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My heart almost stops when she pushes my hands off her cheeks, but the world feels right again the moment she leans into my arms for an embrace. “You were right,” she whimpers into my chest. “I should have never walked in here alone.”
“This isn’t your fault,” I say, releasing a shuddering breath, and I realize in this moment that nothing could hurt me worse than losing her.
“I should probably have let you teach me self-defense, but I pushed it off because I was enjoying just spending time with you and thought I could fight and scratch my way out of a situation like this, but I froze.” She sniffs. “When I found myself locked in here with him . . . I froze.”
“I’ve got you,” I rasp, pressing my lips to her forehead. “No one will touch you ever again!”
“He backed me into the corner and tried to tear off my shirt and—” A shudder racks her body, and I’m about to walk over to the unconscious man and finish the job when a familiar voice calls from the doorway, and Kirsten pulls back from our embrace.
“Oh my God! Are you alright?” Sara rushes in and grabs Kirsten by the shoulders, looking her over carefully, then past her to stare down at Johnny. She wrinkles her nose in disgust before turning to me. “Do you want me to call the police?” she asks.
“No. I’ll take care of him. Can you take Kirsten into my office and help her clean up?” Letting go of Kirsten is the last thing I want to do, but Johnny needs to be dealt with.
“Sure thing, cousin.”
“C-cousin? Your office?” Kirsten’s voice is small and confused, and I immediately realize my mistake. I still haven’t told her that I actually own this bar, or that Sara is my younger cousin.
Fuck! Is she angry? Will she feel like I lied to her? I quickly turn to her and try to take her in my arms, but she backs away, looking at me like she’s never seen me before.
“Angel,” I start, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I will explain everything later, but for now, you should know that this is my bar, and Sara is my cousin. My parents left me the bar when they died, but I’ve never really been interested in running a business, so I hired Johnny to run it for me.” I snarl at the man on the floor. “That was obviously a mistake.”
“You own the bar? So, you’re my boss?” Kirsten’s voice holds an edge of panic. She spins to look at Sara. “And why didn’t you tell me you’re related to Hawk? No wonder you knew to find him at the fight. God, I’m so stupid.”
As Kirsten spins toward the door like she’s going to leave, Sara darts in front of her, careful not to touch her. “It wasn’t my secret to tell. I wasn’t sure Hawk would want you to know, but I had to do something when I suspected what Johnny was up to. I knew Hawk could protect you. Please, Kirsten, I never meant to hurt your feelings. I’m your friend.”
Something in Sara’s voice must convince Kirsten of her sincerity because her shoulders sag and she sighs before turning back to me. “And what about you?” Her big, beautiful eyes plead with me not to break her heart. Doesn’t she know I’d sooner cut off my own arm than cause her pain?
Before I can say anything, Johnny lets out a pained groan and begins to move. I quickly close the distance between me and my angel, cupping her face with my hands once more.
“I promise I’ll tell you everything. But I have to deal with this trash first. Please, will you let Sara take you to the office to clean up and wait for me there?”
She stares at me for a long moment, then nods before stepping away from me. Letting her go is a physical pain, and I can’t take my eyes off her as I watch her follow Sara out the door.
***
Taking care of Johnny took longer than I expected. I’d had to call in a favor from the man who runs the cage fights, but he’d owed me one and was all too happy to help me take out the trash. My need to get to Kirsten is an itch beneath my skin. It’s been almost an hour since she let Sara take her to my office above the bar.
After slipping into the bathroom to wash Johnny’s blood off my hands, I take the stairs up two at a time, anxious to see my angel. When I enter my office, she’s sitting on the leather loveseat opposite the desk. Sara sits next to her with an arm around her shoulders, and I’ve never been more grateful for my cousin than in that moment.
When she sees me enter, Sara whispers something softly to Kirsten before getting up and walking toward the door. She squeezes my bicep and offers me a sympathetic smile as she passes, closing the door behind her.
I slowly approach Kirsten, unsure of how she is feeling. Is she angry? Scared? When I’m standing in front of her, she finally looks up, and my breath picks up at the wild look in her eyes. She stands and reaches for me, placing her delicate hands on either side of my waist and stepping in close.
“Touch me,” she demands in a whisper.
I stare down at her in confusion, assuming she’s seeking reassurance due to her fright, but as I look in her eyes, I realize . . . she’s turned on.
“Baby . . .”
“Touch me, please,” she begs, sliding her palms up and down my chest, and the friction from the move has me hardening in a second. “I want you to erase his touch. Daddy, please.”
That’s all the encouragement I need. I look down to find her nipples hard and eyes glazed as she stares up, undoing me further than she already has. “Fuck me, baby,” I grind out, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “You have no fucking idea what you do to me!”
And she doesn’t.
I love her so fucking much it hurts.
I know without a doubt in my heart and mind that I would kill for her without a second thought. In fact, I almost did just that tonight.
