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“No,” she said truthfully. “But it’s only fair, don’t you think? You saved my life.” Though he had to know that wasn’t why she wanted this.
Hunter lowered his hands. “I don’t deserve any special treatment. Your attention should be on those guys.”
“It is,” she said. “But you deserve a dance. And I need this too.”
Hunter swallowed. A battle was taking place inside of him, evident in his conflicted expression. He stood long enough before her she thought he might deny her request, but then his hands returned to her waist. His acceptance and the feel of his hands around her sent a thrill through her.
“It’s nice to see you smile,” Hunter said, keeping his voice low. “You’ve been through more than many people ever face, what with these threats and the attack earlier. In one week’s time, no less. And yet you’re here. Smiling. What made you this way?”
Snow inhaled. She wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. “I’ve always been an optimist,” she said. “My parents have been my bedrock. I had a lot of health challenges in recent years, but that has just made me appreciate life more, I guess.”
“That explains why you’re so health-conscious.”
“I’ve only got one life,” she said. “I want to make it the best I possibly can. This coward who attacked me today will only be satisfied when I crumble and wither and breakdown. I refuse to give them that satisfaction. I’ve got cameras on me everywhere I go. And if bouncing back and staying strong is my best defense right now, so be it.”
His hands tightened at her waist, pulling her closer. “That’s an incredible outlook. I want my daughter to have your strength. Heck, I want to have your strength.”
“I’m not always strong,” she said, shaking her head.
“When have you ever not been?”
Right now? In his arms, she was growing weaker by the second. It would take strength to resist the pull of Hunter’s proximity, the outright magnetism flaring between them. The contrast wasn’t lost on her. This was something she’d hoped to feel with every one of the guys sleeping in her suite, but she hadn’t. She was sure they would be friends for life, but as far as romance went?
“This is throwing me off,” she said.
“What is?”
Snow wasn’t sure she should confess her feelings, but she was vulnerable. She meant when she’d said life was short—and she wasn’t going to waste any of it. She stroked the back of Hunter’s smooth neck and kept her voice quiet. “I’ve been waiting to feelthison every date I’ve gone on with those amazing men over there.”
“To feel what?” His voice was timid and unsure.
“This.”
Hunters hands fisted at her hips, but thankfully, he didn’t move them away from her.
“I can’t explain it, but something happens when you look at me,” she went on. “When you touch me.”
“Snow,” he said with frailty.
“You act like you don’t want me, yet I get a completely different vibe when we’re together.”
“I can’t want you,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how I’m feeling about you, Snow. I can’t act on it.” The agony in his tone was penetrating. Even as he spoke about being unable to have her, he pulled her closer.
They’d all but stopped moving. He held her captive, his gaze devouring her, his body firm, his arms keeping her against him.
“What if you could?” she said.
He stilled. His hands stroked her waist. She knew exactly what he meant. She was supposed to be having romantic moments with the other men in her suite—and if she had more time with a few of them, those feelings might develop—but she didn’t have to force them for Hunter. The feels were all there, hooking and reeling her closer to him.
“I think that’s something we can never know,” he said.
Eric cleared his throat. Snow blinked, startling and stepping away from Hunter. She hadn’t realized how close she’d gotten to him. In an instant, chagrin welled over her. She’d kept her voice low, but had the others heard her foolhardy confession?
Hunter released her and retreated. The absence of his touch was as noticeable as the heat in her cheeks. This wasnotgood. What was she going to do? She couldn’t fall for her bodyguard.
Eric made an impressive leap over the others and landed. He peered back at the others clustered in front of the TV, then at Hunter, and then he steered her toward her door where she’d been dancing with Hunter only moments before and lowered his voice. “You and I haven’t had our date yet,” he said.
She inhaled and rubbed her arm. Though she couldn’t fault him for it, she didn’t like the possession and accusation in his tone. “With all the chaos lately, we haven’t.”
