Page 19 of When He Fights (Protector & Defender #3)

“Baby, I was definitely satisfied. I just want to go again.” He eased away from her and pulled off the condom. “And again and again.”

She bit her lower lip. “We weren’t just a one-time deal? A tonight-only situation?”

Now his jaw locked. Hell, no, they weren’t a one-time deal.

“Adrenaline. Fear. Fury. Danger.” She seemed to be clicking off a list. “When it all passes, we’ll go back to our normal lives.”

He didn’t know what normal was. “I’ll be right back.” Kane spun on his heel. Made it to the bathroom. Ditched the condom. He spared a glare for his reflection in the mirror. Oh, that beard would be leaving soon. He wasn’t going to give Ana a burn anywhere again.

Kane headed back to the bedroom. The lamp’s light still glowed. When he’d first entered the bedroom with Ana, the bedside lamp had already been turned on, and he’d appreciated the light. It had allowed him to perfectly see Ana’s gorgeous breasts. The sensual temptation between her beautiful legs.

As he approached the bed, he drank her in. She’d turned away from him, and his gaze lingered on her right shoulder. And the small, black, musical tattoo on that shoulder. A tattoo he hadn’t noticed until that moment. He reached out, and his fingers brushed over the dark mark. “This is new.”

She tensed at his touch, then rolled toward him. Ana held the covers over her breasts. Her eyes blinked at him. “Zuri and I got tattoos about six months ago. Music is in my blood. Only made sense that it should be on my body, too.”

You’re in my blood, Ana. I need you on my body.

She had been, moments before, riding his cock like his hottest wet dream come to life.

Hell, what would she do if he got her name tattooed on him?

Probably freak the hell out. He should slow down.

Not start trying to figure out where to get tatted for her.

“Music is a part of me. I wanted it to always be a part of me.” She darted her gaze over him. “You, um, going back to your room?”

“I hadn’t planned to do that.” But he bent to snag his discarded sweats and haul them on. As much as he wanted to drive deep into her and spend the rest of the night fucking her into oblivion, he was gonna try and be a gentleman.

Yeah, right. Too late for that bullshit.

“What do you plan to do?” Ana inquired, voice very polite.

“Share the bed with you.”

“Why?” Blank. Perhaps a bit confused.

“Because I want to sleep with you. Because…” An exhale. “Because you almost died tonight, and I want to make sure I’m close. I don’t want to be next door. I want to be where I can reach out and touch you and make absolutely certain that you’re safe.”

She scooted over. Patted the bed. “Turn out the light, will you?”

When she scooted over, the covers shifted, and he caught a glimpse of the scar on her side. The small line that had come from Logan’s knife.

Rage seethed inside of Kane, but he didn’t say a word. He turned out the light. Slid into the bed. Promptly took up all the space.

“This might not work,” she said, poking at his side. “To paraphrase your favorite movie, we’re gonna need a bigger bed.”

A surprised rumble of laughter burst from him. Deep and warm and Kane couldn’t actually remember the last time that he’d laughed that way.

“You have a really nice laugh,” Ana murmured.

No one had ever told him that before. He rolled toward her, and yeah, they did need a bigger bed. Stat. “You remembered how much I liked Jaws. ”

“You were always turning on horror movies for us to watch. I shouldn’t have enjoyed them so much, seeing as how my life was a horror show back then.

” A soft sigh. “But you did it to distract me, didn’t you?

The movies, bringing me the snacks I liked to eat for the viewing sessions.

You were always trying to help me.” Memories teased in her voice.

“And you used to tell me random facts about each movie. Like, in Jaws, we didn’t see the shark until much later in the movie because the mechanical shark that was being used kept breaking down.

So we got the POV of the shark when he was attacking early on and that actually wound up making things even scarier.

” A pause. “Not knowing what is going to happen next, not being able to see the threat coming for you—that is scary.”

They weren’t talking about a fake shark. He got that. “I’m going to stop Logan.”

“And everyone else he sends after me? You just going to fight every threat that comes? You’re big, Kane, but you’re not a one-man army.”

“That’s just insulting.” He tugged her closer.

Wrapped an arm around her. Tried to ignore how insanely right she felt against him.

As if he’d been searching for her his entire life and he’d finally found the person who fit.

“I am definitely a one-man army. Anyone who says otherwise is a dirty liar.”

She put a hand over his chest. “I was scared when you went in the water.”

“I was scared when I heard you scream.”

Silence.

Then, just when he thought that she’d gone to sleep, Ana whispered, “You want me, but you’re not trying to have sex with me again.”

“I’ll always want you.” A basic truth for him.

“Why aren’t you trying to have sex with me again?”

He was tenting his sweats and the covers, and he was sure her eyes had adjusted to the darkness so she could see that fact. “Trying something new,” he told her. “Being a gentleman.”

“You’ve always been a gentleman with me.”

No, he’d been a dangerous bastard with her. At his core, that was exactly what he still was. “You hadn’t had sex in two years. It hurt you when I first went inside. I’m trying not to make you too sore.” His turn to pause. “Because I have plans for you.”

“You hadn’t had sex in two years, either.”

Ah, he’d wondered when she’d get to that fun trivia bit. Kane grunted.

“Why not?” Ana asked him.

“Why didn’t you have sex?” He turned the question back on her.

“Because my last lover turned out to be a killer. I have major trust issues.”

Yeah, fair enough.

“What about you?” Ana pushed.

“Told you, sweetheart, if I couldn’t have you, I wasn’t interested.”

“That’s—that’s not true.”

It was. She just might not be ready to handle his truth. “I tried to warn you before. You should have listened to me.” Now, it was too late. Did she even remember the words he’d given her on that long ago day? Kane did. He’d been dead serious.

I’m not a safe harbor. I’m a nightmare. One that you won’t be able to escape, not if you give yourself to me.

But she’d done it. She’d given herself to him.

When the time comes for me to step back, for you to move on to a new life, I won’t let go. I won’t step back.

She didn’t speak again. Neither did he. Her hand remained over his heart, and his arm remained locked around her.