A Protector's Touch: A New Adult College Romance & Romantic Suspense Novel

by Parker Sinclair

  “Are you cold?”

  I keep my back to him, only shaking my head as I shyly smile at the physical reaction that just the thought of him teases from every part of my body.

  I turn on an Avicii song and move toward the man making his bed and tossing the small clutter of clothes into his closet before shoving the door closed with his sneakered foot.

  “I love this one.”

  “Yes,” I agree. “Gone too soon, that’s for sure.” What was I thinking putting on a song from a guy who took his life? That’s exactly what his dad did, and then here I am pointing it out with a giant billboard. When will I get this tact thing down?

  Sometimes you don’t need words to be tactful.

  Following inner voice two’s orders, I walk toward Shan, his hands full of the remaining socks, and a random shoe falls from his hands when he sees the intent on my face.

  I reach out to touch his chest, and this time it’s his turn to shiver. My hand runs up his neck, along the curve and around his back as he lifts me onto my toes. The kiss is light, but gradually transforms into something close—nope, beyond what I was enjoying in the parking lot. His arms, wrapped around my waist, give a pleasant pressure, allowing the length of my body to press against his to create a fiery explosion of need in the dark, warm places of my body and soul.

  See, I can handle this, no problemo.

  I lean into him at first, moving us toward his bed and then pulling away from our dancing lips to see the sexy smirk on his face and the sparkle in his dark eyes. One arm releases my waist, but the other grips me enough to hold my weight as we lower down onto the bed, his free hand keeping us from flopping upon the down comforter as I straddle him on the edge.

  Kissing me again, Shan runs his hand through my hair. He plays with the curls through his fingers, and I grimace when the knots keep them from smoothly flowing through to the ends.

  “I love your hair.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And I love these.” His comment brings his mouth to mine again. Shan’s lips don’t overwhelm mine; instead, they move against each other in a perfect formation. Even the flick of his tongue finding mine manages to be passionate, not aggressive. Kissing Derrick in this way was more about possession, and I smile into his kiss at my happiness in knowing and experiencing the difference.

  “How’d I get so lucky?” My question slips into the moment as we both break for air to get the chance to look into each other’s eyes. His gaze is mesmerizing.

  “I think you have that backwards.”

  The motion of my hips moving toward his takes us down completely, each triggered part of my body aching as they slowly touch his answering need. I rub against him and his hands find my backside, pushing me into him as our kisses continue. When his mouth breaks from mine, he finds my neck, and I arch backwards to allow him access to my collarbone and shoulder. He rolls onto his side. The movement, which flusters me at first with his absence, leads to his fingertips following his kisses down my shoulder and then traveling all the way down my arm before finding my hip and then the hem of my shirt.

  “Is this okay?” he asks when our eyes meet.

  Tell him it’s okay!

  “Yes, more than okay.”

  The tickling tips of each finger bring first the chill and then the heat as they make their way along the sides of my stomach before their tap dip tap dip along each of my ribs. My body writhes against him as his fingers graze the bottom of my bra.

  Shan’s hand moves up, touching the soft fabric, truly a barely there barrier between my flesh and his. My nipples respond to his touch, peaking and throbbing toward each motion of his fingertips. Sometimes he squeezes and pinches a little and other times just softly rubs, making my body react and continue to squirm. I lift my leg to go over his hip, moving me even closer to a growing need inside the both of us. Unable to contain the restriction of my shirt, I pull away slowly and lift it up over my head.

  I shrug at him and he smiles, pulling me back closer to him before breaking away with a shake of his head and removing his shirt too. I take a second with my hand placed on him to explore his chest and stomach with my eyes. I’ve been around athletes most of my life, but nothing compares to the shapes, curves, and bulges in all the right places along his shoulders, arms, chest, and abs. I blush at the ideas I have tumbling into my awareness like mini picture shows. The images prompt me to roll toward him, close enough to kiss his bare chest. A relaxed groan escapes his lips as I move my way up to his neck, finding a place to clamp my teeth against on one of his lower ear lobes.

