So Sensitive (21 page)

A soft, feminine hand touched his forearm. Wade knew that hand. He cherished that hand. Looking over, he saw Gracie smiling up at him.

“Sorry about the family drama. Things aren’t usual y this . . . weird.”

She quirked a brow at him. “Uh, family drama is something I’m quite used to, Wade.”

He knew Gracie was referring to her father, but al he could think about was the look on his sister’s face. “I don’t think I handled this very wel .”

“She’s your sister; she’l forgive you. But can I give you some advice?”

He pul ed her into his arms, soft curves fitting against him. Damn, he wished they were back at his place. “I’l take anything I can get right now.”

Gracie leaned back a few inches, her gaze caressing his face. “Deanna seems like an intel igent woman to me. If she chooses Jonas, then maybe you should trust her judgment.”

Women and their logic. “I’ve seen him with women, Gracie. He’s not exactly the boy next door.” Wade left out the part that they’d even shared women. Jonas with Deanna? His stomach turned just thinking about it.

“She strikes me as the type who can handle it, though. If it even comes to that. In the meantime, it could put a wedge between you and your sister if you try to stand in her way.”

He mul ed that over and came to one conclusion. “If she wants him, then I’l step back. But if he pushes her, even a little, there’l be hel to pay.”

Wade couldn’t make any promises where Dean was concerned, though, and his brother tended to be damned protective of his twin.

Gracie came up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Wade growled low at the contact. Cupping the back of her head, he held her stil , reveling in her sweet flavor. The satiny softness of her lower lip beckoned him to bite. He heeded the cal and nibbled on her a moment before pushing his way into her mouth. Their tongues played, and Wade’s cock hardened to the point of pain. Gracie was the first to pul back. “We need to save the rest of that for later, when we’re alone.”

“Mmm, I’m going to make you beg for me, baby.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve already done that, darling.”

Wade groaned as he watched her walk away, the sway of her hips a thing of beauty. He looked at the mess around him. Hours. It’d be hours before he could get her in his bed. One more thing to lay at her stalker’s feet.

His Gracie Lynn wasn’t supposed to have friends. She had her loser father, and she had him. He knew everything about her. The people she worked with, the books she read, the few brief relationships she’d had with men. But as he sat in his car across from her apartment, he watched a tal brunette walk out her front door carrying trash to the Dumpster. He frowned. Where had they al come from? And she wasn’t learning from the lesson he’d tried so hard to teach her, either. She should be begging his forgiveness by now. Trying to get back into his good graces. Instead she was surrounded by friends, and they were helping her clean up the bits and pieces his outburst had created.

He thought over the previous night for the hundredth time. He hadn’t meant to lose his temper. He’d only been trying to show her that he wouldn’t tolerate her slutty behavior. She’d caused him pain, and he couldn’t al ow that. The instant he’d seen her leaving with that big oaf, something had snapped inside him.

At first he’d been exhilarated to be inside her apartment. Touching things she’d touched. He’d spent time in her bed, letting himself imagine what it would be like when he final y had her al to himself. He’d savored the release that visual had afforded him. But then he’d remembered the other man, standing at her window, bare chested. He’d gotten angry al over again. As he went through her dresser and saw al the silky panties, he’d started picturing her wearing them for the stranger. Her beautiful body encased in silk for another man. Something in his mind had snapped. It had scared him a little. He’d literal y floated outside himself, watching as his body had moved through the rooms, destroying the things Gracie Lynn treasured.

“It was necessary,” he reminded himself. For her, for his perfect Gracie Lynn, he would do whatever it took to save her from herself. She would thank him for showing her the way. He knew that in his gut. Love wasn’t always easy, but theirs was beautiful and timeless. And worth the extra effort of preserving it. Besides, the fates were on his side. He hadn’t known she wouldn’t be returning. He’d taken a huge risk staying so long, chancing getting caught. Yes, the fates had approved of his lesson, and they’d made sure he’d had enough time to do it right.

Gracie Lynn belonged to him. No other had a right to touch her. She was his love, perfect and sweet. That man, the one stuck to her like glue, he was the real problem. He was corrupting his sweet Gracie Lynn. Turning her into a whore.

