Page 1 of When He Fights (Protector & Defender #3)

One. One motel room. One bed. One massive bodyguard who had been her protective shadow for the last month.

Following her every move. Watching her with his intense, glittering, hazel eyes.

Sharing her meals. Learning her secrets.

Talking with her in that deep, sexy, rumbling voice that made her knees weak.

And this was it. Her night. Their night. Her one chance to?—

“All the other rooms were taken. Sorry, there’s only one bed.”

Ah. Yes. There it was again. The voice that made her quiver in ways that she should not. Because her life was on the line. Danger surrounded her. Sex should be the absolute last thing on her mind.

Exhaling slowly, Anastasia Patrick turned to face the utterly protective badass who’d followed her into the motel room. He’d kicked the door closed. Locked it. Now Kane Harte stood in front of that door like the massively immovable object that he was.

Anastasia swallowed. He wore a black t-shirt. One that stretched and struggled to fit around his truly massive shoulders and biceps. A valiant battle. Kane always wore t-shirts. And she did not object. How could she? Why on earth would she?

The tight t-shirts just make him look hotter.

Dammit. She was not supposed to be lusting after her bodyguard. She was not supposed to be fantasizing about him. She was not supposed to be…falling hard for him.

Yet she was. Oh, she was.

And tonight, this was going to be her one night to make her move.

Because maybe the attraction that threatened to rip her apart wasn’t one sided.

Maybe Kane felt the same intense, almost insanely powerful attraction, too.

Maybe it wasn’t just adrenaline and fear fueling her.

Maybe for the first time in her life, she wasn’t falling for the bad guy.

She was going for the hero.

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Kane added. He strode past her. Dropped their bags to said floor. “No big deal.”

“Uh…you don’t have to do that.” Her words sounded way too high. And sharp.

He glanced over at her with a frown. Stubble lined his hard jaw, and Kane had his battered baseball cap pulled over his head. Beneath that cap, thick, dark hair waited. Gorgeous hair.

Not that Kane was gorgeous . Not exactly. He was far too big and bold and dangerous-looking to be described as gorgeous. The man was truly massive in size. She figured he had to be an easy six-foot-four. And she couldn’t even guess at his weight. Every ounce of the man was pure muscle.

He towered over her own five-foot-four height, and the first time she’d met him, his size had made her nervous. Unsure. Now, though, it just made her feel safe. Correction, Kane made her feel safe.

Hard, square jaw. Sharp, slanting cheekbones. A long blade of a nose. And the most intense hazel eyes she’d ever seen…all of those features added up to dangerously attractive. Drop-dead sexy. But not gorgeous in the traditional sense.

Then again, who cared about the traditional sense? Kane is hot. I would love to climb him like the mountain he is.

“Ana?”

Oh, but she did adore it when he said the shortened version of her name. The name rolled and rumbled and almost sounded like an endearment.

And she realized she should be saying something. Oh, right. The bed. “You can share with me,” Anastasia blurted.

If possible, his face tensed even more. But, in that one moment, she saw desire—no, lust—flash in his eyes. A primitive, almost savage desire.

Yes, please. Her breath caught.

“I don’t think…that’s a good idea,” he gritted out.

Oh. Well… “Why not?” Whoops. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked but…

Dammit, why not? “Honestly, it seems like a great idea to me. It’s a king-size bed.

Obviously, it was designed for two people, and it has to be way more comfortable than the floor.

” A floor that did not look particularly clean.

Not like they were at a five-star resort.

They were on the run, staying at hole-in-the-wall locations as Kane tried to keep her out of sight.

Hiding was necessary because…

Her ex wanted her dead.

Her ex. A man who she’d discovered—much to her horror—just happened to be a powerful mob enforcer. And a hitman.

She’d rushed to the FBI with her discovery. They’d wanted her to wear a wire, to go back in and get evidence. They’d promised her a new life. Promised her safety if she worked with them.

She’d done everything they wanted but…

Her ex had discovered the truth. Now he was coming after her. The authorities couldn’t find him. He’d seemingly vanished. An easy enough task considering all of Logan Catalano’s shady connections.

The Feds were afraid that he planned to kill her. Thus, her hyper-protective bodyguard and hiding in off-the-beaten-path motel situation. Anastasia was also concerned about the same dire ending for herself—and, thus, her not arguing at all when she’d had to go on the run with her new bodyguard.

