Rabb stalked over to her, cupped her face and leaned down until their foreheads were touching. “There was definitely something special between us. It’s still there.”
Eliza shook her head. “No.” She would not go down this road again. She couldn’t handle any more upheaval in her life. She was barely holding on by her fingernails as it was. Rabb was such an imposing figure and dominating personality, if she allowed him into her life on a personal level and he abandoned her again, she might completely shatter.
She could only depend on herself. She’d learned that much over the past year. There was no room for anything or anyone else. There was only survival. That’s why she was here. For a job. Nothing more.
“Yes,” he countered and then he kissed her. Like before, it robbed her of her senses.
Oh God, she’d been lying to herself. She wanted Rabb. Had never stopped wanting him in spite of the way he’d left her behind. Maybe that made her stupid, but that no longer mattered. Here in his arms, she felt alive for the first time in more than a year.
Maybe it wouldn’t last. Maybe it was all an illusion. But Eliza didn’t care. She knew how easily death could come knocking. She’d almost died at Jason’s hand. She wanted to feel like a woman again, a confident, normal woman. And Rabb could give her that, even if it was only for one night.
Eliza decided she’d give herself tonight as a gift. This was a respite, a momentary shelter from the storm of her life. Tomorrow she’d leave and find a job somewhere else. No way did she want to bring Jason and her problems here.
Because regardless of everything that had happened between them, Eliza realized one very basic thing. She loved Rabb Hatter in spite of his flaws. Maybe even because of them. Jason pretended to be so perfect, but with Rabb what you saw was what you got. He was opinionated but fair, mostly serious but had a fun side, so strong, yet so tender. Rabb was a study in contrasts.
“Stop thinking,” he muttered as he kissed the line of her jaw from her chin up to her ear.
She clutched at his shoulders, loving the play of thick muscles beneath her palms when he shifted position, stepping closer. He smelled so good. She pressed her face against his chest and nuzzled just above the open buttons. Crisp chest hair tickled her nose.
Rabb groaned, tilted her head back and kissed her again. His tongue dominated hers, demanding she touch him back. She made a small sound of pleasure in the back of her throat and leaned into him, wanting to get closer, needing his heat.
She let her hands roam over his shoulders, down his arms and finally over his chest. There wasn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on his body. She’d seen him with his shirt off once when they were working at Bruno’s. It had been a hot summer afternoon and he was carrying boxes of liquor from the delivery truck to the storage room. His skin was darker than hers, tanned.
She wanted to see it again. Now.
Eliza tugged at the buttons of his shirt, managing to get them open. She shoved her hands inside and found hard, warm flesh.
Rabb pulled away and she protested until she realized he was yanking his shirt off. Oh yes, this was what she wanted. His biceps bulged and rippled as he tossed his shirt aside. She pressed her hands against his chest again and ran them over his taut abs, testing each band of thick muscle.
She’d never seen anything like him outside of a magazine. If Rabb wanted to, he could make a fortune with that body. Surely photographers would be lining up for miles to capture such perfection. Women would buy whatever he was selling.
Eliza faltered at that thought. “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
Rabb jerked as though she’d slapped him. “No,” he practically growled. “I wouldn’t be here if I did.”
Great, now he was angry with her. She gathered the neck of the robe she wore and sighed. It was probably for the best anyway. Making love with Rabb was a stupid idea that couldn’t lead anywhere but to heartache.
He caught her hands and eased them away from the fabric. “You’re wearing way too many clothes.” He traced up and down the neckline with his finger, leaving a trail of goose bumps running over her exposed flesh.
Like a deer caught in the headlights, she couldn’t move, could barely breathe.
Rabb eased the fabric farther apart until the swell of her breasts were exposed. “So pretty. So soft.” He ran his knuckles over her skin and his finger slipped below the fabric and found her nipple.
Eliza gasped and then moaned.
