Rules of Protection(103)

“I didn’t run.”

“Oh, you ran all right,” Jake said, “Like a scared rabbit, running from the…what did you call me again, Gina?”

“The big, bad wolf,” she said, giggling on the other side of the door.

“Stay out of it!” I hollered. Then I shook my head. “This is stupid, Jake. Tell me what you want.”

“You,” he said, grabbing a handful of my shirt and pushing me against the wall. “I want you.”

My brain had to work extra hard with his body pressed into mine. The mixture of our emotions threatened to explode, and the result would be damaging to my heart. “Jake…please, don’t.”

He didn’t listen. Jake and I were from the same country, but we were speaking different languages, and his was definitely not verbal. He pulled me in for a kiss, clamping his mouth over mine, and my legs buckled under me. Jake held me limply in his arms, like a rag doll for him to play with. He slid his muscled thigh between mine and moved his mouth down to my neck. His hands caressed my hair, twirling it with his fingers.

“I want you to come home with me,” he breathed.

I gave him a quick, dismissive glance as I fought back the urge to pull off his clothes. “Why?”

“Because I want to protect you…”

He wasn’t glad he found me because he loved me. It was about the stupid case again. I pushed him away. “Damn it, Jake! I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Good,” Jake said. “There are things I want to do to your body, but guarding it isn’t one of them.”

“But you said—”

“I do want to protect you. The way any husband wants to protect his wife.”

“Jake, I—” His words made my head spin. “Wait, what’d you say?”

“I want to marry you.”

“W-why?”

Jake chuckled. “That wasn’t quite the reaction I hoped for.”

I was annoyed he thought it was funny. “I’m serious. Why would you want to marry someone you don’t love?”

“I don’t,” Jake said. “I want to marry you.”

“But you don’t love me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” His eyebrows squished together, giving him a disgusted look. “Of course I do.”

“Jake, you don’t have to pretend it was anything more than sex. I know that’s all—”

With the speed of a striking snake, Jake latched onto my arm and pulled me closer. “I told you before, I don’t do meaningless sex. I meant it then, and I mean it now. If you think I spent two months looking for you because I wanted to have sex with you, then you’re crazier than I thought. Why the hell would you think I’m not in love with you?”

“Because you never told me.”

“Yeah, I did. I remember telling you I care about you.”

“Exactly. You care about me. It isn’t the same thing. I care about Cowboy, but I wouldn’t want to sleep with him every night.”

Jake was irritated. “If you’re going to marry me, then you’d better not want to sleep with him any night.”

“I didn’t say I’d marry you,” I reminded.

“Damn it, Emily! Why not?”

“You still haven’t said it.”

Jake smiled, brushed the hair out of my eyes, and tilted my chin up toward his face. “Emily, I love you. I’ve been in love with you for months. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, if you’ll let me. Now tell me you’ll marry me and you’ll sleep in my bed for the rest of yours, and I’ll be a happy man.”

“Probably won’t get much sleep,” I warned him.

He smirked. “I’m counting on it.”

I smiled at him. “Then, yes, I’ll marry you.” Then I narrowed my eyes. “But if you think for one second—”

Jake placed his finger over my lips. “Emily, when a man proposes to you, you’re supposed to kiss him, not bitch at him.”

“Says who?”

“It’s a rule.”

“You and your rules,” I said, shaking my head. “Still making them up as you go along, I see.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured, leaning down to brush his lips against mine. “Keeps things interesting.”

“Hold on. One more thing, Jake.” He breathed out heavily, but paused, waiting for me to continue. “So when do we go home?”

His lips curved into a smile. “The moving van’s outside. Cowboy, Judd, and Ox are out there as well. They’re waiting for my signal to come in and start loading your stuff. Gina and Dale knew your stay here was temporary, and they said they’d keep you from unpacking.”

My mouth hinged open. “What if I’d said I didn’t want to marry you?”

“I wasn’t taking no for an answer. Besides, you didn’t.”

“But I could have. In fact, it’s still a possibility, you know. A girl has a right to change her mind.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warned, narrowing his eyes.

It was a challenge if I’d ever seen one, and I never backed down from a challenge. “Good thing you aren’t me,” I said.