Bound to Her by Deborah Pin (popular books to read .txt) 📖

walked back into the kitchen. He

caught them laughing about something and when they looked up and

saw him, the laughter drifted off. Kat looked nervous and Stephens looked confused and annoyed.

“You’re set up for the self-defense class tomorrow night.”

“Kat, you should call Smith or Terrell and set up the time you meet them at your house for after lunch sometime, then I can take you straight

to your class from there.”

“Sure.” Dillon just watched them, unable to get a grasp on exactly why he was feeling so angry, hurt and just plain jealous.

Stephens stood slowly and Katrina followed him to the door as Dillon

stayed sulking in the kitchen.

When she returned she let out a deep sigh. “You’re upset with me.”

“No.” He looked at her for a moment as she watched him with a

furrowed brow. “I’m going for a run. I’ll leave out the back.” He brushed

past her as he left the room and ran upstairs to change and he didn’t see

her again before he left the house.

He pushed through ten miles, not even trying to pace himself. He let

his muscles burn, focusing on the intense pain instead of letting his mind

wander back to her. When he finally made it home, he peeked in on her upstairs. She was asleep in his bed. He went back downstairs and fell asleep on the couch.

Chapter Twenty-Three

When they said the house was a total loss they weren’t kidding. She

literally walked away with nothing—not a single article of clothing, not a

single picture, nothing. She’d called her insurance company on Monday

and arranged a time for someone to meet her there around the same time

as Detectives Smith and Terrell expected her. The man didn’t stay long. It

didn’t take a genius to see there was nothing salvageable there.

The house would be leveled as soon as it could be arranged because it

was more a safety hazard than anything. The insurance man left shortly

after he arrived with a grimace on his face. “Sorry, Ms. Page.” She’d heard that three times already. The fire inspector, Detective Terrell and now the insurance dude. She might sock the next person who said it to

her.

“Love what you’ve done to the place, kiddo.” Stephens elbowed her

in the side as he came to stand by her and watch the insurance agent leave. “But hey you’ve still got a completely intact chimney. Whataya know.”

She chuckled. At least he hadn’t apologized. She looked at him for a

moment. She needed Imogen here and the fact she was settling for

Stephens was almost comical. The fact she was so glad to have him there

and didn’t actually feel like she was settling at all was just plain surprising.

“Dillon is upset with me.”

He looked at her for a moment, saying nothing. She was sure this made him uncomfortable. Chick talk could not be high on this man’s talent list.

“I told him I thought I should get an apartment or stay in a hotel for a

while.”

His brow suddenly furrowed. “Why the hell did you say that?”

“I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me. How could I not want to remove myself from the people who could be hurt? Imogen,

Dillon, Seth. I can’t have their safety, or lack of, on my hands. Dillon

shouldn’t be in the position of wanting to protect me at the expense of Seth’s safety.”

“So was that why you two seemed like you were Jedi mind-fighting

with each other last night?”

She nodded. “We were arguing just before you got there.”

“That explains it.” He took a deep breath. “Listen, Dillon knows how

to protect you and how he chooses to balance you and Seth during this

ordeal is his choice, not yours. He’s Seth’s father and he’s a good father.

You don’t need to question that.” Stephens’ voice was demanding as he

spoke and it brought Katrina up short. “This isn’t a conflict that would exist between the two of you were it not for your case.”

“Just another reason it’s not a good idea for us to see each other, right?”

“I was going to say be patient. The case is temporary. Your

relationship isn’t. At least I was under the assumption it wasn’t a casual

thing. Maybe you should talk to him about it.”

“I was asleep before he got back from his run last night and he avoided me all morning.”

“It couldn’t have helped that you and I were talking so much last night moments after you practically said there were things more

important than your relationship and you wanted to move out. Try to see

it from his perspective.”

“You’re pretty good at chick talk.”

“Fuck off. I better get you to the Y for your class.”

She groaned. “This should be good. He really has no idea how

uncoordinated I am. I’ll probably end up doing more damage to myself

than anyone else.” Stephens chuckled as he walked her back to his car.

