Page 18 of Stryker
But I needed to taste her.
I reached out with one hand and slipped my fingers through her hair. My fingers curved naturally around her nape and her lips parted a quarter of an inch. Her slight exhale and the way she melted into my touch were all the green lights I needed. When the tip of her tongue appeared between her lips, I growled in desperation and pressed my lips to hers.
Running my tongue along the slight space between her lips, I encouraged her to open up. She surrendered, opening for me and my tongue met hers. The coffee flavor of her breath entered my lungs and I swirled my tongue around her. She was more intoxicating than the hardest liquor I’d ever tasted. With every breath I could smell her arousal intensifying. Little bumps raced up and down her arms and her nipples hardened under her shirt.
Damn. I needed to stop this. I needed to stop kissing her before the fragile thread of my self-control snapped. Breaking the kiss, I dropped my hand away from her silken hair and backed off. Even the few inches between us didn’t help. My whole body had pulled out of slumber and every nerve popped off. My body demanded more, but I pulled myself together.
I needed a distraction. So I pulled my phone out and handed it to her. She stared at it, then at me, her lips red and damp from our kiss. Confusion filled her lovely features and her sweet brown eyes searched for answers in my face.
I dialed the number of the room I’d booked for them but didn’t hit the green icon to actually complete the call.
“Talk to your parents.” I’d sworn to her that her last words to her father wouldn’t be the one’s she’d spoken. This neatly kept that promise without doing anything dangerous or stupid that might give away where they were or give away Kat’s location
“Don’t tell them where you are.” I knew my phone was clean, but I lived under the philosophy that you could never be too careful.
Her lip trembled. “Are you….” She cleared her throat as if that would bring her voice above a whisper. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. You’re not a prisoner. You need to talk to them, so do it.”
She blinked, then shook her head. “I didn’t mean to imply I think I’m a prisoner—I know I’m not—”
“Talk to them.” I shoved the phone into her hands and she took it. Her hands shook so hard she almost dropped it and the screen chose that second to shut off. She glanced up at me in shock
“The screen just shut off. It’s okay.” I turned it back on and she gave me an embarrassed smile.
“Sorry, my phone is a crappy old thing. No touch screen or anything.”
I reached out and touched the green phone icon and motioned for her to put it to her ear. She did so and her eyes lit up as it rang in her ear.
“More coffee?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “It’ll give me the shakes. Hi, Dad!”
I stood up and walked into the kitchen for more coffee as she asked him how they were doing.
I took a deep breath and filled my cup with piping hot coffee and tried to wrestle my thoughts into order. I shouldn’t have kissed her. I brought a fist down on the cold granite counter. It was fucking stupid to kiss her.
But what’s done is done. I needed to keep it professional moving forward. No matter how good she smelled. No matter how turned on she was, or how ready her body promised to be for me. It didn’t matter that she clearly felt the same attraction to me I felt toward her. I needed to treat her like a client, not a potential lover.
Fuck, though, that kiss… Sure, she had no idea what she was doing, but the woman had guts. I picked up my coffee and headed into the living room to see if she needed some support.
She glanced up at me, a smile toying at her lips. “That’s great, Dad! I’m glad you’re both doing well. Look, I wanted to say I’m sorry.” She paused, her eyes filling with tears. “No, it’s not alright.”
She paused again and I sat down across the coffee table from her. I wanted to be close, but not too close. Not so close I could reach out and touch her because I just might do it.
“Nothing gives me the right to talk to you like that. Not even being stressed out. You’re my dad. I owe you respect.” Twin tears slipped down her cheeks and she stared at the floor, looking more miserable than I’d ever seen her. And I’d seen her at some pretty low points.
“No, you’re a great dad.” She paused again as if he’d cut her off. “Dad…” Her tears flowed a bit faster.
And I heard him this time. “I’ve been a shit father to you and a terrible husband. I’ve put everything on you and that’s wrong.”
Her chin quivered and tears rained off it into her lap. Against my better judgment, I knew she needed me. So I moved next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Pulling her close, I felt her melt into me.
“When I get home, I’m getting a job. I’m going to help you figure this out. We should be working together, not against one another.” He sounded firm.
“Okay.” The word rasped out of her throat like flint and I ran a hand up and down her arm, trying to silently convey that I was here if she needed me. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too. Want to talk to your mother?”
