Page 52 of Stalked By the Assistant Coach
Love I would cherish.
“For what?” she asked whisper-softly. Whether she knew it or not, her hands rested between us on my chest, right over my heart.
“For scaring you. Weirding you out.” I could tell she wanted to roll her eyes but instead frowned.
“That’s what you’re sorry for? Not for stealing or lying or watching me without me knowing—" My mouth covered hers, and I kissed her in a deep passionate wet kiss. Distracting her from what I was about to do.
“No. I’m not sorry for that,” I rumbled. My nose nuzzled hers. “I can’t. Not when I needed to know you were safe while I was so fucking far away.”
“Red.” Using the panties I’d been admiring when she caught me, I bound her wrists. “Red! Wait! What are you doing? Red, this isn’t funny.” She squirmed, but I didn’t let her go. And she didn’t really try to run.
“You’re right, baby, it’s not funny. But I warned you.” I kissed her nose, not letting her best me while I moved us to the edge of the bed.
In one lift and soft drop, I had her in bed and tied the material to the bed posts.
“Red, I’m serious. This isn’t funny.”
“It’s not meant to be. You’re in trouble, Kaitlyn,” I whispered against her lips, and when her mouth tried to find mine, my lips tugged upward.
“Me?” she squeaked, opening her eyes, “You’re the one who's been stalking me!”
“Stalking?” I tsked. “That sounds a little harsh.” I winked.
Now that the cat was out of the bag, I felt like I could let it all hang out. She’d seen the worst of me. Everything I’d kept secret. And she hadn’t cried out in fear. No. I’d seen the sparkle in her gaze as she kept looking around the room, putting every piece of the puzzle together.
If I were a gambling man, I would have bet my fucking house that even though she didn’t understand it, she liked me being so head over ass in love with her, I’d gone to such grave depths. I didn’t regret anything.
No. That wasn’t true. The only two things I regretted were not claiming her years ago, time wasted we would never get back, and how scared she’d been when she found those cameras. That had never been my intention.
“I’d rather cut my arm off than hurt you, bug,” I drawled. Her eyes flared.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
“What if I tell you I don’t want this?
“We would both know you’re lying, ladybug. Look at you,” I glanced down at her body beneath mine. Her arms up above her head, wrists tied tight to the bed with the very first pair of panties I’d stolen, the ones that had started the obsession. “Jesus, you’re fucking perfection.”
She mewled softly and tugged at her arms. I shook my head. “Uh-uh, don’t do that.”
“Red—"
“I love you. I have always loved you. I can’t lose you,” I rasped in a low tone. “I can’t. I won’t. I need you, ladybug.”
“Red, this is crazy. Let me go,” she muttered halfheartedly. I watched her for a moment, and when one of my hands dropped to caress her face, she didn’t even flinch. If anything, she leaned into my touch.
“Is that really what you want?” I asked softly, sitting up until I kneeled between her legs. Jesus, just the sight of her beneath me, her dark hair wild on the pillow, her glasses askew as she breathed through her mouth like she couldn’t catch her breath had me close to losing my load.
“You really want me to let you go, you know I will. You know I would never, ever hurt you. I’d never take anything you didn’t want to give. I’d rip my heart out of my chest before I hurt you on purpose.”
“Red—"
“Tell me that’s really what you want, that you want me to let you free, and I will. I’ll even let you walk out of this room and let you lock me in it.” We stared at one another for a long moment. Her lips opened and then shut.
It wasn’t until then that I realized I’d been holding my breath. With a shallow exhale, my hands moved down her body to her thighs as I stroked her silky, smooth flesh up and down.
“You’re so soft. Fuck, you’re always so damn soft.”