Bound to Darkness (Doubeck Crime Family)

Rolling over, I run my hands down the ridge of my erection. I’d been sporting the same one since I ignored it when I woke up. I can’t cross that line with her because there’s no going back. Not for either of us.

I slowly roll my hand up and down my shaft, still tucked safely in my shorts. If she weren’t so broken, if she hadn’t been through so much, I might have considered offering her an arrangement. Mutual pleasure between friends.

It sounds good in my head, but in reality, I know if I touch her, I won’t ever stop. Especially when I feel how her tight little body grips me. How she’ll say my name when she comes. I’ve imagined that more times than I care to admit over the past couple of days.

How do I scrub her out of my mind when she seems to be branded there? Her scent, the quiet way she walks, all of it. It’s utterly ridiculous, considering how little we know about each other. And how much Adrian and Valentina will rip my head off if I hurt Rose.

I sit up, leaving my aching cock to roll on my belly again to start another round of push-ups. I can only do a few before my muscles give out completely. I wipe the sweat from my brow and lumber to my feet, my thighs still screaming from yesterday’s workout.

The second she walks past the door, I can smell her, like clean sheets and sun-warmed lavender. I pull my earbuds out and listen as she makes herself a bowl of cereal.

We only have a few more days until I’ll have to send an associate out for supplies and meet them to restock. At least some of the perishables.

I try to picture her in the kitchen but then decide to walk out and just see what she’s up to. We’d been avoiding each other in one way or another since we got here. It’s not her fault I want to bend her over the counter and make her scream my name.

She’s sitting on that very counter I’ve fantasized about, swinging her legs but never letting her feet hit the lower cabinets. I smile and trek my gaze up the long line of her bared legs. “Having fun?”

She jumps and sloshes cereal milk onto her hand. “What the hell? Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

I tuck my earbuds in my pocket and lean against the refrigerator. “I’ve been standing here for five minutes. You should be more perceptive.”

With a scowl, she wipes her hand on a towel and resumes her position on the counter. “Excuse me, but I’m trying to enjoy my breakfast.”

I let my gaze linger from her ankles to the sides of her bare thighs in her sleep shorts to the bra-less swell of her breasts. “Don’t let me stop you.”

This time, her look isn’t as fierce, and I spot the hint of fear in her eyes.

That’s my cue to head back to the weights. I’m about to tuck my earbuds in my ear when someone pounds on the heavy wood front door of the cabin.

I glance at Rose, who is frozen, her eyes wide. “Who is it?”

“How the hell should I know. I can’t see them through the damn door.” This earns me a glare, which I give right back.

The pounding comes again, and I reach up on top of the fridge and feel around for the holster I stashed there on our first day in the cabin.

“What’s that?” Rose whispers.

I pull out the 9mm and keep it aimed at the floor. “What does it look like?”

She hops off the counter and meets me near the entryway to the kitchen. “Can I have a gun?”

I pin her with another glare. “What? No, of course not. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

She slides the cereal bowl onto the counter and crosses her arms under her breasts. “What if I want to keep myself safe? What if you get shot and killed, and then it’s just me against an armed intruder?”

I nudge her farther into the kitchen with my hip. “Wait over there. Also, I’ve noted how much confidence you have in my abilities. I’ll remember that for later.”

Her breath hits my ear, and I sigh because she’s not going to listen to a damn thing I say. “What’s that supposed to mean? Later?”

The pounding starts again, this time more insistent. I creep toward the door, keeping both it and Rose in my sight. “Later,” I whisper. “Means when I get my hand on your ass and spank you for that mouth.”

She clamps her lips together, going rigid. Finally, I get her to shut up.

I check the lock on the door, spin the deadbolts, and then open the door with one hand, the weapon at the ready with the other.

The person on the other side, knee-deep in snow, is not someone I expected to see anytime soon. “Selena?”

My younger sister, Selena, raises one perfectly groomed eyebrow my way. “Are you going to let me in? I’m freezing my tits off out here!”