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“You mess with my head too, Gracie. Both of them.” With a chuckle he wrapped his hand around her wrist, bringing her hand down and resting it against his straining erection. It pressed against the front of his trousers, desperate to be set free, and her gentle touch set his skin on fire for her.
“Hunter.” She stroked him, as if she couldn’t help herself, and he swallowed hard. Desperate to stave off the urge to attack her and fuck her where she stood.
Yeah, he was behaving like a pushy bastard, but he wasn’t going to be a total jerk about it. Never again. He needed to let this woman know the truth.
“Can you feel what you do to me?” His voice came out a harsh whisper and he leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. Gazing into her beautiful green eyes, she was all he could see, all he could feel. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop thinking about the nights we spent together. They weren’t enough. I want more.” He breathed deep. “I know it’s not right, the position I’m putting you in. Trust me, I feel like a complete asshole, but you have to know. You have to know how I feel.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. Dropped her hand away from his cock, and he felt bereft. As if she was slowly but surely pulling away. Devastation waited to crash over him and his entire body went tense. “What do you feel? For me?” She cracked open her eyes, the irises brilliant with unshed tears.
Ah, God. He’d made her cry. He was a complete and utter ass. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully, and he saw the flicker in her gaze. He needed to make this right. “But I want to explore it—us together—and see where we take it.”
“It’s probably a big mistake,” she warned again.
“Huge,” he agreed, lifting his head from hers. He wasn’t going to lie. It felt like a huge setup to failure.
But maybe, just maybe, they could succeed. Together.
“I don’t like letting anyone in too close. You know this.” She hitched in a breath as if those few words took a lot for her to say.
“Why, Gracie? Because of your childhood?” He had a suspicion it all stemmed from her past, not that he could blame her.
“I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just say I’ve been hurt. A lot. I’m trying to work through that.”
“Everyone’s been hurt.”
She smiled ruefully. “You’re right. Maybe I just have a harder time dealing with it.”
Anger rushed through him. He wanted to ease her pain. Protect her. Keep her safe and treasure her like she deserved. Cradling her face with his hands, he stared deep into her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you. But—I can’t make any promises. Things happen. People do and say hurtful things all the time. It can’t be helped.” He had to be truthful. She deserved no less.
Gracie closed her eyes, tears clinging to her lashes. The sight of them tore at his heart. “I can’t expect you to make such a promise.”
“But I’ll do my damnedest to make you feel good. To treat you like you deserve to be treated.” Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “With respect,” he murmured against her mouth before he kissed her again. “With honor.” Another kiss. “With passion.” One final, clinging kiss. “You deserve all of that and more.”
Emotions clutched at his heart, clogged his throat. A wave of tenderness washed over him at the way she leaned into him, how her breath hitched. She was overcome, maybe as overcome as he was and he didn’t know what to do next.
Well, he knew they needed to get out of here and quick. “Come home with me,” he whispered, kissing her again because he couldn’t resist. “Spend the night with me, Gracie.”
“We—we can’t leave together. Everyone will see.” Her voice trembled and he knew she worried.
“They’ve probably already noticed we’re gone.” If he remembered correctly, and Lord knew he’d been at Mick’s often enough the last ten years, he believed there was an exit door not far from the small banquet rooms in the back of the pub. “I think I know what we can do.”
He took her hand and led her out of the room, checking the hallway for anyone near before they emerged. He saw the glowing exit sign to his left in the distance, and he turned toward the door that loomed at the end of the hall.
She followed him, her fingers curled around his. Her trust in him was overwhelming. That she was willing to go with him still, after everything they’d gone through, it touched him deep.
Deeper than he ever wanted to admit. She’d wound her way around his heart so fast, and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to rid himself of her.
Wondered further if he even wanted to rid himself of her.
Gracie was a thousand times a fool.
But a happy, blissed-out fool, in any case.
Hunter had kissed her continuously in the cab, kept her firmly in his embrace. His mouth never far from hers. She’d enjoyed it, reveled in it, loved the way he tasted, how he felt. Warm and protective, sexy and sweet, he’d reluctantly released his hold on her when the car had pulled in front of his apartment building.
And immediately pulled her back into his arms when the elevator doors shut and they were alone.
She’d never felt so wanted in her life. Of course, she’d never let down her barriers long enough to allow a man to treat her like a goddess. And that was exactly what she felt like, a sexy, sensual goddess who drove a handsome, powerful man such as Hunter Worth to absolute distraction.