  His skin smells and tastes unreal and thankfully not bathed in cologne or aftershave. No, it’s only him. His pure, manly smell that will forever remind me of this moment, of the texture of his skin against mine, his breath hitting me, and along with all the passion is an underlying safety.

  His moans change into a humored annoyance at the fact that he can’t reach me as I spend time gracing his body with kisses and roaming my hands on every inch of his upper body. Knowing I’m arousing him and feeling the pressure of his fingertips digging into my hip, I back away with a sneaky smile, and he devours my lips before tumbling on top of me while continuing our soft yet impassioned kiss.

  This man, this incredibly sexy man, grinds against me gently, yet firm enough I can feel his growing want within his jeans even more so. Visions in my mind tempt a yearning to see him fully.

  His lustfully lidded eyes swivel from direct contact with my own to sliding away to fixate on a puzzle he longs to solve—the silver clasp in front of my bra.

  “May I?” he asks with a questioning eyebrow lifting on one side of his face.

  I nod in agreement, both nervous and excited about the desires readying to unleash once my undergarment disappears.

  Soft, firm fingers trail along my stomach, moving slowly between my rib cage and the clasp. And then, a soft click, the faint sound translating into a freedom bell within my overly stimulated being.

  I can’t remember the last time I was touched so gently and passionately. Perhaps I have been before now, but everything seems deleted after the pain that came after. And the boys I kissed in high school seem a lifetime away, ages ago and innocent. Nothing like the unfolding sensuality of this night.

  Shan’s fingers slide down the straps between him and my expectant breasts. It isn’t cold in the room, far from it, yet my nipples ache as if I’ve just walked outside in a twenty-degree day, topped with windchill. It’s taking an immense amount of focus to stay still as he looks over my half-naked body, but I can feel the little trembles, small waves gaining magnitude as if on the brink of a full-on earthquake. The heat his sultry gaze manages to invoke in me makes me squirm more than the idea of being completely exposed on top.

  “You are beautiful, April,” Shan whispers as his eyes travel between staring into mine and slowly looking down my neck all the way down the rise and fall of my bare chest.

  The words take all thought from my mind; I’m suddenly blank. Completely dumbed down to my basic needs of love, sex, and, well what else is there again? The primordial state of my attention flickers back and forth amid the undeniable force of his lustful gaze and the tenderness of his fingers—or are they feathers—gliding along each section of my body, scarcely staying long enough in one spot.

  “So are you.” These fumbling words earn me a ravenous, deep kiss on my lips, before his mouth travels down my chin, my neck, and on to the depression in my collarbone before heating the skin in the valley between my breasts.

  While his lips move down, one of his hands caresses up my side before hungrily grasping onto my left breast. It’s been too long since I’ve yearned to be with someone like this; well, wait, I’ve never been with someone like this.

  With one hand busily caressing one side of my chest, Shan brings his lips to the outside of my breast, creating a circle of desire in his wake while his path spins inward until he makes his way to the core of my breast. Flicking and licking my nipple with ease, he changes
course and the graze of his teeth shoots a line of liquid heat down my body. I gasp, arching my back and digging the heels of my feet into the cover, raking the soft, thick blanket into a mess that hides carnal secrets in each wrinkle.

  “Mmm...” I manage between my first jaw-snapping cry and before my lips find themselves bitten between my teeth.

  “Is this okay? I mean it seems like this is more than okay, but I’m just checking.” He chuckles and I take my arms that have been spread sloppily behind my head, to loop around the back of his neck with a desire-laced squeeze.

  “I just hope I’m not squirming too much,” I manage.

  “I don’t think such a thing could exist. It feels so good to know that your body is enjoying this. I know I am. I’m certain I can make it feel even better if you want.”

