Hunger's Mate by A. C. Arthur Read Free Book Online Page B

catching his wrists before he could remove her glasses.
    One thick eyebrow rose as he watched her intently. “You wanna know how I know you’re not a criminal, Jewel?” he asked without making a motion to pull out of her grip.
    And he could, Jewel knew without a doubt. If he wanted her glasses off, he could easily overpower her and take them off. If he wanted the wig off, that would be on the ground too. Hell, if he wanted to kiss her … she knew all too well the strength of a man when he wanted something from a woman.
    â€œHow?” she asked, the single word a mere whisper against the sultry night air.
    â€œBecause you can’t lie worth crap,” he replied instantly. “Your lips have been trembling since you looked at me. Unless…” He paused. “Unless you’re trembling for another reason.”
    Jewel shook her head instantly. “No. No. I’m not trembling at all,” she said, dropping her hands from his wrists and turning so that he couldn’t reach the glasses. She pushed at him then. “You’re taking up my oxygen being this close.”
    He took a step back, still watching, still knowing. Dammit, he knew there was something wrong, knew without her wanting or needing him to.
    â€œI’m an adult. I work for Perryville Resorts but what I do in my personal life is my business. What you are doing, Mr. Preston…” She said his name with great emphasis after their morning exchange. “Is borderline harassment. Shall I file a formal complaint with the management?”
    She’d moved from the spot against the wall, figuring that was aiding the entrapment she felt and reached for the door handle while he continued to look at her.
    â€œAs you stated, you’re an adult, you can do whatever you want,” he told her as she slipped inside the building and thankfully out of his reach.

 
    Chapter 5
    â€œAnd so can I,” Ezra continued, following her inside the stairway.
    Before she could take another step he had her back against the wall once more, his fingers buried deep in the wig he was certain she was wearing, his lips crashing down over hers. Her sunglasses fell from her face to the floor. His tongue took hers by surprise, but only momentarily. In the next instant she was kissing him back, her head tilting, her tongue dueling hungrily with his.
    Fueled solely by desire now, Ezra lifted her leg, locking it behind his back. His hand slipped quickly beneath the dress she wore, going straight for the warmth he knew was waiting just for him. Slipping her panties aside, he thrust two fingers into her quickly. His heart thumped in his chest as if he’d run a couple of miles, his cat roaring the instant the warm, wet walls of her pussy gripped his fingers tightly. He growled into the kiss, his other hand tightening on the back of her head. Her hips bucked once beneath him and then she froze.
    She turned her head away from him and gasped, “Stop it.” Her breathing was heavy, hitching on her words as she pressed as far into the wall as she could to get him away from her.
    Moving away was the last thing Ezra wanted to do. Taking his hand from the moist pleasure between her legs was like asking him to stop breathing. But as he looked down onto the side view of her face, and saw that her eyes were tightly closed, her body so tense now, he feared his brute strength might actually hurt her. He eased his hand away from her, dislodged the other from her hair, and took a step back.
    She hurriedly stepped away from him then, turning her back on him, but not going up the stairs. Ezra watched the movement of her shoulders, the up and down as she tried to calm her breathing. He inhaled deeply, let out the breath slowly, and his teeth clenched.
    â€œIt’s not my intention to hurt you, Jewel. You have to trust that I would never do anything to hurt you,” he told her in response to the heavy stench of fear filling his