* * * * *

She decided quickly she actually liked self-defense. That’s not to say

she was any damn good at it but there was something about sweating her ass off while she tried to kill a man—a man safely concealed in bizarre-looking protective gear but a man all the same. It wasn’t hard to

imagine Mr. Lunatic under the layers of shielding and she enjoyed

herself immensely as she brought her knee up to his groin, put her elbow

into various places on his body and stomped her heel down on his toes.

She was ready to kill anything that tried to hurt her and do it with a

vengeance by the end of the four hours she spent with Selena and the unknown pretend bad guy. She showered quickly in the locker room,

changed into jeans and a shirt and when she re-entered the exercise room, she found Selena talking to a handsome man with blonde hair.

They were obviously a couple given their body language and as she approached Selena looked up to her.

“How do you feel, Kat?”

“Uh, great actually. That was a lot of fun.”

Selena laughed. “Well you should join us next week if you can.

Jeremy will let you beat the shit out of him a bit more, won’t you, Jeremy?”

He winked at Katrina. “Hell yeah, I will. You did great.”

“Ah, sorry about that. I pictured you as some creepy disturbed man

under there.”

Now he laughed at her. “Not so creepy. But then there are plenty of

creeps who don’t look creepy.” He cocked his head at her. “I’m not one

of them though. Can we walk you out?”

Katrina nodded and they stood, walking her from the building to the

nearly deserted parking lot. She spotted Dillon waiting in his Tahoe instantly and he eyed her impassively. His regard for her reminded her

very much of their first meeting at parent-teacher conferences when she’d pissed him off.

Selena gave her a quick hug. “So maybe we’ll see you next week, Kat.

Take care.”

Katrina thanked them before turning toward Dillon’s car. He watched

her and she couldn’t manage to hold his gaze. She didn’t really

understand what was going on between them but she hated it. It had been over twenty-four hours since things had turned to shit and she wasn’t even sure whose fault it was or exactly what had happened.

When she climbed in he said nothing. He pulled from the parking

space and headed home. “Are you hungry? We could stop for dinner

somewhere?” She hated the hopefulness in her voice. She didn’t know if

she should be angry, apologetic or downright defensive but her voice just

sounded needy and pathetic.

“I’ve already eaten but if you’d like to go through a drive-through, I

can.” He said it without the least bit of inflection to his voice and his eyes remained on the road in front of him.

“That’s okay. I’m not that hungry.” She was hungry actually, but

she’d just decided defensive was definitely going to be her approach—

angry too, for that matter.

They drove in silence and once he’d pulled into the garage, closing the garage door behind him, he climbed out and headed into the house

without even waiting for her. She followed as her anger built with each

footstep and when she finally caught up to him in the living room, she stopped holding her tongue and set it loose.

“Care to tell me why you’re being such a dick to me?”

“Because you’re being so much nicer?”

“You’re the one who’s ignored me for the past day.”

“And you’re the one who wants to walk away from this due to some

misguided notion that you’re endangering my life.”

“I am endangering your life! And not just yours. Seth’s…”

“And he is my responsibility!” He was glaring at her and she was doing her damndest to glare right back. “Wanna tell me why you’re suddenly so chummy with my partner?”

Her mouth dropped open, her brow furrowed in incredulity and she

suddenly felt guilty. He was watching her intently with his hands on his

hips. His nostrils were flaring and he was waiting oh so patiently for her

to give him a reason to explode. He was furious. She looked at the floor

between them, studying the rug as she tried desperately to figure out what to say.

When she finally looked back up to him she took a deep breath. He was all strength and height and masculine power standing in front of her

and she wanted that security wrapped around her. She’d pushed him

away. She’d done it for a damn good reason but she’d done it

nevertheless. And she wondered why he was acting jealous that she was

getting along with Stephens so well. She’d threatened to take away his ability to protect her and then confided in his partner rather than him.

When she approached him, his glare remained and he simply

followed her with his eyes, glowering down at her. She reached for his stomach, feeling his muscles flinch under the fabric of his t-shirt. The look on his face was almost terrifying but as she let her forehead drop to

his chest, he released a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” She wasn’t even sure he

heard her and she lifted her head to see him. “I’m sorry.”

“Have you done something to be sorry about?”

She nodded and watched as his jaw clenched and he looked away

from her. “I’m terrified I’m going to be the reason someone else gets hurt,

but I’m sure my insistence on leaving to protect you felt like I was taking

away your ability to protect me.”