  I nod in agreement before he dives deliciously onto my breasts once again. My head spins as his lips perform hopscotching kisses from one side to the other while his thumb dips into the moistness and teases. Shan pulls on my right nipple with his teeth, sucking and pulling me into a crazed state. No words form, only groans and teeth-grinds to the backdrop of the shifting noises from the comforter moving beneath my squirming body.

  I rotate my hips in circles, pushing upward and down and all around, enjoying the feel of his hardness pressing against me.

  Shan rolls a little to the side, leaving me colder than when his body lay atop me and even more so as his fingers play between my breasts, squeezing and pulling and appreciating them enthusiastically. From there he starts to walk two fingers down my stomach, moving back and forth between my hips. Shan turns to me suddenly, the movement prying both of our eyes from his fingers. He looks into my eyes before going down once again to ravage my breasts with his mouth. While his lips keep busy, those hands of his find the waistband of my jeans while individual fingers play underneath, peeking in and back out again, and I can’t keep the thoughts about the fingers playing somewhere else. I move one of my hands on top of his and shift it slightly deeper into the waistband of my pants. His kisses break away from my chest and his gaze meets mine with a kid-in-a-candy-shop smile.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Extremely.”

  His hand plunges deeper underneath the top of my pants before yanking back out to unfasten my jeans. Now, revealing the lacy panties I have that match the bra, his hand plays along the outside of the lace-covered satin. The fabric stays pressed against me by the wetness he’s slowly eliciting from my body. When his fingertips press into the richest part of my sex, it’s as if the dainty fabric disappears and the impact of the action forces a growl to escape his lips.

  And in that split second, passion takes over when he moves his hands from the top of my underwear, instead diving underneath to find the wetness that has been building inside me all along. His mouth finds mine once again while his hands inch down between my legs. The excitement of what’s to come builds the intensity of our kiss with lips, tongue, and sometimes a nibble from teeth, a pleasant surprise when it comes from me. Shan grazes his fingers around the outside of the center of my wet heat before finally dipping his fingers deep inside.

  My back arches and, for the life of me, I can’t deny that everything leading up to this moment has me close to a climax right then and there. I pull from our kiss at the dizzying effect the pressure of both pleasure and pain are creating inside of every cell in my body. With my head to the side, I begin to pant as I push and pull against his fingers, moving against them in time with his pulses. It’s like a dance. Push and pull, push and pull, and I can’t hold back the firing signals in both my body and mind that want to come so soon.

  It’s been so long, and never like this.

  No. Never.

  “Go ahead, sweetheart. I want to feel you. Please. For me.”

  My God, even his words are bringing me to the brink. How is this possible? I don’t even remember climaxing like this before. There’s something raw and nearly mystical about it all. As if some destiny that kept Shan and I apart has finally been fulfilled, and I am overflowing with desire and need.

  I don’t hold back any longer and succumb to the pulsing flow of ecstasy. I cry out, muffled by my draping arm, that has once again managed to just flop around wherever. Shan’s fingers leave the overflowing heat from deep inside of me and he pulls me over until I am lying down on top of him. With his fingers moving through my hair, he smiles—a drop-dead-gorgeous, you-are-amazing smile—before focusing on pressing his blazing lips against mine. I shudder beneath his warm body, unable to contain the intensity in the increased seismic waves that have been unleashed by his touch.

  “You are amazing,” he murmurs once there’s a short break between our kisses. “I’ve already adored so many things about you, and now, being with you like this makes me truly believe you and I work, don’t you?”

  Um, hell yeah we do!

  “In more ways than I can count. If you can count right now, but thinking is a bit hard.”

  We both laugh and I let my head fall behind his shoulder, our bodies pressed together like two perfect puzzle pieces, two hearts broken by a past that mold back together as one. I can’t say it yet—it’s so soon—but I think I love this man. I think I can love him forever if he lets me, if our lives and the world around us lets us. I squeeze into him, taking in his warmth and the safety like no other in his arms.

