Cowboy Justice at Whiskey Gulch by Elle James

Author:Elle James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-07-12T01:26:30+00:00

Chapter Nine

Parker sat as still as he could until Abby’s breathing grew deeper and slower. Finally, she was asleep.

He stood and adjusted himself in the tight confines of his jeans.

Yes, the woman made him hot all over. No, he didn’t have to act on it. Yes, he wanted to make love to her more than he wanted to breathe.

But she wasn’t ready for a man to force his attentions on her. It might trigger her into a panic attack.

Parker paced across the room. Abby had been right about one thing. He could never sleep sitting up in that chair. At the other end of the room, he spun and stared at the bed and the woman in it.

All he’d had to do was agree with her, climb into the bed and make love to her. He’d be satisfied and she’d be...what? Satisfied enough to sleep? Or even more traumatized?

Parker had seen panic in her eyes several times. Mostly at the idea of being alone.

His eyes narrowed. Not at being alone so much as being without him. When she’d been led away by the women, she’d looked back for him. She hadn’t been alone and wasn’t going to be left alone in a room. Abby had wanted to be with him.

But was that purely a distraction so she didn’t have to deal with her situation or was she genuinely attracted to him? Was it that she wanted to be with the man who’d saved her? Was it that she felt safe only with him?

He crossed the room and settled on the edge of the chair, his hands clasped between his knees. Why had he been so adamant about not lying in bed with her?

He knew the answer. Because she might have wanted him to make love to her out of some reaction to having no control over her life for the days she’d been held hostage. By making love with him, she had the control.

And when it was over, she would’ve regained control and would no longer need him.

Was that what he was worried about? If he made love to her, he might fall even more in love with her. And after she got over the trauma of her abduction, she’d no longer need him. By then, he’d be stupidly head over heels and left brokenhearted.

No. He’d made the right decision. He was better off not getting involved.

Abby rolled onto her back, her forehead dented in a deep frown, her eyes squeezed shut.

Parker could see the pulse at the base of her throat beating fast and furious.

Abby’s fists clenched and her head moved side to side. “No,” she murmured. “Lemme go.”

Parker’s chest squeezed tight.

She was in the middle of another nightmare.

He waited, hoping it would subside.

Her head rocked back and forth on the pillow. She drew her knees up to her chest and whimpered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

That was it. Parker could stand a lot, but the tears were his undoing.

He kicked off his shoes, pulled back the comforter and slid between the sheets next to Abby.

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