Hidden Away (KGI #3)(36)

She started to shove by him, but he caught her arm, his fingers curling gently into her flesh. He pulled her to him until she was shockingly close to his mouth.

“You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to stay here with me.”

She started to open her mouth, but to her shock, Garrett sealed his lips over hers.

It was electric, a jolt to her system that fried her entire nerve system. He curved his hand around her nape and dug his fingers into her hair as he held her in place. His mouth moved sensuously over hers, gentle, but so demanding that her knees shook under the power of his touch.

Never had she been kissed like this. It wasn’t a touching of lips or a casual gesture of affection. It was carnal. Heated and possessive. He was placing a silent claim and it should have terrified her. She should be screaming the roof down but instead she stared dumbly at him as he drew away, his eyes gleaming in the soft light.

“You’ll stay,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.

And she found herself nodding.

“Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll go put some clean sheets on the bed for you.”

She caught his arm, still so rattled she could barely process what she wanted to say. “No. I’ll sleep here on the couch.”

He shook his head. “You can have the bed.”

“Garrett, no. Okay? I’m fine. I swear it. There is no way you can fit onto this couch and you damn sure aren’t sleeping on the floor. I can take the sofa.”

He gave her an impatient look and then sighed. “Tell you what. We’ll share the bed.”

She found herself shaking her head before he could even get the words out. Panic raced up her spine. Chill bumps rose and fanned out, prickling over her skin like tiny razors.

He touched the side of her face. “Listen to me, Sarah. I’m not going to hurt you. Okay? The bed is plenty big. We can put pillows between us. I’ll stay on my side and you stay on yours. I don’t want you in this front room alone, so we either both sleep in the bed, or if you insist on taking the couch, I’ll have to camp out on the floor next to you.”

She was being stupid. She knew it but couldn’t fight the overwhelming fear that gripped her. It was irrational. It was blind. But when was fear ever sensible? She wanted to trust this man. That didn’t make any sense either, but there it was. The problem was, it wasn’t a matter of her deciding she trusted him or wanted to trust him and she could go on like a normal human being.

Her head didn’t care what her heart said. Her head was telling her to stop being a twit and to wise up.

Garrett stared at her a long moment and then reached behind his back and pulled out the gun. He gripped the barrel and extended the stock toward her.

She stared at the gun and then raised her gaze to his, her brow furrowed with confusion.

“You can sleep with this under your pillow. That way you’ll be safe from me. I won’t move the entire night. Not only am I used to sleeping in one position, but I damn sure don’t want to risk scaring you and getting my balls blown off.”

She tried to smile but could only think how pitiful her life had gotten. The only way she could allow a man to sleep in the same bed with her was if he offered her a gun for self-protection?

She closed her eyes. Jesus. It made her angry. So damn angry.

Finally she shook her head.

Garrett’s gaze softened as he tucked the gun back into his waistband. “I swear to you that you have nothing to fear from me, Sarah.”

She nodded her acceptance of his vow and lowered herself back onto the couch. Patches quit grooming herself and came over to rub against Sarah’s hand. She petted the cat, allowing the simple gesture to calm her fried nerves. And she tried not to think about the fact that she’d be sleeping mere inches away from Garrett.

CHAPTER 13

PALE shades of dawn painted the room in gradually lightening shadows. Garrett lay on his side, his head propped in his hand as he stared over the barrier of pillows to where Sarah slept. She hadn’t moved the entire night. He knew because he’d slept lightly and he woke up regularly to check on her.

She was huddled on her side facing him, and she’d inched as far to the edge of the bed as she could without falling off. Patches lay against her chest, curled into a ball of fur. At the moment, the cat was awake and batting lazily at the strands of Sarah’s hair that fell over her shoulder.

Though Sarah was asleep, there was no peace to her expression. Her brow was wrinkled and her lips drawn into a tight line as if her jaw was clenched tight. Dark smudges lay underneath her eyes as though she hadn’t rested in many nights. She probably hadn’t. He was glad that she’d slept soundly here. Maybe she felt safe with him. Or as safe as she could feel with a strange man.

He reached over and touched her cheekbone with one finger and then softly traced a line downward to her jaw and then to her lips. Lips he’d tasted the night before. She uttered a breathy sigh and her features relaxed, the tension easing from her face.

He was a dumbass to get all mushy about a woman who obviously had a great deal of baggage. There were so many reasons why he needed to treat this just like any other job. He had to be the world’s biggest pu**y for being so soft-hearted when it came to her. It was, unfortunately an affliction he seemed to have around women. Rachel. Then Sophie. And now Sarah. He hadn’t even liked Sophie in the beginning, but that hadn’t stopped him from taking a bullet for her. And now he’d do damn near anything for his two sisters-in-law.