Kiss an Angel(86)

But it was so hard. Of all the cruel tricks fate had played on him, the cruelest of all was joining him to this fragile decent woman with the beautiful eyes and too-generous heart. Caring wasn’t enough for her. She needed to be surrounded by real love. She needed children and a good husband—one of those big-hearted guys who marched in Labor Day parades and went to church on Sunday and would love her to distraction.

Something painful twisted inside him as he thought of her married to someone else, but he forced it away. No matter what he had to do, he was going to protect her.

“Do you mean it, Alex? Would you really do anything for me?”

Despite all his good intentions, he nodded like a fool.

“Then sit very still and let me make love to you.”

His groin tightened into a hard, throbbing ache, and he wanted her so much he couldn’t breathe. At the very last instant, just before his hunger to possess her overpowered him, her mouth curved in a smile so soft and sweet he felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut.

She wasn’t holding anything back. Not one thing. She was offering herself to him without reservations: heart, body, and soul. How could anyone be so self-destructive? He pulled himself back together. If she wasn’t going to guard herself, he’d do the job for her.

“Sex has to be something more than just bodies,” he said harshly. “That’s what you told me. You told me it had to be sacred, but it can’t be that way with us. There’s no love. Don’t ever forget that. There’s just sex.”

To his utter astonishment, she gave him a tender smile that seemed faintly tinged with pity. “You foolish man. Of course there’s love. Don’t you know? I love you.”

He felt as if he’d been sucker-punched.

She had the audacity to laugh. “I do love you, Alex, and there’s no need to get all stiff and starchy like that. I know I told you I wouldn’t, but I can’t help it. I’ve been hiding from the truth, but today Sinjun showed me how I feel.”

Despite all his warnings and threats, all the cautions and caveats he’d thrown at her, she’d decided she was in love with him. And it was his fault. He should have kept more distance between them. Why had he walked on the beach with her? Why had he spilled his guts? And most damning of all, why hadn’t he kept her out of his bed? Now he had to convince her that what she regarded as love was simply a reflection of her romantic view of life, and that wasn’t going to be easy.

Before he could point out her mistake, she settled her mouth over his. His brain short-circuited. He wanted her. He had to have her.

She ran the tip of her tongue over his lips, then gently probed. He caught her head in his hands and sank his fingers in her soft hair. She became pliable in his arms, offering herself to him and giving everything.

She made a soft, mewing sound. Vulnerable. Needy. The sound threaded into his dulled consciousness and brought him back to reality. He had to remind her how it was between them. For her sake, he had to get tough. Better to deal out a small hurt now than a devastating one later.

He pulled abruptly away from her. With one hand, he pushed her back on the bed, and with the other, he covered the bulge in his jeans. “A good f*ck is better than love any day.”

He inwardly winced at the expression of shock that swept over her flushed face. He knew his wife, and he braced himself for what would come next. She was going to jump right up off the bed and blister his ears with a lecture on vulgarity.

But she didn’t do it. Instead, her shock faded into the same pitying look he’d noted earlier.

“I knew you’d be difficult about this. You’re so predictable.”

Predictable? Was that how she saw him? Damn it, he was trying to save her, and all she could do was mock him! Well, he’d show her.

He forced his mouth into an ugly sneer. “Get out of that costume. I’m in the mood for some rough stuff, and I don’t want to tear it.”

“Rough stuff?

“That’s what I said, babe. Now take off your clothes.”





17




Daisy gulped. “You want me to take off my clothes?”

She knew she sounded like an idiot, but Alex had surprised her. Exactly what did he mean by ‘rough stuff’? Her eyes flew across the trailer toward a whip he’d left coiled over the arm of the couch. She’d scared him to death when she’d told him she loved him, but she hadn’t quite expected this. Still, he was so skittish on the subject that she should have known he’d overreact.

“Stop stalling.” He stripped off his T-shirt. His jeans rode low on his hips, making him look grim and dangerous as he stood before her bare-chested, with that straight line of dark hair bisecting his flat stomach and pointing the way to danger with all the subtlety of a flashing neon arrow.

“When you say, rough stuff . . .”

“I mean that it’s time for some variety.”

“To be honest, I don’t feel as if I’ve mastered all the basics yet.”

“I thought you said you loved me, Daisy. How about proving it?”

He was definitely provoking her, and she mentally counted to ten.

“I’m not a hearts and flowers type of guy. You know that. I like sex. I like it often, and I like it wild.”

Good grief! She really had scared him. She nibbled on her bottom lip. Despite what she’d said earlier, Alex wasn’t all that predictable, so she needed to be careful. On the other hand, Tater and his cronies had taught her one basic rule when dealing with large beasts. If she backed down, she was bound to get swatted.