“I can’t let it continue.” He watched, mere feet away, as another of her friends carried more trash to the Dumpster. “Soon, my love,” he promised, as he took the worn scrap of paper out of his hoodie pocket and clutched it close to his heart. “Soon.”

20

A
fter cleaning her apartment, they’d al gone out for a late dinner. For the first time in months, Gracie had been able to relax and enjoy being among friends. She’d gotten to know Wade’s brother and sister better. It was inevitable that she found herself comparing Wade and Dean.

Both men had short, dark hair and the same dark brown eyes, but Wade was somewhat tal er and a little less intense. Dean was every bit as muscular, but maybe rougher around the edges. He was friendly enough, but Gracie couldn’t help feeling there was something dangerous about him. Deanna, on the other hand, had been ful of questions. It seemed the woman was intensely curious about the new woman in her brother’s life. When they’d gotten onto the topic of interior design, however, her entire demeanor changed, became more animated. It had been the perfect change of topic. Being the center of attention wasn’t Gracie’s forte.

At first she’d been wracked with nerves. Having Wade’s siblings’ approval was important to her, which was crazy. Who knew if she’d even see them again? Gracie’s mind snapped back to that moment in her kitchen, when Wade had asked her to move in with him, to make her stay a permanent one. She liked the idea way too much. Living with a man was a big step, especial y when she’d only spent a few days with said man. Gracie stil wasn’t sure if he would get bored with her once her stalker was caught. And had his offer been a spur of the moment thing, one he’d later regret?

Her nervousness came back ful force as she stood in the middle of his bedroom watching Wade from across the room. He leaned against the doorframe, his entire body relaxed, as if he had al the time in the world. But his quiet intensity was doing a number on her. He was acting so strangely. He’d been silent on the drive back to his place. She was about ready to jump out of her own skin.

“Shouldn’t we be looking through my blog posts? You said there might be a clue there, that maybe he reads and comments.”

He nodded. “And those e-mails as wel . We need to read through them careful y, see if anything clicks with you. But there wil be time for that tomorrow. I’ve got something else in mind right now.”

“You do?”

He nodded. Gracie watched with fascination as Wade’s sexy mouth tilted sideways. “Yes, I do.”

Gracie was about done with this new game of his. She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Care to fil me in then?”

Without answering, Wade moved away from the doorway, his long strides eating up the distance between them. When he came to stand behind her, her pulse began to beat out a wild rhythm.

“Look to your left, Gracie.”

Curious, she did as he asked. Their reflection in the dresser mirror fil ed her vision. Fascinated, Gracie watched Wade’s gaze wander the length of her. Her flesh tingled to life as if he’d physical y stroked her. “You’re so handsome, Wade. Every inch of you. I saw women staring at you at the shooting range, you know,” she admitted. “It made me crazy.”

His gaze heated. “Jealous?”

Gracie bit her lip and nodded. “I’ve never been the jealous type. I’m not sure I like it one bit.”

Wade stroked a finger down her cheek, his voice dropping an octave. “I know the feeling, sweetheart. If I could keep you locked away so other men could never look at you, I think I would.”

“You would?”

“Mmm, I know what they’re thinking when they see you, because I’m thinking the same things.”

“Things?” Gracie asked. Suddenly it became imperative that Wade explain, in great detail, what sort of things he thought when he looked at her the way he was looking at her now.

“Did you know that when we were cleaning today I caught Dean watching you a few times?”

That wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. “No. I didn’t even notice.”

“It wasn’t in a weird, creepy way, but I could tel he was curious about you.” He stroked her arm, leaving goose bumps everywhere he touched.

“A man sees this body, and he wants to know it, baby. Men want to view it up close, with nothing in the way to hamper the glorious sight.”

Her gaze never veered from his in the mirror as she asked, “Is that the way you felt when you asked me out, Wade?”

He moved closer, until his body pressed tight against hers. She could feel his hard cock prodding her buttocks, and her panties grew damp.

“The first time I saw you I wanted to strip you bare. You bewitched me, Gracie.”

“Is that why you asked me to live with you?” Gracie hadn’t meant to ask, but since it was out, she was glad. She needed to know the reason behind his offer.

