When Somebody Loves You by Cindy Gerard Read Free Book Online

touched hers with such great care.
    He wanted to ravage the hot, wet interior of her mouth; he wanted to tumble her to her back then and there. Her wants took priority, though. Her needs held greater value. He’d never been like this with a woman. And while his protective instincts baffled him, he didn’t question that they were right on target. She needed to know that she could trust him.
    So he delivered on his promise and took her mouth slowly, pressing against her soft, trembling lips without insistence.
    She was sweet. Lord, so sweet. He could taste her desire simmering beneath the surface, but kept his own hunger in check. He could also taste her fear. It was the latter he catered to.
    Much sooner than he wanted to, he pulled away. He smiled at her stunned expression. “And that, Ms. Stewart,” he said, touching a finger to her parted lips, “is what you call exercising restraint.”
    She blinked slowly, a trait he was finding increasingly endearing. “And this,” she said on a shaky breath, “just in case you miss the message, is what you call saying good-bye.”
    Grabbing blindly for her things, she shouldered her way out of the Wrangler and ran through the rain to her door.
    Michael sighed in resignation. It had been a long time since he’d chased a woman. In fact, the last woman he’d chased hadn’t been a woman at all. She’d been ten years old and so had he, and they’d been playing tag in the school playground. But chase he did as he snagged her forgotten briefcase and headed up the walk to her front door.
    He rang the bell several times before she answered it. By then, he was wet to his underwear. He figured it would give him an edge.
    The door swung open. “What?” she snapped, ready to lay into him with both barrels.
    He looked pathetic. He knew it. He played on it. Dangling her briefcase from one dripping finger, he brushed his soaking hair out of his eyes and gave her a lost-puppy grin. “Guess you’ll have to let me in so I can dry out, huh? Sort of return the favor for the ride home?”
    She glared at him. “Do yourself a favor, Hayward. Go away. Stay away.”
    He was still wearing that stupid grin when she unceremoniously relieved him of the briefcase and slammed the door in his face.

    Michael counted to ten, walked stiffly to his Wrangler, and drove directly to the nearest bar. Two beers and forty-five minutes’ worth of contemplation later, he was back. He didn’t bother with the bell. He just hammered the hell out of her front door.
    He was about ready to start yelling when from inside a hall light came on. He heard some fumbling, then the metallic glide of a safety latch being slipped into place, and finally, the click of a dead bolt. The door opened a crack. A pair of wary brown eyes stared at him from behind huge, round-rimmed glasses.
    He didn’t wait for her to speak. “I’ve got something to say to you, and unless you want the whole damn neighborhood to hear it, I suggest you let me in.”
    Given the fact that he was madder than a dog who’d been stripped of his favorite bone, Michael was pleased with the outward calm with which he delivered his ultimatum. But when January hesitated and he sensed her next move, the rest came out on a growl. “So help me, Counselor, you slam this door in my face again, you’ll regret it.”
    If his threat bothered her, she didn’t show it. Her gaze met his in brief eye-to-eye combat before she expelled a patronizing sigh. Taking her sweet time about it, she unlatched and opened the door.
    “Please make it quick,” she said as she stood aside and shut the door behind him. “I’ve got a lot to do tonight.”
    Lord, but she was a piece of work, Michael thought. He ought to pound his soft head against a hard wall a couple of times for ever thinking she was vulnerable or sweet or sadly in need of a protector. The lady needed a protector like Wall Street needed another crash.
    “You know what your problem is?” he asked, taking a