  “You don’t have to go, you know. You could stay here tonight.”

  I move my hands to push up to hover above the body of the man I couldn’t even speak to just a couple of months ago, and now, here I am, in his bed and being asked to stay with him, all the while knowing there’s nothing else in the world I’d like more.

  “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  Chapter 9

  A New Point of View

  ~

  I hadn’t slept that soundly in months. Every bump outside my dorm room or late-night text from a drunk friend set me on edge. But not last night. Last night I was snuggled against a man who hasn’t given me a second thought or concern about his intentions or the type of person he is on the surface, and deep down where light hasn’t completely shown me everything. That part doesn’t bother me, because I know the warning signs now, and Shan hasn’t flared one to life in the least.

  “I don’t want to get up.” His muffled voice moves my hair and tumbles against my back in our spooning position.

  “I don’t want to leave.”

  “Damn having commitments. They’re overrated.”

  “Totally overrated.” I chuckle while turning to see his sleepy morning face. Can he get any sexier?

  I’m sure he can. And there’s the instant blush.

  “You can’t miss your game, though, and I have to get my other work done before studying with Nia since our make-up meet is tomorrow.”

  “Would they even notice if we weren’t there? We could just lock ourselves in here and order delivery. I’ve got tons of movies. We never have to leave the bed.”

  “Very tempting, sir. I will take you up on this offer when it’s not at your expense or at the risk of Coach Stevens coming after me.” I grit my teeth. “I’ve heard the stories. Didn’t he make you guys promise to be celibate once?”

  “That’s just a rumor. I think he started it to scare everyone into keeping their wits about them during the season.”

  “Well, it’s not working so well on somebody, now is it? And what if it’s true?” My mock gasp sells the horror along with a clutch of fingers to my chest. Shan, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to burst. I may have over-tipped my hand.

  His hands push against my back end and our mouths meet in heated desire.

  “I’m not going to risk it.” Cue melting things I can’t explain and throbbing things to clench in my depths.

  “I’d hope not.”

  A growl this time and I’m instantly on top of him, donned only in one of his shirts and my underwear.

  He holds my face in his hands, pulling himself up to
meet my lips and to whisper into my ear. “I can’t wait to be with you again.”

  “Me either.”

  After using my finger to brush my teeth and lots of mouthwash, I crawl back into my clothes and lace up my shoes. Something stirs inside; a dread as a nagging pain, more like a headache that never fully goes away, creeps around like a thief in my brain.

  Shan walks over to me where I sit at his desk chair and spins me so I’m facing him. He stands shirtless in front of me, holding his jersey in his hand.

  “I’m sorry I can’t make your game today. Next week, I promise.”

  My attempt at distracting myself from my own thoughts doesn’t work on his quick mind, though looking him up and down is distracting. “Though, if you are playing shirts and skins, I may have to blow off anything that might have mattered five seconds ago.”

  His chuckle is heart-melting.

  “What’s really on your mind? I can tell when you’re lost in there, you know. We’ve been around each other long enough now for me to pick up on these kinds of things, plus, it’s kind of second nature.”

  Though his face is sweet, plastered with a questioning concern, I cringe. How long will he want to put up with the shade of Derrick in our lives? He says it’s second nature to him because he saw this same look of fear in his mother’s eyes one too many times. He doesn’t talk about it much, still, so I don’t know if he’s holding back for me or for him.

  “I’m just a little concerned, especially since we don’t know for sure who wrecked your car, that if I’m seen leaving here it’ll just unleash more drama.” My head drops to the hands holding each other above my lap. “It’s not fair that you have to deal with my baggage.”

  Taking my hands in his strong ones, he brings me up to standing. My chest blossoms when I look up at him.

  “Don’t ever feel like you need to be ashamed about your past.” His voice is soft, along with the fingertip that raises my downcast chin. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here to protect you.”