Dangerous Promise (The Protector) Read online

  “But people do things,” Nina said. “Stupid things, because they want them, or think they need them.”

  He didn’t have a good answer for that, because she was right. Instead, Ewan slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her next to him to stand, hip to hip. Both of them stared up at the sky without speaking for a few minutes, until a dark shape skittered across the moon’s vast silver face.

  “Everything changes,” Nina said quietly. “I never thought I’d see a bat in the wild. And look, the work your sister did has made that come true.”

  She hadn’t moved out of his embrace, and he noticed her ease with him, the casual way she allowed his touch. They weren’t really a couple, he reminded himself when she let her hand slide down his arm to tug at his wrist, moving him toward the cabin. Even if they felt like it. Not even if he wanted them to be.

  “Do you want to bring in the stuff we bought today now, or later?” she asked.

  “It can wait until morning. There’s nothing that will spoil. I could use a nightcap though, what about you?”

  She glanced over her shoulder with a grin. “Sure, I’ll have a cup of coffee.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know,” Nina said as she opened the front door and stepped through it, letting go of his wrist and going automatically into what he recognized as her protective stance. “Wait while I look around.”

  “There isn’t going to be anyone in here, Nina,” Ewan told her as he followed.

  She turned, a hand out to press his chest and keep him in place. “Ewan, we’ve been gone for hours. Let me make a sweep. Please.”

  It was the first time she’d ever added a “please,” so how could he be a jerk about it? Still, it rankled, that even here in this place that had proven to be safe, that she would insist on reminding him . . . what? Ewan thought, irritated with himself. That she would remind him he was still in danger, or that she was determined to protect him from it?

  Instead of complaining further, he watched her check the living room, the kitchen, then climb the stairs to the attic bedroom. Her feet moved on the floorboards. Moments later, she called to him to come up.

  Curious, Ewan did, wondering if she’d found some signs of danger. When he got to the top of the stairs, he found Nina standing at the foot of the bed. She’d removed her gear and set it aside on the dresser. She’d taken off everything, as a matter of fact, and stood there naked. Waiting for him.

  At the sight of her, Ewan wanted to drop to his knees and worship. She had the body of an old-time goddess, lush, firm, rounded. Strong. She was so strong, and while everything about her made Nina beautiful, that strength was what had made him fall in love with her.

  Love.

  Then he was in fact on his knees in front of her, his face pressed to her belly while she threaded her fingers through his hair. Her laugh was tender and amused, but when he looked up to see her face, her eyes gleamed with a different emotion. Her hand moved to cup his face and he closed his eyes, turning to kiss her palm. Her other hand curled behind his neck, her fingers digging just right into the flesh there. The sweetly mingled sensation of erotic promise combined with the hint of pain, the reminder that she could literally take his life with no more than a flick of her fingers, got his cock so hard it ached.

  “Ewan,” Nina murmured. “What are you doing?”

  In answer, he dipped his face into her center, breathing in the heady perfume that intoxicated him. His tongue slipped out to find her heat, the stroke of it feathering along her flesh until he settled on the sweet spot that made her gasp and bump her hips forward against his eager lips. Her fingers tightened again in his hair, holding him there even though he wasn’t trying to get away.

  He lapped at her with slow, even strokes of his tongue. His hands gripped the backs of her thighs. The flavor of her heated nectar forced a groan from his throat. He buried his face deeper, feasting.

  “I could live on this forever,” he murmured.

  She laughed, her breath hitching, and tugged his hair to lift his face. Whatever she saw in his expression softened hers. She pulled him upward to her mouth and kissed him. Soft at first, then hard. He waited, hoping for the sting of her bite on his tongue and groaned when she nipped.

  “Take off your clothes.” Her whisper was nonetheless a command, one that sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine.

  His gaze locked on hers, Ewan reached over his shoulder to pull off his shirt and toss it to the floor. Her eyes glanced that way as she pressed her lips together on a smile. She shook her head at the carelessness, but didn’t scold.

  Ewan undid his button and zipper, then pushed his trousers down past his hips, thighs, calves. They caught for a second on one ankle and he hopped, bouncing, to free himself while she laughed and shook her head again.

  “You,” Nina said when he stood in front of her fully naked at last, “are so beautiful.”

  “Men are not beautiful,” he reminded her in a husky voice.

  Nina put a finger to her lips. “Shh. Come here and kiss me.”

  He did, eagerly. The slope of her naked hips slayed him. The curve of her ass was a blessing. And her mouth, oh her mouth was sheer delight.

  When she took his fingers and slid them between her thighs to stroke against her, Ewan shivered. “Mmm. Yes. That. All of that. Every day.”

  “Every day?” Nina whispered into his mouth.

  “All day. Every day. Forever,” he said.

  She paused, the tension in her muscles giving away a shift in her response. She pulled away to look into his eyes. She wasn’t smiling. She didn’t look amused. If anything, she looked concerned. Maybe even a little sad.

  He didn’t want that. He kissed her, but only for a second or so before she pulled away again. She linked her arms behind his neck, pulling him close so their bodies aligned. His cock, thick and heavy with desire, pressed between them.

  “Forever’s a long time,” she said.

  Ewan nodded. “I know.”

  “You might get tired,” she added, this time with the small, quirking smile he adored. “All the sex.”

  “I’ll maintain a routine of cardio and weightlifting,” Ewan said, deadpan, “to make sure I keep in shape. For all the sex.”

  Nina ran a fingertip across his collarbones. “And the rest of it? Forever is a long time to fill with fucking. You might have to find other things to do with me.”

  “All the things,” Ewan said. “Mostly eating a lot of stuff or watching you eat a lot of stuff and then run really fast or crush things with your bare hands.”

  She laughed, snorting, then laughed louder. “Oh my onegod. You’re a jerk.”

  “I’ll cook for you.” He pulled her even closer and nuzzled at her throat. “I’ll buy you a restaurant. A grocery store. Whatever it takes.”

  Her fingers dug into the back of his neck, and he gasped. She slid her other hand into the back of his hair, tugging. He lifted his mouth from her skin to look into her eyes.

  “And . . . this?” She dug again, her nails pressing not quite hard enough to cut the flesh.

  “Yes,” he said. “That, too.”

  Nina blinked rapidly. He caught a glitter of what looked like tears, and alarmed, Ewan put his arms all the way around her. She pressed her face against his chest. Her shoulders lifted and dropped. He felt the rush and heat of her breath against him.

  He smoothed his hands over her back, settling at her waist. “Baby, what’s the matter?”

  “Oh . . .” She sounded choked, then looked at him with gleaming eyes but a brilliant smile.

  She might have been a woman unlike any other he’d ever known, but he recognized this combination of tears and joy, all over her face. He’d made her happy. He wanted to keep doing that for the rest of their lives.

  He kissed her.

  Thoroughly. Lingering. Tasting, teasing, tempting her with his tongue until she was the one who moaned. Together, they fell onto the bed and he moved over her body, kissing and li