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She stood where she was, hugging herself and biting her lower lip.
“Luisa?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Come here.” I pulled her into my arms. “Tell me what you need, pet.”
“I’m scared,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“You don’t have to be alone. I can ask Jaicon to—”
She shook her head.
“What if we read a bit?” I offered.
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“I’m still tightly wound from the trip myself. It will help us both rest more easily. I’ll get my tablet from the other room. It’ll take but a minute,” I added when I pulled away, but her hand gripped mine. “Well, then, how about if you come with me?”
“Hang on.”
I waited while Luisa kicked off her shoes and removed her jacket, then I led her through the doors connecting the two rooms. Once we’d entered mine, she dropped my hand.
“This room feels different.”
I walked over to the table where my tablet sat, took off my own shoes, and dropped my jacket on the chest at the end of my bed. “How so?”
“Warmer.”
“If you’d prefer it, we can read in here. You can stay in here as well.”
“Will you stay, Press?”
My back was to her when she asked, and I was thankful for it. I closed my eyes, breathed in deeply, and reminded myself that to Luisa, I was her safety net, her protector, and while she may consider me a father figure, if I had to choose, I’d prefer older brother. Not that I wanted to be either.
The desire I felt for her was completely inappropriate. She needed comfort and reassurance.
The first time we lay in each other’s arms, I was overcome by grief and exhaustion after learning my mother had passed. She’d comforted me that night. Could I do the same for her now? Could I set aside the longing I felt, or would my body react of its own accord to the woman I hungered for? A kiss alone or a touch—skin to skin—would likely bring me to the epitome of pleasure.
It had been four months since I stopped seeing the last woman who’d been my lover. I hadn’t thought of her once since I first met Luisa the night she walked out of the shipping container, broken. Then, I only wanted to protect her, help her heal, be someone she felt safe with.
As she recovered, she became a woman I desired more than any other I’d ever known. It went beyond that, though. I’d fallen in love with her.
24
LUISA
Iwaited for Press to turn around, wishing he’d do it before he had the chance to mask whatever it was he was really feeling. There were times I’d noticed his expression go entirely blank. Not that I’d point it out.
Now, I longed for some sign of what my mother and sister insisted I was too blind to see.
When he’d bounded in the door after having left Butler Ranch less than an hour before, all I could think of was that I wanted him to hold me in his arms and never let go.
If I’d told him so, it wouldn’t have surprised him. He’d done it countless times before. It had changed for me, though. Yes, I wanted and needed his comfort, but earlier, what I felt more was desire. It made no sense, but the only way I could block what I’d seen in the message earlier was to focus entirely on Press. As long as he was within reach, the panic remained at bay. What I felt for him eclipsed everything else.
“Press?”
“I heard you, pet.”
