Colton Christmas Protector by Beth Cornelison

Author:Beth Cornelison [Cornelison, Beth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Reid twisted his mouth as he thought, then cast a sultry side glance to her. “I’m happy right now...here with you.”

Her pulse staggered, and she realized that, despite the turmoil and danger they’d encountered in the past few days, she was happy right now, too. With Reid.

But what if she was wrong about him? What if his story about how Andrew died was a lie? What about the way her father had bowed and scraped for all the Coltons while ignoring her for her whole life? Were her feelings of hostility toward his family just a manifestation of little-girl jealousy and hurt?

She’d seen a different side to Reid when he’d become Andrew’s partner and friend. He still had moments of acting the entitled rich boy, the arrogant jock she’d known in high school, but she knew more facets of Reid now. He was deeper than his shallow mother, kinder than his snobbish half siblings and had an innate sense of justice and protectiveness that had drawn him into a career he’d not needed for the income, but undertook to fulfill a sense of purpose and duty.

She sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Something wrong?” he asked, his hands stilling on her feet.

“Only that you quit rubbing my feet,” she replied with a lopsided grin, then grew more serious. “And I overthink things. I rationalize and nitpick things to death.”

“Having an analytical mind isn’t a bad thing.”

“I said overthinking. I have trouble letting things go sometimes and accepting things at face value.”

He focused his deep blue gaze on her and frowned. “What are you overthinking at the moment?”

She swallowed hard and curled her fingers around the hem of her sweater. “You.”

His eyebrows shot up for a moment, then formed an inquisitive V. Shifting on the couch, he let her feet fall to the floor as he stretched toward her. “Is there anything I can do to help you decide your feelings about me?” His hand settled at her waist as he lay across her body, pressing her into the cool leather cushions. “Maybe this?” He brushed his lips across the pulse point on her neck.

Her breath snagged, and her fingers curled around his shoulders.

“Or this?” Reid nipped the tip of her chin, and her head swam muzzily.

“Reid...” she rasped.

He raised his head to look deeply into her eyes. “I want you, Pen. I won’t pretend otherwise any longer. But if this isn’t what you want, you can tell me to go to hell, and I’ll respect your feelings.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but so many thoughts and emotions battled inside her, she could only stare at him mutely.

When she didn’t reply, his expression darkened. He levered farther away from her as if to leave, and she tightened her grip on his shirt.

“Pen?” He angled his head, clearly trying to read her.

“I...need more time.” Her heart thrashed in her chest like a wild animal tangled in a snare. She felt trapped, caught between loyalty to Andrew and a years-old lust for Reid.

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