All Tied Up

Her expression said she knew she’d pushed him too far, given him one too many scares that day. She knew she’d done this to him, pushed him over the edge. His patience officially snapped; his emotions were unrecognizable. He didn’t like what he was feeling—hated it, in fact.

He charged at her and grabbed her hand. “Come with me now or I swear to God I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you.”

A stunned look filled her face and she mumbled into the phone, “I’ll call you back, but don’t get on that plane until I talk to you again.” Constantine gave her a warning look and she quickly said, “I’ll call back,” and hit End. “Constantine—” The elevator dinged, and panic registered on her face.

“Yeah, I’m in a towel about to give a peep show.” He started pulling her down the hall and mumbled under his breath, “Which I have you to thank for.”

“Ouch,” she complained behind him. “You’re hurting me.”

He knew damn well he wasn’t hurting anything but her pride. And that was lucky for her, but then, he wasn’t through yet. Using one foot, he kicked open the door, and then reached up and flipped the latch, pulling Nicole inside the room. He used his foot again to make sure the door shut behind him.

Nicole tugged on her arm, leaning away from him as if to leverage herself. “Let. Me. Go.”

He did the opposite. He yanked her to him, anchoring her against his body, palm against her lower back. Her body, soft and curvy, pressed into his. He prayed for patience. “Por, Dios, da me paciencia.”

Palms flat on his chest, she glared at him. “Stop cussing at me in Spanish! If you have something to say, then you can say it in English.”

“I didn’t curse you. I simply asked God to give me the patience to deal with you.”

“What?” she roared back. “I’m the one who needs patience. You’re being a complete jerk. My sister is leaving Hawaii in the morning. I have to stop her from boarding that plane.”

“I asked you to wait long enough for me to get out of the shower. I’ve risked my life for you over and over, and you can’t wait for me to get out of the shower before you make that phone call? A few seconds was too much to ask?” His chest lifted with a hard inhalation that he quickly expelled. “You’re driving me to insanity, woman.”

“And you’re such a joy, let me tell you!”

He knew he was overreacting, but somehow, quite out of character, he couldn’t stop himself from doing so. He started toward the bed, but she dug her heels in. He pulled her tight against his body again, more than a bit irritated, and completely out of patience, hands cupping her round ass as he lifted her from the ground.

The act put her flat against his body, and his cock flared to life, the towel barely clinging to his hips. Her breasts pressed into his bare chest. She wore no bra, and he could feel her nipples as surely as he could her ass in his hands. Inwardly he cursed his lack of control. The heat of anger began to merge with the raging call of desire.

“Put me down,” she admonished near his ear. A plea slipped into her voice. “Stop acting like this. Stop being—”

Her sentence was cut short by her back hitting the mattress. Constantine straddled her hips, his hands going to her wrists, holding them above her head. She struggled for a good minute before stilling. There was no chance she could get free and she knew it. He was bigger and stronger, and just as determined to hold her down as she was to get up.

His face was close to hers, his gaze latching on to hers with purpose, letting her see deep into the depths of his stare, letting her see how far she’d pushed him.

Take a deep, hard look, sweetheart. See what you’ve unleashed in me. See the stranger I don’t even know as myself.

“Constantine,” she whispered, soft desperation in her voice. But he was still too damn mad to back down, and she deserved to feel the brunt of it. But damn it, his gaze dropped to her mouth, to those full, perfect lips as they quivered. The desire to kiss her, hold her and touch her rose within him like a caged beast demanding freedom. He wanted to take her right now, to find his way inside her, to dispel all the emotion he felt, inside the warm, wet heat of her body.

But he also knew he needed space, needed to clear his head. Needed to stay mad and deal with the real safety issues. His towel slid from his hips; the will to get off Nicole and walk away slid with it.