Free Her Knight in Black Leather by J. M. Stewart Page A

into his pockets, and stood staring at her with soft, somber eyes.
    An electric current of unspoken wants and desires buzzed in the air between them. That tiny part of her still wanted to see him again, and the black depths of his eyes echoed the same sentiment.
    She had to end this here. Before she opened her big mouth and set herself on a path to destruction by asking him exactly that.
    “It’s okay.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to walk me up.”
    A smile touched the corners of his mouth, and he quirked a brow in challenge. “Are you that anxious to get rid of me?”
    She sighed. Why did this have to be so hard? It was one night, with a stranger. Wasn’t it supposed to be easy? “This is just so … ” She paused and shook her head, at a loss to say more.
    “Awkward.” He nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
    She laid a hand against his chest; his warmth radiated against her fingers. “I don’t want it to follow us upstairs. I’d rather remember you exactly the way I met you.”
    His eyes narrowed, playful. “Dark and dangerous?”
    She let out a soft laugh, half from sheer nerves, half from relief. “Something like that.”
    He’d given her something intangible, something more valuable than money. Immersed in nothing but him, without a care in the world, she’d been free from the fear and shame that had ruled most of her life. While she loathed relinquishing that feeling, she also knew she couldn’t let it go any further.
    Michael, however, was nothing if not persistent. With a determined glint in his eye that dared her not to let him play the gentleman, he slipped his hand into hers. With a gentle tug on her arm, he moved onto the sidewalk and eyed the building. “So, where are you?”
    “Right here.” With a defeated sigh, she nodded at the dark wooden stairwell in front of them. “Second floor.”
    Their fingers still linked, he followed a step behind as she made her way up the stairs. Once again, silence reigned supreme, making her wonder what he thought. Did he feel the same awkwardness that twisted her stomach?
    At the top of the landing, she turned to look at him, her heart fluttering in her chest when he stepped up with her. Towering over her, desire flared in his eyes, sending new shivers along her spine. In one long stride, he closed the distance between them, his hands seizing her waist. He tugged her flush against him, but the playfulness in his touch melted into something softer, more intense and needy, the instant their bodies met.
    He leaned his forehead against hers. “You didn’t think I’d let you get away from me that easily, now did you?”
    The quiet possessiveness in those words, the wistfulness in his voice, filled her chest with a torrent of confusing emotions. Slowly throughout the night, the dark and mysterious façade had come down. She’d gotten a glimpse of this man’s heart and liked what she’d seen. He was better than the fantasy.
    Here, in his arms, she had the oddest sense of rightness. And his eyes … his eyes spoke to her, connected to some part of her, deep inside. Last night those sensations made for something incredible. Michael had taken her to heights she hadn’t even known were possible.
    In the harsh light of day, they scared her to death. She didn’t want to see he was just a man, didn’t want to see his flaws, because she couldn’t chance he’d turn out like Nick. A playboy who only wanted to toy with her heart.
    The thoughts flitted away as he leaned his head down and nipped at the curve of her neck. One hand slid inside his jacket she wore, his touch, light and tantalizing, skimmed the side of her breast, and she couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped. The tips of his fingers caressed her skin as he moved the collar aside, taking the strap of her top with it. He placed a soft kiss to her shoulder before straightening.
    He fingered the lapel of his jacket. “I’m afraid I’ll need this back.”
    “Darn. And here I thought you’d let me