“I asked you to live with me because I enjoy being with you. You’re an intel igent, kind, beautiful, hardworking woman. And it’s the first time I’ve ever asked a woman to move in.”

Her gaze widened. “Real y?”

“I told you before that what I feel for you is different. It’s more, deeper, and I want us to have the time to explore it. To see where it might lead.”

“There’s never been a man in my life who treated me the way you do. I’m so far out of my comfort zone, and it’s scary, Wade.”

Wade turned her toward him, his gaze searching hers. “Relationships are hard for you, I know. But don’t you think I’m worth the effort? That we’re worth the effort?”

She could see the hurt her words had evoked, and it tore at her. Wade was so strong and able, as if bul ets real y could bounce off him. It baffled her that she could cause him even an ounce of pain.

Reaching up, Gracie cupped his cheeks in her palms and spoke from the heart. “When you smile, I lose my ability to think straight. Al you have to do is look at me, and my heart speeds up. You’re such an enigma, Wade. You have a col ection of books that would have any librarian worth her salt creaming in her panties, and yet you handle a rifle so wel it makes me wonder how you learned such a skil . You’re a soldier, my very own hero, and the only man capable of making me want to scream with frustration one minute and melt with pleasure in the next.”

He gripped her shoulders and growled, “Then that’s a yes? You’l move in with me?”

Gracie couldn’t help it, she grinned. He was so tenacious. “That’s a ‘let’s wait and see what happens’ after we catch the freak stalking me.”

“Fine. But in the meantime, I want you.”

In a flash, her body went up in flames at the sudden possessiveness in his voice. Geez, she loved hearing that tone from him. So aggressive.

So male. It was hot.

“Wade,” she said, too breathless to say more.

“Off with the blouse and bra, my Fiery Angel. He brushed the back of his hand down her breast and murmured, “I want to see the soft pink of your succulent nipples. And those pretty piercings, I miss them.”

Gracie surprised herself when she began to do as Wade commanded. She was powerless against the pleasure that she knew awaited her.

With his sharp brown gaze holding her captive, she slowly, temptingly stripped to the waist.

Wade’s right hand moved, and then the left, until he cupped and massaged both of her breasts. He flicked his thumbs over the pierced buds, then pul ed both aching swel s upward for a long, lazy lick.

His tongue swept back and forth over one tight peak, while his fingers played with the other. As he pul ed back, Gracie watched through half-opened eyes as his tongue moved downward to her bel y. He growled something unintel igible an instant before his tongue darted out and toyed with the smal indentation. Gracie pushed against him, on fire already.

Oh, God, she was suddenly aching with need. Her entire body yearned. “That feels so good, Wade.”

“I’l give you more,” he growled. “Much more. But first I want you on your knees.”

Her body trembled at the idea of purposely disobeying him. Would he smack her bottom as he had previously?
Only one way to find out.

“I think I’d rather stand, thanks anyway,” she replied, intentional y sounding haughty to wind him up.

He arched a brow at her. “You’re forgetting, Gracie.”

“Forgetting what?”

“That in the bedroom I’m in control.”

His words sent a sensual shiver down her spine. Her clit throbbed, as if eager to do as Wade commanded. She waited, anxious to see what he would do, more excited than she’d ever been. He smiled and moved away from her, then glanced around the room. His gaze stopped on something, she couldn’t tel what. Wade bent and picked the item up, then strode across the room. Her breathing increased with each step he took. As he came to stand mere feet away, she saw a multicolored silk tie. Wade hadn’t worn a tie, not in al the time she’d known him. That didn’t stop her imagination from going into overdrive, though. “What do you plan to do with that?”

He slid the material between his fingers and smiled. “You can’t guess?”

Her pussy dampened. A blindfold perhaps? The idea sent a rush of anticipation through her. Unwil ing to give voice to her speculations, Gracie shook her head. What if she were wrong? She already felt so far out of his league.

Wade surprised her when he moved behind her and clasped one wrist in a large, cal oused fist. Not a blindfold, she thought. He wrapped the silk around her arm, then grabbed the other and did the same. “Is your wrist sore, baby?”