Under Threat B.J. Daniels (best free novels txt) 📖

“It’s okay if you don’t understand something. You can ask as many questions as you need to.”

She hated the gentle way he said that. Hated when he was nice, because it made her feel silly or like a victim, and she didn’t want to be either. She wanted to be as strong and brave as him.

“I find it easier to understand something if I’m actually in the process of doing it,” she gritted, far more snappish than she needed to be.

He didn’t react. He simply gestured in front of him. “All right. Stand in front of me.”

She did as she was told, and stiffened perceptibly as his arms came around her sides. She had to swallow against the incomparable wave of... It wasn’t just attraction, though that was the most potent thing. He was tall, a hard wall of muscle. He smelled...surprisingly good. He was warm, and she wanted to lean against him. She wanted his arms to hold her.

It’s just that you’re afraid and in danger. That’s all. It doesn’t have to mean anything.

So she would keep telling herself.

“Give me your right hand.”

With another swallow, she followed his instruction. He took her hand and positioned it over the grips of the gun.

“Put your index finger here, and the rest here. Curl the thumb around.” He moved her fingers exactly where he wanted them to go, and the more he did to help her put her hands in the right positions, the closer he got. The hard expanse of his chest brushed against her back.

She tried to suck in her breath and hold really still so he wasn’t actually touching her. Not because it was unpleasant, but because it was all too pleasant.

The hand not holding hers on the gun slid to her hip, and she very nearly squeaked when it fastened there. That was not...casual, a hand on her hip. Her hip. She could feel the sheer size of his hand, the warmth of his palm. She could feel far too much, sparkling through her.

“You want to plant your feet to maximize the steadiness of your arms. So, take a step forward with your right leg.” As she did as she was told, he used the hand on her hip to position her in a slightly different way than she would have on her own.

“There,” he said, his voice all too close to her ear, scratchy and, like, holy moly, sexy. Why did she have to find him sexy? Why would she think he was hot right now when he was teaching her how to use a deadly weapon?

She thought she heard him swallow, but she had to convince herself she was crazy. Someone like Vaughn would never be affected by this. He probably touched women all the time, and they didn’t have any affect on him whatsoever. He probably thought of her as some kind of criminal, and that perceived swallow was all in her head.

“If you have to shoot, you want to be able to get into this position. Only in the most strident of emergencies should you do anything else.”

“What’s considered a strident emergency?”

“If a person is in the act of physically harming you, then you have no choice. But if there’s any kind of distance between you, you want to try to get in this position. It’s going to make your shots straighter and smoother. In a dangerous situation, the last thing you want to do is start shooting willy-nilly. You have to know your target, and you have to be steady.”

“What if I’m shaking too hard to be steady?”

“Then you don’t shoot.”

“But what if someone’s in danger?”

“They’re going to be in more danger if you shoot when you don’t have a good handle on the gun or a good stance.”

“Okay. So then how do I shoot?”

He stepped closer, his body pressed to the back of hers. She knew he had to do it in order to show her how to properly shoot the gun, but that didn’t mean it was easy to focus on anything but the firm warmth of a wall pressing against her. She wanted to explore it. She wanted to find out what was underneath.

Because she was ridiculous, apparently.

She took a deep breath, trying not to give away how shaky it was. But considering he was pressed against her, he had to know. He had to know that he affected her. That was so hideously embarrassing she almost couldn’t concentrate.

“Now, you grip the trigger.” His hand tightened on hers, guiding her index finger back to the appropriate spot.

This time when Vaughn swallowed, she had no doubt. He was affected. Granted, he was probably even more horrified by that than she was, but it was still real.

This attraction wasn’t a one-sided idiotic thing. It was a two-sided idiotic thing.

“Now you’re going to focus on the black spot right there on the hill. Do you see it?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice giving away some of her anxiety. She hoped against all hope he thought it was anxiety over shooting a gun, not anxiety about how much her body wanted to rub against his.

“You’re going to focus on the black spot. Look through the sight and clear your mind so the only thing you’re thinking about is that black spot. There’s nothing to be nervous about. There’s nothing to be concerned about. All you’re trying to do is pull the trigger while focusing on that black spot.”

“Oh... Okay.” Except focus sounded nearly impossible when he was all but wrapped around her. Sturdy and strong and something she absolutely had to resist.

“You can do this, Natalie,” he said in her ear. “I have faith in you.”

He couldn’t possibly in his wildest dreams understand how much those words meant to her. How big they were even though he was someone she didn’t exactly care about. Or shouldn’t care about.

Still, his belief, his faith, was more than the people who were supposed to love her gave