Ghost softly took her hand. She tightened up and looked up at him. Even sitting on the stool he looked slightly down into her eyes and then brought the cookie to his lips. His lower lip touched her fingertips as he held her gaze.
He took a bite of the cookie and remained holding her wrist and hand.
“Delicious,” he said to her, and when she tried to pull her hand away, he held it firmly. She tried stepping back and he stood up.
“Ghost, don’t.” She turned away from him.
He released her hand the moment he saw the change in her eyes from arousal to fear. She walked over to the sink by the window and Evan and Laverty looked at him with questions in their eyes and maybe even a bit of anger toward him. Ghost could be a difficult man. He didn’t do pampering and walking on eggshells. Lois affected him in so many ways it was crazy. He hardly even spoke to her. When he did, he barked or came across aggressive. It was obvious that he intimidated her, but he wondered if there was more to that.
“What are you so afraid of, Lois? Our sizes, our experience, our ages, what?” he asked her as Ford walked into the room dressed in uniform, obviously just getting off work.
“It smells incredible in here,” he said and then walked over toward Lois and caressed her back. She tightened up and then the sound of the oven beeping drew her attention.
She opened the oven door and took out the trays one after the next.
She hissed a moment as she dropped the pan onto the cooling rack, along with the pot holder.
Ford closed the oven door as she gripped her hand like she’d gotten burned.
Ghost went to Lois immediately. He grabbed her hand and pulled it toward the sink. He turned on the faucet, tested the temperature, and ran her hand through the water as he pressed against her back. His cock hardened. He knew she’d felt it and heard her low gasp.
When he looked at her, she had tears in her eyes and she stared up at him with such fear he wanted to demand for her to stop and tell him what he did.
“Are you okay? Is she okay, Ghost?” Evan asked. He and Laverty joined them by the sink. They each had a hand on her.
“I’m fine. It’s not bad. I pulled it away fast,” she said, rambling to him.
He licked his lower lip. “It isn’t fine, and you didn’t answer my question.”
She turned around to face him. He caged her in against the counter and stared down into her gorgeous blue eyes. He thought she looked incredibly sexy even with the little dusting of flour on her cheek and in her hair.
“Why do we scare you? Why do I scare you so much?”
“You just do.”
He exhaled. “Can you at least admit that you’re attracted to us like we are to you?”
She shook her head. He raised one of his eyebrows up at her.
“No, you don’t feel it, or no, you’re not willing to accept that you feel it?”
“Why are you doing this? Is this what you do? Demand for a woman to do what you want and admit that she has feelings so that you can control her?”
He squinted his eyes at her.
“No, we’re not like that. Haven’t we taken our time with you, and tried to get to know you and become friends first?” Evan asked her.
She looked at him, but Ghost kept his palm against her waist.
“I can’t do this.”
“Why not?” Ford asked firmly.
“I can’t trust you,” she said to them.
Ghost stepped back and turned off the faucet, which had remained running.
Laverty took her hand, brought it up to his lips, and kissed where the redness was.