Fun fact? She wanted to keep living. She liked living. Sue her.

“I don’t mind sleeping on the floor,” Kane told her.

The lust was gone from his eyes. One thing she’d quickly learned about Kane was the fact that the man was great at concealing his emotions.

Hello, stoic expression. But she’d seen that flash, and she now knew that there was a weak spot in his armor.

“Is that what you want?” Oh, yes, her voice had gone breathy.

She couldn’t help that. Grabbing onto her courage with both hands, she closed the distance between them.

Stopped right in front of Kane. Tilted her head back and stared into those wonderful eyes of his.

“Why don’t you tell me what you really want? ” Husky.

His jaw hardened. “Ana.”

“Kane.” She put one hand on his chest. Ohmygosh. So hard. So strong. So sexy.

“This isn’t a good idea.”

“What isn’t?” Did he understand—at all—how difficult this was for her? She was taking a risk, but Anastasia thought he was worth it. Honestly, he might be worth any risk.

“If I get in that bed with you…” Kane’s words trailed off.

“What will happen?” The heat from his body reached out and curled around her even as his rich, masculine scent tempted and teased her.

“I’ll fuck you.”

Her mouth dropped. Oh, yes, sweet victory, he’d just said the words…

Out loud. Finally, the man had given voice to the simmering need between them.

She’d felt that need almost from the first moment.

Tried to ignore it. Tried to fight it. And then she’d just given up.

She felt an instant attraction to Kane. Felt an amazing chemistry that made her body practically burn for him. And he was saying he felt the same way.

“Good.” Anastasia shot onto her tiptoes. Her hands curled around his shoulders as she tried to pull him and his delectable mouth closer to her. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”

His hands clamped around her waist. “No.”

Yes. In so many ways…yes. “Why not?” Her gaze searched his.

“Because you’re scared. Because you’re living on the edge. Because you’re not thinking clearly.”

“Kane?” Her heart slammed hard in her chest.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

And he did. Those powerful hands of his lifted her like she weighed nothing and he held her and his mouth crashed onto hers.

Implosion. Explosion. Whatever. Her whole body seemed to ignite as a white-hot lust raced through her veins.

Her mouth was open. His was open. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and he tasted and he took.

Her nipples tightened and her sex quivered, and she knew she was getting wet and super turned on and it was all from a kiss.

Her nails bit into his shoulders. A moan broke from her. She let go of all control and kissed him like the desperate woman that she was.

Kane.

He’d been in her dreams. In her mind. In her fantasies. And, ever-so-sneakily, he’d worked his way into her heart.

Her legs wrapped around him. Seemed like a normal move to make as he held her with that effortless strength of his.

Kane was moving them. Taking a few, quick steps even as he kissed her as if his very life depended on the task.

Then she felt the hard, flat surface of the wall against her back.

He pinned her between his body—his heavily aroused body—and the wall.

Kane was built along massive dimensions, and the cock shoving so hard against her was equally massive.

But his hold was careful on her waist. He’d always been so careful. Meanwhile, she just wanted to rip the man’s clothes away and climb all over Kane.

“No.” He’d torn his mouth from hers. “I can’t. We can’t.” His breath shuddered out. He didn’t back away. Kept right on pinning her to the wall.

Her legs kept right on being wrapped around his waist. Her nails were still in his shoulders, pressing through the t-shirt. “Kane?”

“You don’t want this.”

Oh, her arching hips said she did. “I want you.” Just so they were clear.

“It’s fucking displacement. Gray warned me this shit would happen.” A hard exhale. “You don’t want me. You want the safety that I offer.”

Um, she wasn’t turned on right then because of safety. “I know what I want.”

“Ana…”

Longing poured through her. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Kane.” A stark admission made as she continued to have her legs wrapped around his waist.

At her words, his eyes blazed and he…

“No.” Very firm. Kane pulled away. Lowered her at the same moment.

Her sneaker-clad feet hit the floor.

“You don’t love me,” Kane denied. Definite.

Her heart kept racing, but a chill skated over her skin. “You tell me what I want. What I don’t want. You tell me when and who I don’t love.” Her arms curled around her stomach. “I think I’m the expert when it comes to knowing how I feel.”