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Enter - below the excerpt
Lucas watched as Adrianna gave her head another
vigorous shake, glaring at the paramedic. He instinctively moved toward her
to see what was wrong. She’d been through enough and he didn’t want this guy
making her more upset.
What am I doing? She’s not my responsibility. That thought didn’t slow him down for an
instant. He came to a stop in front of the paramedic, narrowing his eyes on the
man. “Is there a problem here?”
The paramedic scowled, not appearing
intimidated by Lucas’ surly attitude in the slightest. Pretty damn brave of
him, Lucas admitted with grudging respect, given that the guy was no taller
than Adrianna, and almost as skinny.
“She refuses to go to the hospital to get
checked for a concussion,” the paramedic complained. “Maybe you can talk some
sense into her.”
Lucas frowned at Adrianna and her stubborn
chin jutted forward, a kiss-worthy pout pursing her mouth. Did the woman have
no sense whatsoever? First, she shows up at a strange house late at night, then
stuck around when she should have been hauling her fine ass out of there.
Although there was a good chance he’d be dead if she hadn’t, which ticked him
off further. It was his fault she’d been injured, and dammit, she was going to
the hospital to get checked out if he had to carry her there.
“I’ll take her.”
She gave him a look of exasperation. “I’m not
going.”
“Yes . . . you are,” he returned, his
annoyance rising. What the hell was wrong with this woman? Stubborn didn’t even
come close to her attitude.
She crossed her arms and tapped her slender
bare foot, irritation marring her pretty features. Her alluring eyes flashed a
deep shade of green. “No. I’m not.”
She shifted her gaze to the paramedic in a
look of reproach, then spun around and headed for a blue Ford Focus parked in
front of the house.
“She can’t drive,” the paramedic snapped.
“Right,” Lucas agreed, sprinting after her.
“I’ve got this.”
He came up behind her just as she neared the
Focus, her steps slowed, then came to a complete stop by the driver’s side
door. But she didn’t open it. Instead, her shoulders drooped and her head fell
forward as she tugged the blanket more tightly around her. When a tremor shook
her shoulders, the need to comfort her nearly undid him. She was due for a
meltdown after what she’d been through.
His annoyance fell away at the sight of her
distress. “You okay?”
“My car’s broken,” she said, her voice no
more than a whisper. A chill nipped the air as a slight misting rain fell on
them.
He reached for her and slowly turned her
around, placing a finger under her chin and tilting her face up. Her eyes were
glassy with tears. “What?” he asked softly.
She blinked moisture from her lashes and
squinted up at him. “I had an accident”—sniffle—“on the way here and now it
won’t start.” Her bottom lip trembled.
His gaze fell to her mouth and an urge to
press her back against her car and taste those full pouty lips coiled inside
him. He swallowed hard and forced the image out of his mind, but it was harder
to force the desire from his body. “You weren’t hurt?”
She hadn’t appeared injured when he’d seen
her peering inside the dirty window. His eyes dropped back over her body,
accessing her injuries. His body tightened, noting the way her conservative
outfit, still damp, clung to her soft curves.
His mouth pressed tight. Since Susan’s death,
he’d taken less than a handful of women to bed to scratch his itch. All
one-nighters who knew the score. This woman had ‘long-term’ written all over
her. Lucas didn’t do long term.
Adrianna continued. “I just need my purse.”
Her voice shook and two fat tears leaked from her eyes. “And I—I lost my
glasses when that man hit me,” she ended on a wail.
The thought of Ellis touching her, hurting
her, made Lucas want to do some damage to the guy. His nostrils flared and his
spine stiffened. Too bad the bastard was already dead. The anguish he heard in
her voice bothered him. On pure instinct, Lucas found himself leaning in to
comfort her. Inhaling her sweet floral scent reminded him of everything good in
the world and the reason men like him fought to protect innocence.
Two more tears rolled down her face, one
dripping off the end of her cute nose. An emotion that could only be described
as tenderness flickered to life inside him. An emotion he’d sworn never to feel
again. An emotion he sure as hell didn’t want. One he did his best to tamp back
down, as the need to claim and protect her smoldered, like a low burning fire.
Then she sniffled again, the sound soft and feminine, as two more tears fell.
Like throwing gasoline onto a flame, the
emotion exploded, raging out of control.
Ah, hell!
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