“You should be used to it by now.” His teeth flashed in a smile that made her pu**y weep in loneliness as he stepped into the house, pulling the door from her grip and closing it softly.
He was going to drive her to an asylum before it was over with. The man was like an unstoppable force once he got something in his head, and since her attack, he had appointed himself her personal bodyguard whenever he deemed it necessary.
She sighed wearily. She was exhausted. Sleep was a thing of the past and paranoia whipped through the night like the rattle of ghostly chains.
“Vince call?” he asked as he moved into the kitchen, heading straight for the automatic coffeepot. She had learned to time it for his visits.
She stood still as the question filtered through her morning grogginess, holding her still in shock.
“How did you know he was released?” She frowned in irritation as she followed him. “And since when did you decide to just make yourself at home here?”
He pulled one of the mugs from a hook under the cabinet and poured the coffee with the ease of a man comfortable in his surroundings.
“Stop trying to sidetrack the conversation,” he retorted calmly. “Why didn’t you tell me when you found out he was released? It’s been a week.”
She pushed her hands deep into the pockets of her baggy flannel pajama bottoms and hunched her shoulders defensively.
“Because it was none of your business?” she suggested mockingly. “I didn’t make his bail for him and I’m not taking his calls. There’s nothing else I can do until the court date.”
“He’s been calling?” The cup lowered back to the counter as his voice lowered dangerously.
Hell. It was too damned early to deal with this crap.
“A few times,” she answered waspishly. “Let it go, Sax. You’re not my father or my husband.”
His eyes narrowed. The deep chocolate depths of his gaze sent a shiver of sensation through her. So far, he had been gentleness itself as she healed from Vince’s attack. He hadn’t really pushed her for anything other than breakfast, and though his sexuality was always present, he kept it reined in for the most part. She had a feeling, based on that look, it wouldn’t last for long.
“I’m not going to sit idly by while he beats the hell out of you again, either,” he informed her, his voice cold, his expression shuttered as he watched her. “And look at you, you aren’t even sleeping anymore. Do you think I don’t know what those shadows under your eyes mean, Marey? Why are you being so stubborn?”
She breathed out roughly as she stalked to the coffeepot herself. No one should have to deal with this without that first cup of coffee.
“Don’t start again, Sax,” she snapped. “I’m not moving in with you. It’s not happening, noway, nohow.”
Especially not now. She poured her coffee, reining in her own fury at the circumstances. To be honest, she had been giving in, considering the offer he had made after she came out of the hospital, tempted by the hot looks, the promise of passion and heat in his eyes. Vince’s release from jail had canceled even the consideration of such a move. There was no way she would dare to push him that far now. The instability she only glimpsed during their marriage had become terrifying.
She poured the steaming liquid into her cup, ignoring him as he crossed his arms over his chest, straining the white silk shirt he wore and making him look impossibly strong. It was obvious he hadn’t grown lax in the four years since he had left the Army and joined Delacourte. His body looked just as tight and hard as it had when he came home.
A woman really, really shouldn’t have to face this so early in the morning. This amount of sex appeal, dominance, and pure male presence should be reserved for fantasies alone.
As she turned away, she stiffened as she felt the whisper of a touch over the curve of her rear. Balancing the hot coffee, she shot him an irritated glare.
“That was dirty and low,” she snarled as he grinned back at her unrepentantly. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
He snorted at that, a male sound of disbelief. “That’s not going to happen, Marey. And we’re not finished discussing this Vince thing, either. If you won’t move in with me, then I’ll park on your doorstep instead.”
“And I’ll have the sheriff drag you off.” She sat down at the small breakfast table, her cup thunking on the glass top as she flicked him another irate look. “Sit down and drink your coffee, Sax. It’s too early in the morning to argue with you.”
“Add that to the fact that you haven’t slept in weeks.” He frowned back at her. “Yes, I can see where your patience would be wearing thin. Aren’t you sick of it yet? Being too damned scared to reach out for what you want?”
“You being what I want, of course,” she suggested sarcastically. “Don’t you get tired of running after women who don’t want you?” Lord forgive her for that lie. It was a whopper.
He laughed at her then. A low, deep chuckle that stroked over her senses and had her clit reminding her voraciously just how much it longed for his touch. It was swollen, sensitive, just as her ni**les were, her br**sts—hell, every cell in her body was aching for him.
“You’re almost awake enough this morning to pull that lie off.” If his frown was anything to go by, he was less than pleased. “Try getting some sleep tonight and maybe I’ll pay attention tomorrow.”
Maybe pushing Sax at seven-thirty in the morning wasn’t a good idea, she thought a second later as he pulled her from the chair, one powerful arm hooking around her waist as he brought her flush with his very hard, very aroused body.
“Sax…” She meant to protest. Really, she assured herself. She was outraged that he would be so dominant, so sexually determined at the drop of a hat.
Of course she was, her conscience mocked her as her lips opened beneath his, a moan shuddering from her chest as his tongue licked at her lips, possessive and intent on claiming the territory beyond.
She was going to protest this. She was going to tell him just how arrogant and completely, impossibly unfair he was being and all the reasons why this was a really bad idea.
Sure she was, she mocked herself as her hands gripped his shoulders, her lips opening beneath his as she felt his hands moving slowly beneath the loose material of her nightshirt, pressing against her stomach as he played with the strings that tightened the waistband of her pajamas.