Awakening by Gillian Colbert, Elene Sallinger Page A

was exactly why he stayed away from her. He was standing in the middle of his store, his dick hard as a rock, dripping and fighting the temptation to bend her over and spank her little ass until it burned. He expected better of himself. He’d never been this ruled by his temptations with Marianne. Evan’s heart thunked, and his cock deflated. He was an ass. What was he thinking? He could never replace Marianne.
    With a heavy sigh, Evan sat at the register and began running the day’s sales reports. He was letting himself get caught up in something he had no business being involved in. He could never give Claire what she needed. She needed someone who could commit fully to her and be there for her emotionally. He had given his heart away and then buried it. She’d obviously found someone who made her happy. He needed to just let it all go.
    ‘Ooof.’ Claire stumbled and latched on to Evan’s arm as she tried to stay upright. She’d been reading the back cover of her latest erotica selection and hadn’t been paying attention to where she was walking as she headed back to the seating area to read. The movement brought her into almost full body contact with him. He grabbed her as she stumbled and his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her against him. Her body reacted immediately to his nearness. Her breathing sped up and her nipples went instantly erect. Deep inside, she tingled and went damp.
    He, on the other, hand seemed offended. His powerful body was rigid, the scowl on his face harsh and menacing. Those deep chocolate eyes that she fantasised about blazed with anger, and his lips were a cruel slash. She quickly pulled away from him and stepped back.
    ‘Sorry about that,’ Claire took a deep breath and smiled up at him. She was determined not to let him intimidate her any longer. He might find her disgusting, but dammit, she was a paying customer and she had as much right as anyone else to be in the store. Her feelings about him were irrelevant. She was a grown woman and would deal with her crush privately. She’d get over it eventually. No longer was she going to hide and shrink.
    After her dinner with Marcus, it was as if a door inside her opened. She’d never felt more in control of her own life. Reconnecting with Marcus had been that first step on the road to getting both closure with her past and to traversing the path to her future. The last week had been a whirlwind of visits with him and his family. She’d spent several evenings at their house, meeting his wife and getting to know her niece. She’d even signed up for a class in the Israeli martial art, Krav Maga. Claire had always wanted to be able to defend herself, but had been too self-conscious to do anything about it.
    She might need physical pain at some level, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be a victim. She’d been doing a lot of soul searching and had come to the realisation that she wanted to experience what BDSM had to offer. She just wasn’t sure how to go about it. The trust needed to ensure you didn’t end up someone’s victim was deep and she was frightened of choosing the wrong person.
    The irony was that the person she felt would suit seemed offended by her very presence. Evan’s kindness and generosity was apparent. He seemed deeply intuitive and was highly regarded. If Bridget trusted him, then he must be trustworthy. Bridget was nothing if not reserved and sceptical with men as a result of her rape. She trusted very few, and she had only glowing things to say about Evan. It was clearly Claire that he had a problem with. But to say she didn’t want Evan to be her first would have been a lie. He was the number one star in her fantasies now. He was her Sir in her head if not in the flesh, and she found herself hoping each time she saw him to be able to make him smile rather than scowl at her, to engage him in conversation and get to know him, but so far he’d only gotten more distant.
    ‘Sorry, I wasn’t watching where