Open Wounds (Harbour Bay #2)(38)

Dammit.

What a time for cold reality to hit him in the face. His chest heaved with the effort it took to breathe.

Her hands moved to his belt and started tugging. Darryl grabbed her wrists, stilling her movement. He was an idiot to try to stop this, but he in good conscience couldn’t go through with it. Not only were they colleagues but she was his partner’s old friend, and Amelia would probably kick his arse should she discover his attempts to seduce Kellie, though she seemed to be doing most of the seducing. He merely went along with her.

Why the hell was he stopping?

His entire body screamed at him to keep going. To drop Kellie to the floor and thrust himself deep inside her, to possess her in the most intimate way. But with the little self-control he had left, he stepped painfully away from her.

He was rock hard, and uncomfortable wasn’t the word to describe his agony.

Kellie gazed up at him with a frown on her flushed face. Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders and her blouse was in disarray. He didn’t even remember scrunching it in his hands. He’d never seen anyone so utterly sexy and once again fought for self-control.

“This isn’t a good idea,” he said.

Her harsh breathing filled the otherwise silent room. She stepped away from him and collapsed on the nearby sofa as if her legs could no longer hold her up.

“I thought we’d already established that.”

“I figured it needed to be said again.”

Kellie crossed her legs. She hadn’t done it in a provocative way but the simple action almost brought him to his knees.

“It’s more than that, isn’t it?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.

Darryl ran a stiff hand over his head, his hair so short the strands barely reached the tops of his fingers.

“Besides us working together, or the fact that your best friend is my partner?” He stared at her. “I’m not into one-nighters.”

Not this time. Not with her. Once would never be enough.

A shattered expression fell across her face. Had he been right in figuring that tonight was about more than shared desire? Did Kellie simply want to reaffirm the fact she was still alive after the assault on the LAC earlier? He understood her need and the resulting adrenaline rush. He just didn’t want to be a convenient lay for her.

From the moment they’d met, he’d fought his attraction, and if what he’d seen that night was any indication, Kellie had been fighting it too. The desire between them had been simmering for a while. They’d ignited too quickly and dangerously.

But his reasons were more than enough to make him back away. He didn’t want to sleep with her only to have her kick him to the kerb the next day. As much as it killed him, he’d rather walk away than have her only to lose her once the sun came up. There was something about Kellie he couldn’t touch, beneath the walls she’d built, and he wanted her to let him in. He wanted all of her.

You dumb shit, Darryl. You should be thankful that a beautiful woman like her is willing to sleep with you at all.

Most guys would’ve been cheering at the idea of no strings attached sex. Instead, he wanted all or nothing.

“Then we have a problem, don’t we?” she said.

“Would you consider it?”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. She swallowed hard.

“A relationship?” she asked.

“You tie me in knots, Kellie. I want you. Not just for tonight or even a couple nights. I want you.” He searched for the right word. “Always.”

She stood and paced the room with agitated movements. “You don’t know me.”

“No, I don’t. But I want that to change. From the moment you walked into Harris’s office, you turned me upside down. For years I thought I didn’t want to be tied down. Then I met you. You’re unlike any woman I’ve ever met.”

“Why can’t you just be happy with one night? I’m not made to last and go the distance. I have issues. It’s not fair of me to lay them at your feet.”

He stepped forward. “I don’t care. Let me in. Dammit, Kellie, I’m falling for you hard and I’m not ashamed to say it.”

She turned away but not before he saw the light sheen of tears in her over-bright eyes. “Darryl.” Her voice was soft and full of agony. He strode to her and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her.

She trembled, her skin ice cold. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Trust me.”

She pulled away from him with a jerky movement, staring at the nearby wall. “When I was sixteen, I was raped. I couldn’t stop it. He was just too strong.” She hugged herself tightly. “The bastard shot me and left me for dead.”

Darryl recoiled as his gut twisted painfully and a burning rage ignited inside him. He forced it away. Now was not the time.

She slid her fingers into the silky tendrils of her hair and flipped a section across her head to flop down the other side. He moved closer and caught the scar at the side of her head where the bullet had grazed her. She’d been damn lucky, and that meant he was too. A few inches to the right and he’d never have met this wonderful woman. He traced the line of her scar. She tensed at his touch. He couldn’t help himself as his lips followed the path of his finger. It would’ve hurt like hell. He was amazed at her strength. He didn’t admire many people—only his father, his brothers, his colleagues, and now Kellie.