Passing His Guard

Again, with that stu

The answering growl was decidedly male, which nailed Aiden like a roundhouse kick in the chest.

“Who the fuck is this?” the deep voice barked.

Aiden pi

Couldn’t very well blame the dude. Aiden would be livid, too—poor dumb shmuck. Hell, he’d be doing more than threatening her if he was the sorry sucker stuck back in Manhattan while his hot little PI girlfriend ran her own special Mission: Impossible gig on some other guy. For one, it was dangerous what she was doing. Hell, she’d nearly gotten herself killed just last night.

No wonder she hadn’t wanted to give him the phone. Now that look of shock and horror on her lovely face made a whole lot more sense. He knew she was manipulative and underhanded, he just never thought she’d sink so low as to mess around behind another guy’s back to get what she wanted from him. That whole sweet and i

He was such an idiot. His heart thundered inside his chest, his face flushed hotly, whether from anger or embarrassment at being screwed over by this woman, yet again, he couldn’t know. What could he say?—Hey, dude, sorry I rocked your girlfriend’s world last night. She tastes amazing.

Hitting Rya

As he disco

They stood there a moment in a wordless faceoff as he watched her grapple for control. She must have found her edge because a few seconds later, anger flooded her fine features, twisting her beautiful face into a mask of rage.

“You fucking asshole!” She stepped forward and slammed the heels of her hands against his bare chest. For a slip of a woman, she was surprisingly strong. Unprepared for the force of her strike, he took a step back to catch his balance. The give wasn’t very much, but it was enough for Rya

“What’s the matter, Ry? Pissed that your boyfriend found out you were fucking around on him?”

He didn’t think it was possible for her to look more furious, but as he blasted her with his cutting question, every male instinct clamoring inside him warned Aiden to protect his groin. Wham! Her knee flew up just as he shifted his weight and lifted his leg. Her patella co

“That’s not my boyfriend, you presumptive, arrogant piece of shit!” She lost the battle with her tears and angrily swiped them away. Fuck, every one of those giant drops might as well have been a dagger in his heart. She flailed to get free of his grip—a sob breaking from her throat as she wrenched on her arm, trying to get away. If she kept it up, she was going to hurt herself.

It took 0.6 second for Rya

“Rya

His gut told him she was in trouble, which ratcheted his protective instincts off the charts. When her small hand curled up and she hammer-fisted him in the chest, he caught her wrist and tugged her closer, pulling her into his guard and wrapping his arms around her slender frame, holding her tight against his chest.

“I’m sorry . . . Baby, I’m sorry . . .” He’d repeat the words over and over, as long as it took for her to calm down and hear them. But he would not let her go—no matter how hard she fought or how many times she cursed him. And Aiden was surprised to discover that Rya

He had no idea how long he stood there waiting for her to drop her guard enough to shoot in, but it felt like forever. By the time she exhausted herself, his heart was shredded. All he wanted to do was hold this slip of a woman with the temper of a tiger and the courage of a fighter. It didn’t take a genius to deduct that things were not as they seemed. And the more he discovered about Rya

“Shhh . . .” he whispered.

Her struggles were only half-hearted now, whether from exhaustion or defeat he couldn’t know. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was in his arms. “I’m sorry . . . Baby, I’m so sorry,” he crooned against the top of her head, which barely reached his shoulder—the perfect height to tuck her beneath his chin. She fit against him so perfectly, like she was made just for him.

“I thought . . .” he started to explain, but there were no words to excuse his behavior or his assumptions.

“I know . . . what you . . . thought,” she hiccupped against his chest. Her tears scalded him, leaving behind a hot, wet trail of sorrow. Evidence of the pain he caused slipped between his pecs, following the road map of muscles down his chest and across his abdomen. “I don’t need to hear you say it. Let me . . . go.”

Never. His grip on her instinctively tightened. Rya