His eyes returned to her and his forehead creased in confusion. He hadn’t expected her to say that apparently. “On top of that I talked to Marc about it when I should have talked to you. And because you

already felt like I was pushing you away it must have felt like quite a betrayal.”

“Did something happen with you and Stephens?” Her eyes found his

as she gasped.

“No! Not like that. He’s doing this to protect us—to protect you.” He

stared at her with no less confusion on his face than had been there since

she’d started talking. When he finally glanced away he shook his head slightly as he tried to wrap his head around what she was saying.

“I thought…I don’t know what I thought.”

“That I was attracted to him?” He looked back to her and nodded

slightly. He almost looked embarrassed. When she let her hands trail down to his hips and she pulled her body up close to his, peering up to

his guarded and dark eyes, she did her best to put him at ease.

“I’m not attracted him. I’m attracted to you. I’m in love with you.”

Then she took a deep breath and braced herself for yet another argument.

“I also think I need to move back to Imogen’s by the time Seth gets home.”

He took a deep breath and a step back from her as she kept her breathing calm and relaxed. She knew it would upset him but she knew

it was the right thing to do. “Dammit, Kat.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

“Please listen to me.” She was begging and the moment he looked at

her and crossed his arms across his chest, she launched into her speech in fast-forward mode.

“You know I would only be moving in here because of my safety. You

may love me, but the only reason you want me here this soon is because

you’re worried about me.”

She raised her brow, but he gave her no response but to sear into her

with his eyes. “I want a real relationship with you. The kind that won’t

rush Seth into getting used to me being around and used to the idea of us

being together. If our relationship is going to go beyond this case then we

have to think about what’s best for our future—not just what makes you

feel better right now.”

When he approached her he placed his hands gently on her shoulders

and watched her. She was certain she’d reached him. That was until he

responded. “How about the fact you have to survive the now to get to the future?” His eyebrows shot up but his mouth was a serious line. He

turned from her and walked out of the room and she just stared after him.

She was coursing with electricity as she climbed the stairs a few minutes later. She knew he’d gone upstairs but she wasn’t entirely sure

why she’d followed. He wasn’t giving an inch and she wasn’t sure she could either. Every time she imagined something awful happening to

Seth or Dillon it was like a knife to her gut. She loved him. She wasn’t lying when she said it.

She also believed he loved her too and while it perfectly explained why he was so intent on keeping her close, it just simply didn’t matter.

He believed he could protect her and she believed in him. But did she believe him enough to risk his life or his son’s? Hell no she didn’t.

When she opened the bedroom door, she was surprised to see he

wasn’t there. It took her a minute to find him in what appeared to be a

spare bedroom. He was lying on the bed, when she came in, staring at the ceiling.

“If I go back to Imogen’s this weekend, what does that mean for us?”

“Are you giving me an ultimatum?”

“No. I’m asking if you’re giving me one.” She retorted as he stared at

her. “And what’s this? You’re no longer going to sleep with me if you don’t get your way? Is that why you’re sulking in the spare room? Seems

a bit childish if you ask me.”

“Really? No more childish than refusing to do what’s best for yourself

and being a stubborn brat!”

“You’re one to talk. Have you met yourself? Stubborn should have

been your middle name, rather than—well what the hell is your middle

name anyway?”

“Bray.”

“Bray isn’t a name. Dillon Bray Adler? That’s weird.”

“And what is your middle name?”

“Anne.”

“Fine. That’s actually nice.” And they just stared at each other like idiots.

When she walked to the side of the bed, climbed up and straddled his

hips, he just looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “Are you going

to leave me if I move back to Imogen’s this weekend?”

He sighed, stared at her for a ridiculously long time and then finally

when she’d nearly given up on him he sat up, bringing his face right up

to hers. “No. I’m going to make love to you every chance I get, tell you I

love you every day and punish you by withholding orgasms and making

you beg for every last one you get.”

She exhaled a deep sigh of relief. “Well, so long as you’re not going to

be immature about it.”

“I’m dealing with a stubborn-ass girlfriend who’s going to give me a

coronary. I deserve an immature moment or two.” He sighed before he

kissed her gently and pulled back to look at her again. “I won’t make you

beg tonight if you do me a favor.”

