Like for a moment, it was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms and play the helpless, frightened female, ridiculous as that notion was.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, moving closer, his hands closing around her upper arms in a firm, reassuring grip.
“Nothing,” she said, her quaking voice ruining any claim she might have made at that point.
“Don’t lie to me,” he said with an urgency she didn’t understand and didn’t like hearing. “What happened?”
“Nothing. Nothing happened.”
“Kim, you’re trembling,” he said, still hanging on to her.
Not that she objected to that. She was still fighting the urge to curl up against his big male body. She didn’t think he’d object. Oh, he’d probably be surprised and demand even more answers, but at least she’d feel safe for a moment and feeling safe sounded really good to her.
“I’m being silly,” she said.
“In what way?” he said, doing that enunciating-so-carefully thing that he did, the familiar shot of impatience and irritation back in his voice.
She grinned in spite of herself, because that was Nick and the familiarity was reassuring at the moment.
“In what you’d no doubt think of as a silly, female way,” she said, feeling much better now that he was here.
He didn’t seem amused. Or even remotely satisfied by her answer.
If anything, it irritated him even more.
His mouth stretched into a grim line, and his eyes went all smoky and dark and…interesting.
He was a very interesting man. She couldn’t deny it.
She wasn’t interested, she told herself. She was in love, after all.
But it didn’t render a woman blind to every other man in the universe.
She could say with complete objectivity that he was a very interesting, even attractive, man.
He looked like a man who couldn’t quite figure out what to do with her. His hands were still locked on her arms in a grip that was firm, yet reassuring and somehow even gentle. There was heat radiating from his body, which didn’t seem hampered or injured in any way at the moment. And the idea of curling up against him while she caught her breath—tried to catch her breath—and stopped shaking was almost more than she could deny.
“You can tell me,” he said, his voice going soft and deep, impossibly compelling.
She inched closer just a bit, took a breath and tried to let it out with deliberate, calming slowness.
“I know something scared you. I have trouble thinking it was simply because I knocked on your door. Surely lots of people come and see you. I bet they all knock on your door, that it’s not something that normally frightens you.”
Kim hovered there, blessedly close to him, confused, tempted, irritated with herself and with Eric for not being here when he should be—still feeling a bit scared and silly and just not knowing what to do.
“Someone scared you?” Nick asked.
“No,” she whispered.
“Something?”
She nodded.
“Tell me,” he said. “Tell me what happened.”
An invitation that sounded impossibly appealing. Nearly as appealing as resting for a moment in his arms.
He drew her to him, then, little by little, inch by inch, giving her all the time in the world to object or to pull away. Pulled her to him so slowly that she wondered if he had to fight himself to let her be that close to him.
It felt oddly sexual and oddly not.
Sexually charged, actually, and yet like he was erecting some kind of wall between them, touching her and yet not letting himself really touch her.
She got to where her forehead brushed against his chin and then her chin rubbed against the top of his shoulder as she turned her head away from him and laid her head against the surprisingly hard muscles of his chest. Ever so slowly, she let her body rest against the strength of his, reassured and a little bit scared.
It felt good.
Really good.
Better than it should have, she decided, to a woman newly fallen in love with the man of her dreams.
Who was
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, moving closer, his hands closing around her upper arms in a firm, reassuring grip.
“Nothing,” she said, her quaking voice ruining any claim she might have made at that point.
“Don’t lie to me,” he said with an urgency she didn’t understand and didn’t like hearing. “What happened?”
“Nothing. Nothing happened.”
“Kim, you’re trembling,” he said, still hanging on to her.
Not that she objected to that. She was still fighting the urge to curl up against his big male body. She didn’t think he’d object. Oh, he’d probably be surprised and demand even more answers, but at least she’d feel safe for a moment and feeling safe sounded really good to her.
“I’m being silly,” she said.
“In what way?” he said, doing that enunciating-so-carefully thing that he did, the familiar shot of impatience and irritation back in his voice.
She grinned in spite of herself, because that was Nick and the familiarity was reassuring at the moment.
“In what you’d no doubt think of as a silly, female way,” she said, feeling much better now that he was here.
He didn’t seem amused. Or even remotely satisfied by her answer.
If anything, it irritated him even more.
His mouth stretched into a grim line, and his eyes went all smoky and dark and…interesting.
He was a very interesting man. She couldn’t deny it.
She wasn’t interested, she told herself. She was in love, after all.
But it didn’t render a woman blind to every other man in the universe.
She could say with complete objectivity that he was a very interesting, even attractive, man.
He looked like a man who couldn’t quite figure out what to do with her. His hands were still locked on her arms in a grip that was firm, yet reassuring and somehow even gentle. There was heat radiating from his body, which didn’t seem hampered or injured in any way at the moment. And the idea of curling up against him while she caught her breath—tried to catch her breath—and stopped shaking was almost more than she could deny.
“You can tell me,” he said, his voice going soft and deep, impossibly compelling.
She inched closer just a bit, took a breath and tried to let it out with deliberate, calming slowness.
“I know something scared you. I have trouble thinking it was simply because I knocked on your door. Surely lots of people come and see you. I bet they all knock on your door, that it’s not something that normally frightens you.”
Kim hovered there, blessedly close to him, confused, tempted, irritated with herself and with Eric for not being here when he should be—still feeling a bit scared and silly and just not knowing what to do.
“Someone scared you?” Nick asked.
“No,” she whispered.
“Something?”
She nodded.
“Tell me,” he said. “Tell me what happened.”
An invitation that sounded impossibly appealing. Nearly as appealing as resting for a moment in his arms.
He drew her to him, then, little by little, inch by inch, giving her all the time in the world to object or to pull away. Pulled her to him so slowly that she wondered if he had to fight himself to let her be that close to him.
It felt oddly sexual and oddly not.
Sexually charged, actually, and yet like he was erecting some kind of wall between them, touching her and yet not letting himself really touch her.
She got to where her forehead brushed against his chin and then her chin rubbed against the top of his shoulder as she turned her head away from him and laid her head against the surprisingly hard muscles of his chest. Ever so slowly, she let her body rest against the strength of his, reassured and a little bit scared.
It felt good.
Really good.
Better than it should have, she decided, to a woman newly fallen in love with the man of her dreams.
Who was
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