Page 11 of Protected By Saint

“I’m here,” he says, that deep voice causing my nipples to ache. I have no idea what is happening to me or how I can react to someone’s voice in this way.

“Um, could you please pass me a towel?”

“I also tossed a towel on the counter for you. You can pick a t-shirt from closet to wear for tonight. It’ll be massive on you, but it’s the best I can do right now.” I find a towel right where he said it’d be and quickly dry off. I can’t help but raise the fabric to my nose and take a deep breath, instantly feeling soothed by the smell of fabric softener a hint of Saint’s unique scent.

I grip the towel tightly as I creep back into the bedroom and stop in my tracks when I spot Saint seated on the bed, scrolling through his phone and acting as if he wasn’t jerking off moments ago.

Do I bring it up? Call him out for looking at me in the shower?

Do I even care?

I gnaw my bottom lip as I stare at the man, and there’s that ache again, but this time, it’s not just in my nipples. The spot between my thighs is practically pulsing with heat so strong, it’s unlike anything I have ever felt before.

Arousal.

It’s not like I’ve never experienced it before. Sometimes when Natalie is away and it’s just me in the apartment, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine to watch old romcoms, and when the main guy passionately kisses the main girl, there’s always this ache inside of me when I watch such scenes, and a part of me has been curious how it would feel to experience such passion, and now, I am. My sex is damp with heat, and I have only this man to blame. I’ve never felt anything remotely close to what I feel right now, and it’s scaring me just how much I want to walk over to the bed and touch him. I wonder how his muscles would feel under my fingertips.

Well, you are not going to find out tonight, that’s for sure! You don’t even know this man!

“You can grab whatever you need from the closet,” Saint says without looking up, and that’s all I need to snap me out of whatever spell that’s keeping me frozen to the floor.

“Oh, um, thanks.”

I turn around and head toward his closet, the light flickering on as I pull open the door. I run my fingers along the neatly hung shirts and jackets, feeling the textures under my fingers as I search for something to wear. My hand finally settles on a soft t-shirt, and I pull it out. I turn around to make sure Saint is not watching me before bringing the soft material to my nose. It smells like him, his musky scent with a mix of the woodsy aroma of cedar wood. My eyes flutter to a close, and I inhale the scent, feeling the secret spot between my legs throb fiercely with need.

“Jade?”

I turn around, and this time, Saint is watching me. I quickly drop the t-shirt and play it off like I wasn’t just sniffing the man’s clothes, but I’m sure I look like a deer in the headlights. “I was…um…”

“Hey,” he says, concern written in his eyes, but under that, I catch a flash of fire that lights up his eyes and turns them an intense blue. “Are you okay? Do you need help getting something?”

“I…”

“You seem flustered. You don’t have to be scared around me.I want you to know that you are safe with me. In this house. I will not let anyone get close enough to harm you,” he promises.

Why?

There’s that question again. Why does he care? Why is protecting me? Why did he bid on me? Why should I trust him?

Can I trust him?

I want to trust him, and what does that make me if not a fool? I’ve been fooled more than once. I’m about to let it happen again.

My pulse starts racing and my heart drums hard when he gets up and starts walking toward me, those fiery blues on mine as he approaches. I should say something, do something to break this spell I seem to be bound in, but I am helpless to do anything but watch him.

“I…I like this one,” I say in an attempt to break the weird tension building. I reach down to grab the t-shirt I dropped, but that proves to be a terrible mistake as the towel comes undone and my poor attempts to latch onto it only expose more of my naked body to the man. I’m breathing hard, practically panting as he makes his way to me. “Shit, sorry, I…”

Saint stops in front of me, and I forget how to breathe. Those intense eyes trail my body to the towel barely covering my most intimate places, and then back to my eyes. “Fuck,” he hisses, and his fingers curl into a fist as if to stop himself from touching me. “Goddamnit, baby. You’re killing me here, precious,” he curses under his breath.

“Sorry,” I whisper, clenching my fingers around the towel and trying to fix it without flashing more of myself to him. I swallow hard when he takes another step forward until there’s only a hair’s breadth between us. So close I can smell his cologne, and God, do I want to lean in and bury my face in his neck. Drown in his scent until I forget the day and everything that happened, but I can’t do that. I don’t know this man well enough to even try.

“It’s okay, precious. You have nothing to be sorry about.” Saint brings his hand up and brushes the wet hair from my face, forcing my gaze to meet his. “That bastard back at the Den was right about one thing. You are a jewel. A precious little jewel that’s meant to be protected,” he rasps, those eyes locked on mine as he speaks. “It’s not your fault that I want you. That I want to touch every inch of you.” Saint’s words light a fire in my belly, and I can picture him doing just that and more in my mind. Saint kissing me from head to toe, sucking on my aching nipples, burying his face between my thighs until I’m screaming his name the way I’ve read about men doing in old romance novels from the library. And when I’m ready, he’ll sink his cock into my tight core before rutting me fast and hard until I can’t remember my own name—

I blink owlishly at the man, jaw slack as I try to make sure that my mind is not playing tricks on me and that Saint did, in fact, say he wants me. His words do more than just shock me. They make the ache between my legs double in intensity, and my fingers go slack, releasing the towel I was so desperately holding on to.

“I…I’m…”

Saint’s eyes drop to the rest of my body, and I watch fire flash in those blue eyes, burning through my skin as he runs them over my body. “Goddamnit,” he hisses, reaching down and grabbing my towel. I expect him to toss it away and take what I know he’s wanted this entire time, but to my surprise, he drapes it over me, and I can tell he’s using every shred of willpower he can summon to do that. “I’m not going to touch you, Jade. You don’t need to be scared around me. I promised I would not hurt you, and I am nothing if not a man of my word.”

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