“Let me see you.” Rabb didn’t wait for permission but untied the robe and shoved it open, exposing her totally.
She was sitting on a stool in his kitchen almost totally naked. Sure she was still wearing the robe, but it wasn’t covering anything.
Rabb groaned and cupped her breasts in his hands. They were big hands, capable ones. And he covered the mounds completely. “So perfect,” he muttered.
He bent down and she sucked in a breath. His breath brushed across her skin as his lips drew closer.
Then he stopped and blinked.
Eliza wanted to yank the robe back around her and hide beneath its thick folds, but it was too late. He traced his finger over a particularly nasty scar. This one was five inches long and was the worst of them.
“When were you going to tell me about these?”
Chapter Four
Rabb’s heart skipped a beat as he studied the three scars on Eliza’s stomach. He ran his finger along one that was pale red and puckered. That had to have hit something vital. The other two were shorter, but stood out just as harshly against her pale white skin.
He swallowed hard. His gut churned as though he’d absorbed a hit. Eliza had been stabbed. Repeatedly.
“Jason?” He didn’t really have to ask. He knew.
“Yes.” She touched the scar that ran along her hairline. “It was the same time he did this.”
“Why wasn’t he arrested?” The fact he was still out there was making Rabb crazy.
“It was his word against mine. No one saw anything.” Eliza shrugged. “He had an alibi for the time I was attacked. He was at a party a few blocks away.”
“Easy enough to slip out and then back in without anyone noticing he was missing.”
“Exactly.” She nodded. “Unfortunately, Jason had been telling his friends for months about this woman who was harassing him and making his life miserable. They were only too willing to vouch for him.” Eliza scrubbed her hand over her face. She looked tired. “I was lucky the cops didn’t charge me. They figured I was mugged and my ‘delusion’”—she used air quotes around the word—“coupled with my concussion was making me confused. Jason was gracious and concerned.”
“Fucker,” Rabb muttered. He waited for her to continue and realized she was going to leave it at that if he let her. “Finish it.”
Eliza sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Not much else to tell. He nicked a lung, cut me in a couple other spots and I was in the hospital for a week.”
God almighty. She’d been battered and hurt and alone. “You should have called me.” He knew he was being totally irrational, but he couldn’t help himself.
She ignored him and continued. “Detective Zurkowski, the cop who believed me, told me to dump my phone in case Jason was using it to track me. After that, I was on my own.”
Something settled deep inside Rabb as he stared into Eliza’s green eyes. “Well, you’re not alone anymore.”
“Rabb,” she began, but he cut her off.
“No, Eliza.” He covered the scars on her stomach with his large hands, wishing he could make them just disappear. “You’re not going to run off on your own. Promise me.”
Her gaze skittered away, and he knew she’d been planning to do just that.
“Promise me,” he repeated. He clamped his hands over her slender shoulders, careful not to hurt her.
“I can’t. Rabb, you have a family to protect.”
“Then why did you come here?” She flinched from the harsh tone in his voice and tugged the edg
es of the robe around her, hiding the scars and her body from his view. He wanted to swear again but managed to hold his tongue.
“It was a mistake. A moment of weakness.”
Fury welled up inside Rabb. A mistake. She saw coming here as a mistake. “Well, if it’s a mistake, you might as well go all the way with it.” He swept her off the stool and carried her out of the kitchen and down the short hallway to his bedroom.
“Rabb? What are you doing? Put me down.”
“No.”
Her fingers dug into his shoulders. “What do you mean no?”
“Just that.” He deposited her beside his bed. He gripped the edges of the robe in his hands but didn’t open it. “If you’re going to run away tomorrow, I want tonight.”
Rabb looked so angry and hurt in the dim light pouring in from the hallway. That combined with the ambient street light coming in through the window made it easy for her to see him. It hadn’t been her intention to hurt him, but she’d done it anyway.