“What?”

“Fly to San Francisco with me tomorrow. We can drive back with

Molly and the boys on Saturday.”

“Why?”

“I want to talk to Seth about us. Not about your case. He already suspects enough to worry himself and he doesn’t need the details but I want him to know we’re seeing each other. I don’t want to waste time making you part of my life. At the same time, you’re right that Seth needs time to adjust to that. For your safety, I may want you here but for

our relationship I do want Seth to have time and you for that matter. A life with me means a life with a teenage boy too—not that he’s not a great

kid but you already know that.”

She did know that. She nodded slowly. Her reaction might have been

calm but her heart was pounding. Going to San Francisco meant dealing

with his mom, dad, sister, son and nephew all at once and springing the

news on every single last one of them that they were dating too. That was enough to terrify anyone. Couple that with the fact it had been years

since she’d had to do the family thing and she was freaking the fuck out.

But she nodded. For him, she’d suck it up.

“Thank you.” His expression finally softened and his incredible,

delicious lips finally pulled up seductively. His fingers reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head. He kneaded her breasts

through her bra as he held her eyes and she gasped at the harshness of

his touch. The pressure was demanding as he groped but it was

possessive and she wanted him to possess her. She reached back and unclasped her bra and when it slipped down her arms, he released his grip and let his eyes take in her breasts.

He reached out to her nipples as he sank back to the pillows that were

propped up behind him. He pinched her nipples and pulled them away

from her body. She whimpered at the intense and sudden pain as his lips

parted and he studied what he was doing to her. He held his grip as she

panted.

His pinch was varying in pressure and the moment she thought the

pain was too intense, he’d release the pressure just enough that she’d groan in relief. Then the tightening would start all over again. It was intense, about as intense as the searing expression in his eyes.

But it ended swiftly when he sat up suddenly, lifting and rolling their

bodies until he was pinning her down on the bed. His mouth

immediately attacked one nipple soothing the raw and throbbing flesh before he moved to the other. He licked, sucked and hummed against her

skin. He left her breasts sore, abused and tingling in lustful desire for more of his touch.

He reached for the waist of her pants, undoing the button and

lowering the zipper. His fingers slipped beneath the waist of her jeans and underwear and tugged down as she lifted her hips. His mouth

stayed latched to her breast and she was moaning by the time he managed to pull her pants down to her hips.

He left them there, pulling back from her body and letting his gaze travel from her eyes lower to her chest and then down to her groin. She

was wet, she was needy and she felt sure her blood had been replaced with fire. It was coursing through her body in a prickling warmth that left her skin feeling flushed.

His eyes stayed glued to her exposed vagina and though her legs

were held tightly closed by her jeans that were just barely down to her hips, he still seemed to be enjoying the sight of her. He reached to her sex lips, parting them and exposing her tight and swollen clit to the cool air.

If she thought her skin was prickling before, it was damn near

vibrating now and it was sending all the warmth straight to her exposed

clit. He leaned down and she lifted her head to watch as he let just the tip of his tongue reach out and torment the peaked nub. She couldn’t help the curse that escaped her lips then and he chuckled before blowing a puff of air directly on her clit. She cried out and swore again.

“Now is that any way for a junior high teacher to speak?”

“I thought you said you weren’t going to make me beg?”

“I’m not making you beg but you’re more than welcome to if you’d like. It won’t get you where you want to be any faster though. I’m in no

hurry tonight.” His voice was controlled and deep. The kind of deep that

reeked of testosterone and lust.

He leaned down again, once more licking with the lightest touch with

only the tip of his tongue. She felt like screaming at the sensation. It wasn’t enough and he knew it but he licked, slowly tracing around the swollen peak of her clit and finally pushing up to hit the center at that one most perfect spot that shot spasms of pleasure out through her body.

But it still wasn’t enough.

When he leaned back from her body again he smiled. It was more a

taunting smirk than a smile, and she trembled. She couldn’t help but think this was payback for not getting his way.

“Lift your legs.” He watched her, waiting for her to comply. It was obvious he was done toying with her clit and she finally gave up hoping

for more of that and did as he asked. The smile he gave her was subtle.

“Thank you.” This was definitely payback.

