Loving the Bear by Vanessa Devereaux Read Free Book Online Page A

you. I’m just glad you like it. My brother said it’s the worst thing he’s ever smelled and more likely to turn a woman away than attract one, but for some reason, I’ve always loved it.”
    He was just making small talk to be nice. God, what a clumsy idiot she was. Matt had been right. Lilly ran the tap and put her cleaning rag under it and began dabbing at the cologne. She wasn’t worried about it staining her clothing, but she just needed something to focus on. Her hands began to shake. The hot water intensified the smell of her clumsiness.
    It’s okay. I’m not with Matt. I’m not with him. I’m not going to get hurt for being stupid.
    Her hand shook some more and the next thing she knew Christopher was beside her, his hand covering hers. She swallowed. She was so used to Matt striking her when she’d done something dumb that her hand wouldn’t stop shaking despite Christopher having hold of it.
    “Lilly, it’s okay. You want to tell me about it?”
    She turned to look at him. He had such lovely blue eyes. Kind eyes.
    “Tell you what?” she asked.
    “Why you seem so nervous all the time?”
    She shook her head.
    “Okay, but when you do I’ll listen to every single word. I’m pretty good at that.”
    “I’ll just get this cleaned up and continue with my work.”
    He looked her in the eye.
    “I want to kiss you, but I’ve got a feeling you won’t let me. Am I right?”
    She wanted him to, but he was right. She wasn’t ready to do that just yet. She shook her head. Lilly didn’t want to hurt him so she had to explain. “It’s not because of you. It’s because of me.”
    She could smell and feel his breath on her face. Normally having anyone this close, let alone a man, would have sent her into a panic, but she sensed that Christopher wasn’t the hurting kind.
    He finally let go of her hand and stepped away. He turned and walked out of the bathroom. She wasn’t shaking anymore. Well, not the sort of shaking you did out of fear. More out of frustration. Her body craved a man touching it in a sexual way. What would it be like to have a man touch you and bring you pleasure and not pain? A man like Christopher?
    She shook off that thought and quickly got on with her work. She had the rest of the condo to clean , and hopefully she wouldn’t be tempted to touch any more of his stuff.
    ****
    Christopher sat down at his desk with every intention of sketching his ideas for the storyboard, but he finally gave up and set the pencil down on top of the paper. Lilly was now vacuuming in the hallway.
    She puzzled him. Intrigued him. She’d been shaking so bad it was like someone had plunged her into ice cold water. She was scared of something. Not just being touched, but getting physical and being around a man.
    Maybe she had been raped at some time in her life and that’s why she was reluctant to be touched and to date. No matter what the cause, he’d help her heal.
    He grabbed the pencil again and squeezed it so tight he almost broke it , and his knuckles turned white. If a man had raped her and she ever revealed who the asshole was, he’d hunt him down and kill him.
    Throwing the pencil down, again, he looked toward the hallway where he could hear Lilly humming a tune.
    Being so close to her while they’d been in the bathroom had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to walk away from. He’d been desperate to kiss her. Taste her lips, take in her scent. Wrap his arms around her and hold her close.
    He hoped she hadn’t seen or felt his erection. He’d never been that hard, never felt such a strong surge of blood pulsating through every vein and blood vessel in his cock , like he had about ten minutes ago. He wanted and needed sex.
    However, he wouldn’t rush her, or force her into doing anything she wasn’t sure about, or comfortable with. He didn’t want her to have any regrets when they did finally sleep together. He’d wait. He’d wait forever knowing there was a chance that one day