Her body was still pulsing from his earlier touch. He’d had his hands on her breasts and her stomach. Her nipples tingled and she knew her pussy was damp. All Rabb had to do was look at her and she creamed herself. Her blood felt thick, as though it were flowing slowly in her veins.
Time slowed to a halt.
Rabb was waiting. For a sign from her.
He wasn’t the least bit like Jason. This was Rabb, the man she trusted more than she ever had anyone else. Yes, he’d hurt her, but she couldn’t put the entire blame on him. Jason was the main source of the problem, but she’d been just as much at fault. She’d kept everything to herself, hadn’t confided in Rabb or anyone when Jason’s advances had gotten out of hand. She’d allowed Jason to isolate her, playing right into his hands.
And even after Rabb had left, she could have found him. After all, Hatter wasn’t exactly a common name and she knew his parents both owned businesses. She could have confronted him about why he’d left without a word.
Why hadn’t she?
That was something she needed to think about, but not right now, not with Rabb’s fingers tracing a slow trail down the center of the robe that was barely closed. Her skin heated and anticipation thrummed through her.
She’d worry about tomorrow when the time came. Tonight was for them. Come what may, she would not regret this night with Rabb.
Eliza rolled her shoulders and let the fabric slip down her arms. The robe fell to the floor, pooling at her feet. She pressed her palms against Rabb’s bare chest and went up on her toes and kissed him. His lips were firm, yet soft. He yielded, letting her slip her tongue into his mouth.
Rabb groaned, banded his arm around her waist and dragged her up against him. His erection pressed against her stomach and they both shuddered.
He was breathing heavily when he broke their kiss. “Let me get these off.” He undid his leather belt and then pulled down the zipper of his pants. Anticipation built inside her. She wanted to yell at him to hurry.
He shoved pants and boxer briefs down his rock-solid thighs and then kicked his clothing away. A full-clothed Rabb was pretty impressive. Naked, he was devastating to her senses.
“Oh my.” She released the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. Eliza reached out and ran her finger along the underside of his cock. It jerked beneath her touch and she pulled back.
Rabb grabbed her hand and returned it to his hard shaft. “Touch me, Eliza.”
His erection pulsed beneath her palm, warm and alive. She’d had lovers before, but not in a long time, and certainly none built quite like Rabb. His cock was thick and long and would fill her completely. A shiver ran down her spine and heat spread out from her pussy until every inch of her skin flushed.
He groaned and thrust his hips forward, pushing deeper into her hand. “That feels so fucking good.”
A sense of feminine power swept over her. He might make her cream her panties with no more than a look, but she obviously had a powerful effect on him as well. She stroked upward and rubbed her thumb over the broad head. Liquid beaded from the tip and she spread it around.
Rabb jerked away, swept her into his arms and carried her down onto the mattress. He moved so fast it made her head spin. She gripped his upper arms, marveling at the sheer girth of his biceps.
“You’re a dangerous woman,” he told her. He grabbed both her hands and held them in one of his. He lifted them over her head and leaned over her. His big body covered hers, but he held most of his weight off her.
His dark-brown eyes glittered with desires. His lips were set in a thin line and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “Rabb?”
“Give me a second, honey. I’m on the edge here.”
A sense of pride and wonder filled her. She’d done that to him.
He shook his head. “You look pleased with yourself.”
“I am.” She grinned, not able to help herself. She’d never considered herself quite the femme fatale before.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he promised.
Coming from another man, she might have been worried. But with Rabb, she relaxed and teased him even more. “Big talk.”
A slow smile crossed his face. “Oh I’m going to do more than talk.” He brought his mouth down on hers, his lips slanting and his tongue plunging deep.
All thought of teasing fled beneath his sensual onslaught. Rabb kissed better than any of her previous lovers made love. There was no sense of rush, just a long, slow exploration that took her breath away.
Her lungs were starving for air when he pulled away and peppered her jaw with kisses. He released her hands and eased lower on the mattress, keeping his weight on his forearms. Using his tongue, he traced a path between her breasts before teasing each mound. Her nipples ached for his touch, but he was making her wait. Probably paying her back for teasing him.