She pulled her legs up letting her knees bend and resting the tops of her thighs to her stomach. Her vagina and bottom were exposed to him

and his gaze started roving over her as she shook. It wasn’t as though she

were frightened of him but he could see every inch of her in glaring detail.

He reached out and let his finger trail between the lips of her sex. She

was slick and she could feel the ease at which his finger glided through

her moisture. Her legs were tight together but the wetness allowed his finger to slip between her lips easily. He massaged back and forth with

his middle finger before pushing it past her lips and into her pussy. She

whimpered and he held her eyes as he thrust gently in and out.

When he pushed a second finger in with the first she groaned and he

kept watching her face. He was refusing to look away from her eyes in fact and as intimidating as it was in her current rather exposed position,

it was also an incredible turn-on.

“You like this, don’t you?”

She could barely breathe let alone answer but when he pulled his

fingers from her body, waiting for her to respond, she managed to speak.

“Yes.”

“And you wouldn’t want me to stop now would you?” He pushed his

fingers back in slowly as his words toyed with her.

“No.” Her voice managed to lurch even midway through her single

syllable response.

“Are we going to start getting along better?” He slipped a third finger

in and her stomach muscles started quivering. She nodded as her

breathing started to stutter and gasp. “Please answer me. I so enjoy hearing your voice when you’re being agreeable.”

“Yes.”

“That’s what I thought. Now how about a peace offering?” She wasn’t

at all sure what that entailed but at this point she was pretty much on board with whatever he wanted.

“Okay.” He pulled his fingers from her pussy and quickly finished

pulling her pants off her legs. When he pushed her knees apart, she just

watched and when he lay down between her legs, she sighed. She was so

ready for this.

“Now spread your lips for me—just like you do when we make love.”

She reached down, parting her sex with her index finger and middle finger and he studied her.

If she thought she was exposed before, this was just plain

gynecological, but he smiled at the view. He leaned to her, kissing one finger before running his tongue up and over to the other finger. He sucked her middle finger into his mouth, letting his warm tongue

massage the length of it.

He released her middle finger, pulling the other into his mouth as well and before long, he had both of her fingers in his mouth and he was

sucking and stroking with his tongue. The sight of him sucking on her fingers as he laid between her legs about undid her and she swallowed

over a lump in her throat as he released her and she parted her lips again.

He kissed her sex next, pulling her overly deprived clit into his mouth

and sucking hard on her sensitive swollen nub. She could feel his top lip

against the skin between her fingers and she could feel the corner of his

mouth brushing and working against the side of her fingers.

When he released her clit, he started licking. He lashed over the peaked skin over and over before moving down to her entry and

thrusting inside. Her fingers were digging inside her open lips, as she came close to losing her mind with every new touch. He was thrusting and tasting and when he pulled back, his lips glistened. She could feel the wetness drip down and trickle between the cheeks of her bottom.

The pad of his thumb gently spread and rubbed the moisture into her

anus. She clenched her bottom inadvertently until his eyes flashed to hers and he shook his head. It was by sheer force of will that she relaxed

to his touch and she let him explore her but when it pushed through, there was no control left and her muscles instantly seized.

“Relax, baby. I’m not going to hurt you.” She was whimpering as he

shushed her and kept thrusting his thumb little by little into her bottom.

The sensation wasn’t pain—at least not once he’d passed through the tight ring of muscles at her entry—but it was entirely new to her. He thrust, pushing completely inside and she could feel him wiggling gently

as he continued to push in and retreat just slightly, over and over. The fingers of his same hand were gripping the side of her bottom and she

dropped her hand down to clutch his. She held the top of his hand as his fingers dug into her skin.

When he attacked her pussy again, she started writhing. He was

licking, sucking and tormenting her clit and she could feel the wetness building and her fingers sliding through it with every movement of his

tongue or lips over her skin. His cheeks were brushing her fingers and his thumb continued to pulse and thrust in and out of her bottom as she

dug into the top of his hand.

She was losing her mind and in one blinding second, her nerves

exploded and she came harder than she ever had before. He sucked on her as her body pulsed and convulsed against his mouth. As her muscles

finally started to release and her body slowly came back under her control, he slipped his thumb from her and he pulled his glistening lips

away from her body.

She was gasping as he crawled