Free ROMANCING HER PROTECTOR by Mallory Monroe Page B

office, when they had ended up making love twice. “You’re small
    enough. I don’t want another inch off of you. In fact, you probably could afford to put a few
    inches on.”
    Shay didn’t see that happening. She had always been small. “You don’t like small
    woman?” she decided to ask him.
    Matty hesitated. He didn’t want to scare her off by exposing his private life just yet.
    He’d already worked out that she didn’t know the extent of his relationship with her school’s
    dean, not based on what they discussed on Monday where she thought he was there to see
    Alex on business, and he preferred to keep it that way for now.
    “I don’t have a preference,” he said, although that wasn’t entirely accurate. He’d
    always preferred women with meat on their bones, and many, although not all, of the women
    he’d been involved with tended to fall into that body type. But all bets appeared to have flown
    out the window when it came to Shay. She was not only the smallest woman he’d ever been
    attracted to, but the youngest as well.
    “Your parents still alive, Matty?” Shay asked him.
    “My mother isn’t.”
    “And your father?”
    “Don’t know, don’t care.”
    “Yeah, I know what you mean. My moma’s dead, too, but the man she said is my
    father isn’t.”
    Matty looked at her. “Oh, really? Is there a relationship there?”
    “Nope.”
    “You don’t want it?”
    “He doesn’t. He cussed me out when I asked him about it.”
    Matty pulled her closer. “I see,” he said, and kissed her hair again. “How old are you,
    Shay?” he asked her.
    She smiled. “Why?”
    “Just curious.”
    “I’m over eighteen if that’s what you mean. And if I wasn’t, now was not the time to
    ask this question.”
    Matty laughed. “Good point.”
    “I’m twenty,” she said. “What about you? No, let me guess. Twenty-seven?”
    Matty smiled. “I’m not quite that young, Shay, come on.”
    “Okay, twenty-eight.”
    “No.”
    “Twenty-nine?”
    Matty laughed, as Shay’s voice sounded surprised when he shook his head no. “Let’s
    get out of the twenties, shall we?”
    Shay stared at him. “How old are you?” she asked, prompting Matty to laugh again. If
    only she could see her worried face, he thought. Was he fifty, sixty, she seemed to be
    wondering. Had she been sleeping with some crusty old man?
    “I’m thirty-three, Shay,” he said.
    She relaxed. “Oh. That’s okay then.”
    “It’s still an age difference.”
    “Yeah, but you look twenty-something, you act twenty-something, and I already
    figured you was too successful to still be a kid. Besides, a guy my age wouldn’t work for me.
    I’m too mature and sophisticated.”
    On this Matty laughed so hard his stomach began to ache. “Oh, Shay,” he said,
    wrapping her tighter into his arms. “You’re killing me here.” And the thought of it frightened
    him. Because this young lady was doing something to him, something that could very well kill
    all hope he’d ever had of remaining free as a bird, until his dying day.

    ***
And as if their long and beautiful night wasn’t enough, their date that lasted till morning
    ended with a bang. He did feed her, only it was near midnight when they finally did eat, and
    he made love to her yet again, this time downstairs-they couldn’t make it up in time.
    Afterwards, when they did make it upstairs, they simply talked until they fell asleep in each
    other’s arms. And early that next morning, she awoke to find him already bathed, dressed, and
    downstairs. She bathed, dressed, and went downstairs too.
    “There’s my baby,” he said as she ran into his arms, causing him to lift her up and kiss
    her deeply.
    “Why didn’t you wake me?”
    “No reason to wake you. You’d already told me you didn’t have class until noon.
    You’ll make it back in plenty of time.”
    “On the train? You must be joking. And please don’t tell me you’re calling up the
    limousine again.”
    “No, no