“Rabb.”
“Hmm.”
“Touch me.” She arched her back, pushing her breasts toward him.
“Where?” He curled his tongue around one turgid nipple, not quite touching it. “Here?”
“No. Yes.” She couldn’t think. Gripping him by his hair, she tugged him closer.
His laugh was filled with masculine pleasure. “Impatient, are you?”
“You have no idea,” she muttered. If he didn’t touch her the way she wanted, she wasn’t going to be responsible for her actions.
Rabb parted his lips and sucked the hard nub into his mouth. She moaned when his tongue flicked it. Her fingers tightened in his hair and her nails dug into his scalp.
“Is that what you want?”
“Yesss,” she hissed. A sense of restlessness filled her and she moved beneath him. His cock was hard against her inner thigh, but it wasn’t where she needed it. Her pussy throbbed with a building need only Rabb could assuage.
She rolled her hips, trying to fit the head of his cock to her wet slit, but he moved away. “Not yet,” he told her.
Rabb worked his way down her body, licking and kissing, sucking and nipping her torso, careful to be gentle around her scars. He scraped his teeth over her hipbones and tickled her bellybutton with his clever tongue.
She was so hot she was beginning to sweat. It was such a wonderful feeling after being cold for so long. She chanted his name as he spread her thighs wide and settled between them.
Rabb stared at her, leaving her not one ounce of modesty or privacy, and she didn’t care. He could do whatever he wanted as long as he touched her. His breath was warm on her inner thigh.
“You’re so wet.” He stroked several fingers over the slick folds of her pussy, dipping into her opening briefly before pulling away. She moaned and arched into his hand. “So pretty and pink.”
Rabb dragged his tongue over the crease between her upper thigh and torso. Eliza planted her feet on the mattress and tried to shift so his mouth was on her pussy. “Rabb.” Frustration was making her crazy.
He spread her thighs wider and licked her cream, making a low hummin
g sound of pleasure. Her inner muscles clamped down hard but found nothing to hold on to. His deft fingers teased her opening. So slowly it was a sensual torture, he pushed a finger into her hot depths. She sighed with pleasure and pushed into his touch. He withdrew his finger and this time he used two, stretching her sheath, preparing her to take him.
Rabb’s dick was screaming for release. If his balls weren’t blue he’d be shocked. Never had he wanted a woman the way he wanted Eliza right now. She was naked, her skin flushed with arousal, her legs sprawled wide in invitation.
Fuck, she was hot.
She held nothing back from him. And there was no greater turn-on for a guy. She let him know what she liked, what she wanted with every sigh and moan she made.
It was hard as hell to hold back. He had to remind himself constantly to be gentle. She was still recovering from her injuries and was so thin a heavy wind would blow her away. Yet she wanted him.
He lapped at her pussy, tasting her sweet cream. He loved the slight bite of her nails in his skin as she tried to tug him closer. When he found her clit and brushed it with the tip of his tongue, she moaned and her entire body stiffened. The little nub of nerves was pushed out of its protective hood, inviting him to touch it.
“Rabb.” His name fell from her lips again and again. He drove two fingers deep into her molten core at the same time he flicked his tongue over her clit. Every muscle in his body tensed when she cried out. Her pussy clamped around his fingers when she climaxed, her cream coating them.
He gritted his teeth and held on until the spasms passed and her thighs went lax. Her sigh of pleasure was like a physical stroke to his cock. Her eyes were closed and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth.
She looked completely sated. And he was anything but.
He rolled out of bed and yanked open the drawer of his bedside table. Condoms. He had some in here somewhere. Triumphant, he grabbed the box and ripped it open. Within seconds, he’d torn the top off the packet and had the condom smoothed on. It wasn’t easy. He was on a hair trigger at the moment.
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