Sweet Possession by Maya Banks Read Free Book Online

gaze fixed out of his window as if he found her company tedious.
    She frowned. She did not want him in her hotel room. He wouldn’t fit! He was too big. Too overbearing. Maybe she could inquire about an adjoining room and he’d be satisfied with having access. Then if she forgot and locked the door, she could say oops and he wouldn’t be invading her space.
    She hadn’t reserved a suite. Too much empty space with no people to fill it up and make her feel less lonely and . . . panicked. She’d taken a ridiculously small room and then filled it with all the stuff she’d brought with her because it had made her feel like she wasn’t alone.
    No way she wanted Connor Malone intruding. The mere idea had her breaking out in a cold sweat. She embraced a crowd. But being one-on-one? Especially with someone like Connor?
    God.
    She drove up to the front entrance and the valet opened her door for her. She dropped the keys into his hand and strode around to the revolving doors that led into the lobby.
    Connor was waiting and walked in practically attached to her hip. The man was tall and muscled and he took over her space to the point that with every inhale, his scent was permanently imprinted on her.
    He frowned when she resisted him herding her to the elevator and headed to the front desk instead.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Seeing if they have another room for you,” Lyric muttered. She put on her widest smile when the desk clerk asked if her if he could help.
    Connor put his hand over hers and squeezed. A warning. “There’ll be no separate room.”
    The clerk raised his eyebrows and glanced between Connor and Lyric with undisguised interest.
    Lyric tried to wrest her hand from his grip but he tightened his fingers over hers.
    “There isn’t room for you,” she hissed. “Not even on the floor! I have a single. It’s barely a shoe box.”
    “Since you’re only spending tonight here, we can deal.”
    “But my reservations are for two weeks!”
    Connor turned to the clerk and smiled. “She’s had a change in itinerary. We’ll be checking out in the morning.”
    Before she could utter another word, Connor took her elbow and propelled her toward the elevator. She had to hoof it to keep up with his pace, and the heels she wore weren’t conducive to a footrace. It was hard to look sexy and elegant when she was worried about tripping over her own feet.
    “Damn it, Malone,” she huffed when the elevator doors closed. “I don’t care what you were hired to do. You aren’t staying in my room.”
    “The name is Connor. Use it. And get over it. We’re going to be up close and personal for the next two weeks. My advice is to quit bitching and resign yourself to the inevitable.”
    She closed her eyes and bumped her head against the back of the elevator. She knew she sounded petulant and unreasonable, but the idea of him being in her personal space was seriously freaking her out.
    Her breath huffed out in jerky little spurts until her vision blurred and she grew light-headed. She was dimly aware of Connor’s frown and a muttered curse, but then, that shouldn’t surprise her. It seemed it was all he did around her.
    The elevator doors opened but that didn’t relieve the tightness in her chest. She stood helpless against the wall, unable to make her legs cooperate.
    Black spots danced in front of her eyes and the world seemed to get smaller and dimmer with each passing second.
    Connor yanked her from the elevator and she found herself plopped onto one of the leather couches in the small sitting area on her floor.
    “Breathe, Lyric. Look at me.”
    When she didn’t immediately do as he’d demanded, he coaxed her chin upward with gentle fingers. “Look at me,” he said again. “That’s it. Focus. Now breathe with me. Just like this.”
    She watched as he inhaled deeply and then exhaled in one smooth motion.
    “Think about what you’re doing. Watch me. Do what I do. I won’t let anything hurt you. You can trust