Page 83 of The Baby-whisperer and the Brute
“This has nothing to do with confidence. I watched the fight. You werenota disgrace—you fought hard and stayed with him for twelve full rounds. But Sully, you have people counting on you… people who love you and want you to be around for many years to come.”
She seemed unaccountably emotional. Angelina really did care about my daughters. “Is it really worth dying for?” she asked.
Sighing, I shrugged, finally able to execute body language without severe pain. “It’s not like I have a choice.”
“Of course you have a choice.” Angelina drew close to the bed where I was propped against the headboard with the covers bunched around my waist.
As she sat on the edge of the mattress, a long lock of golden hair fell over the front of one shoulder. My fingers twitched with the effort of restraint, longing to reach out and touch the silky curl, to tug on it and force her to lean closer.
Her ever-present honey fragrance had my senses in a state of vibrating awareness. Unable to help myself, I stared at her face, hungrily taking in the big brown eyes, the creamy skin, the heart-shaped lips that tempted me like chocolate-dipped strawberries.
She wore a skirt and a soft-looking wrap sweater with a v-shaped neckline that basically forced me to look at her chest. Which, by the way, looked absolutely amazing.
Angelina was apparently unaware she was in imminent danger of being pounced upon like a gazelle being attacked by a starving lion. She returned my gaze with wide, innocent eyes.
“There’s always a choice,” she said. “And every choice requires considering all your options.”
It was hard to keep my voice sounding normal and not like the growl of the predator I felt like.
“And what are my options?”
She licked her lips, making self-control that much more difficult. “Well, you should know… it’s not just the girls who would be devastated if something happened to you.”
“It’s not?” My heart kicked into a gallop, spurred on by a fusion of surprise and excitement. The beating was so loud in the quiet bedroom I was worried she might hear it.
“No.”
She shook her head slowly and obeyed my unspoken command to move closer. “There are other people who need you, who…wantyou to be here.”
Angelina’s breathing was light and fast. The only other time I’d heard her breathe like that was that night in the laundry room when I had my lips on her skin and drove her wild with my hands.
Remember that night, I cautioned myself even as my own breathing picked up pace.Remember the decision she made—how she chose to leave.
Her fingers trembled as she stretched out a hand and placed it on my bare chest, stroking the spot where a large bruise was still healing.
“This looks much better,” she said softly.
All I could do was nod, struck dumb by a shock of sheer pleasure. Though her touch was light, it affected me like a bolt of lightning, sending a surge of energy through my entire body and making all my nerve endings hum with an agony of hunger.
I am so fucked.
I was completely enthralled by this woman. This sweet, innocent, very young woman who didn’t mean anything by the physical contact and probably had no idea what she was doing to me.
All my instincts demanded I reach out and take her, pull her to me and kiss her senseless. It would be a repeat of the mistake I’d made our last night together, compounded by a factor of infinity.
She was going to leave as soon as I was fully healed, and I didn’t want to risk doing anything to speed up that eventuality.
Don’t do it. Don’t mess things up.
Staring into my eyes with vulnerable sincerity, she whispered, “I wouldn’t be able to stand it if I lost you.”
And the battle was over.
I covered her hand with my own, pressing her soft, cool fingers into my blazing skin. Beneath it, my heart felt like it was going to explode. My breath caught in my throat as I tried to speak.
“Angel… I would never leave you. And I wish you didn’t want to leave me.”
She gasped and leaned toward me. Before I could react or even think, her lips were on mine, and my body and mind were on a rollercoaster ride with no safety bars.
