AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before I could sit down, the doorbell chimed. Grady tensed and went to answer it, a hand braced on his weapon. I was grateful for his help, but if he pulled his weapon on the delivery guy I’d never be able to order Chinese again. I ran to the kitchen for my wallet and skidded to a stop at the front door, where Grady was glaring at the teen on the other side. The poor kid looked about ready to piss his pants.
“Miss Sparks, I have your order ready,” the kid said.
I thrust the money out to him. “Keep the change and thanks for getting here so fast.”
He nodded and practically ran back to his car after he handed over the sack of food. Grady closed and locked the door before turning to face me. He seemed a little disgruntled.
“That kid has the hots for you,” he said, taking the sack from me.
I wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, so I meekly followed him into the kitchen. I pulled out two plates, and we loaded them up before taking them to the family room to watch the movie. If Grady had a problem with my selection, he didn’t say anything. He quietly watched the show while he ate, but I could feel his gaze on me every few minutes. I didn’t know if he was making sure I was still here, or if he just liked looking at me. I know I certainly liked looking at him.
Chapter Three
Grady
I had no idea what movie she’d put on, and only half paid attention to it. Instead, I found myself watching Madelyn more than the TV. Even with her split lip and bruised cheek, she was still the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. When she started to doze off, I turned off the TV and lifted her into my arms. She startled awake but just gave me a sleepy smile as I carried her up the stairs. I had no idea how to set the house alarm for the night, so I’d have to be extra vigilant.
In her bedroom, I eased her down onto the bed. There was a blanket folded at the foot, and I pulled it up over her. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled against her pillow. In sleep, she looked even more angelic than she did when she was awake. Some guy was going to be damn lucky to have her in his life one day. I had to assume she was single if she hadn’t called on a boyfriend during this ordeal, even though we hadn’t discussed her relationship status. Unless that Bradley asshole was her boyfriend, but she’d never called him that.
I left her door open and went into my temporary bedroom. I grabbed my duffle bag and unloaded everything into the empty dresser. Living out of the bag would have been fine, but if she expected me to be here a week, then getting comfortable wasn’t going to hurt anything. I removed my shoes and socks, stripped out of my jeans and tee, and stored the gun in the bedside table drawer. After checking on Madelyn one last time, I stretched out on top of the covers so I could roll out of bed with ease if trouble should arise.
I stared at the ceiling, listening for anything that seemed out of place before closing my eyes. I knew I’d sleep light, but I still didn’t relax all the way. Not knowing much about Bradley, I couldn’t say whether or not he’d be the type to break in. Any man who put his hands on a woman in anger was slime in my book. But it didn’t mean he had the skills to pick a lock. Something about the entire thing bothered me though. Why had he hit her and run? If the man was capable of rape, why wouldn’t he have forced her to submit to him? Not that I wished that fate on any woman, but it bothered me.
I hadn’t seen any sign of a struggle when I’d gotten to the house, and the police hadn’t brought it up. There had been a glass on the counter, yet she hadn’t smashed it over his head. So, what had made him run off? I rolled out of bed, grabbed my gun, and prowled through the house, trying to piece everything together in my head. Double checking the locks on the doors and windows, I made my way through each room. A muffled sound caught my attention, and I froze.
“Grady.” It was soft, but I heard it.
I bolted up the stairs and down the hall to Madelyn’s room, expecting the worst. When I barreled into the room, she was tangled in the blanket and fighting off an imaginary attacker. I eased down onto the mattress and pulled her into my arms, trying to soothe her.
“I’m here, Madelyn. No one is going to get you,” I promised.
She quieted and grew still. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she looked up at me. “He was here. He was coming after me again.”
“No one’s here. It’s just you and me.”
“Promise?”
“I swear there’s no one here but us. You’re safe, Madelyn.”
“Will you stay with me?”
It would be hell to hold her all night, but I wasn’t going to leave her alone if she was that damn scared. I opened the bedside table drawer and almost smiled at the small collection of toys she had tucked in there. Not wanting to mess up any of her vibrators, I stuck the gun on the shelf below the drawer.
Madelyn curled against me, with her head on my chest and her leg thrown across my thigh. I tucked the blanket around her again so she wouldn’t catch a chill, and I closed my eyes. Sleeping was impossible with such a delectable woman tucked against me. She made the cutest sounds in her sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I fell asleep holding a woman, couldn’t remember having more than a one-night stand in my entire life.
My cock was so damn hard I worried it would break through my boxer briefs. It had been a few weeks since I’d been with a woman, and Madelyn was just too damn tempting. After what she’d been through, the last thing she needed was me lusting after her like some teen who couldn’t control himself.
Her soft hand drifted down my abdomen to the waistband of my briefs. My cock jerked in response. Her breath ghosted across my skin as she sighed. Madelyn shifted again, and her knee rose, sliding up my leg to rest just under my balls. If she was intent on killing me, she was doing a damn good job of it.
“I need a shower,” she mumbled against me.
The thought of her soaking wet with soap sliding down her long legs didn’t help my situation any. I shifted in an effort to get her a little further away from the danger zone. All she did was snuggle closer.
“I’ll keep watch out here if you want to get cleaned up,” I offered.
Her hand slid a little further down until her palm slid across my very erect cock. “Or you could join me.”
My brain short-circuited. That was the only explanation. Surely, she hadn’t just suggested that we shower together?
