis, and she looks at me, and I can almost hear us both think ‘we weren’t.’
But then a dirty smile appears on Winston’s face. “Oh, no, no, it’s fine. Go on, go on.” He puts the tray on a table near the door and turns around. “You lovebirds continue with whatever you were doing.” As he leaves the room, I swear I can hear him chuckle.
Well, fuck.
I run my fingers through my hair from frustration. Damn, that kiss was good.
I don’t know if it’s her or the fact that I haven’t kissed anyone in such a long time … Nah, I’m sure it was definitely her.
She leans back in her seat, and I guess the moment to kiss her again is gone.
I wonder what she thinks of me now that she’s seen me … Now that she knows I want her.
But wanting someone and deserving someone are two entirely different things, and I haven’t earned the right. I take a deep breath and sit up again.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asks as I move my legs to the floor.
My bones don’t feel broken. I wriggle my toes and put some pressure on my leg. It hurts, but it’s manageable.
“Winston took all the bullets out, so I don’t think there was any permanent damage, but you gotta take it slow.”
“I don’t do slow.” I get up, but my body is unstable. She picks up on it and immediately jumps up to grab my arm, holding me steady.
“I’ve gotcha,” she says, her hands firmly planted on my hips.
“You sure do …”
Fuck. It feels so fucking good, I could grab her, drop her on the couch, and fuck her pussy raw right now, but that wouldn’t be very nice. She’s right. I am a fucking animal. Maybe it’s because I haven’t felt a woman’s touch in so long; she’s driving me mad with desire.
“Guess we’re even now,” she muses, biting her lip to hide a smile.
I can’t stop focusing on her lips. How she licks them and lets out a little giggly laugh.
“You wish,” I say. “I took bullets for you, Lexi.”
My serious voice seems to have taken her aback a bit, so I add a smile. I usually forget to smile. I should do it more often. It seems to make her go easier on me.
“It’s Alexis,” she says. “Remember it.”
I grin from the way she talks back to me. So fucking feisty. I love it. “Oh, I already have …”
I sneak a glance at her, and surprise, surprise, she’s actually blushing.
“Let’s go,” she says, ignoring what I say.
“Where?”
“Shower. Unless you’re saying you’ve lost the ability to walk,” she says, helping me walk.
“Not gonna let two bullets stop me.”
“That’s the spirit,” she says, hauling me through the hallway.
Winston peeks around the corner as he folds the laundry. “Need help?”
“Nah, we’re good. I’ll call you if we need any,” Alexis says as we flounder up the stairs.
It takes us a while to get there, but I don’t mind. Not when she’s touching me.
At first, it felt strange. Like I should lean away and not let her touch me. I always thought when strangers saw me, they’d scoot back and gasp … but not her. She hasn’t looked at me that way, ever. And that says something.
I wonder if it’s because she pities me. If she’s only doing this because she feels she needs to… because I saved her.
But I couldn’t not have saved her. When I saw that cop lying on top of her, all I could think of was kill. Kill. Kill. I wanted to rip his head off for making her feel that way. For hurting her. I would never touch her like that.
Even though all I can think about right now is touching her.
Fuck … I’m so confused right now. I shouldn’t want her, but I’ve never wanted a woman as badly as I want her. The moment she defied me by looking at me after her dance, I knew she was mine. She doesn’t fear me as the others do. And yes … I tried to frighten her. I only do it so they don’t see me for who I really am.
I don’t want them to see the ugliness, so I let them see the beast instead.
But my anger took over when I discovered who she was, and I chased her away.
If I hadn’t gone after her … she would’ve ended up in his hands.
I ball my fist just from the thought. I can’t let that happen. Ever. I don’t fucking care what I have to do to keep her; I won’t let her run into his arms. I’ve sacrificed too much already.
So every time she looks at me with those luscious eyes, I don’t tell her that she can leave. I don’t tell her to go because I don’t want her to.
If that makes me a selfish motherfucker, so be it.