Free Obsession (A Bad Boy's Secret Baby) by Adair Rymer, Nora Flite Page A

looked at me.”
    My eyes followed a few strands of his hair, past where they met his long dark lashes, to eventually be snared by his piercing gaze. He hung there with only a few breaths-worth of space between us. I wondered if he'd kiss me, I hoped he would.
    Mal didn't lower himself and take whatever it was that he wanted, he just studied me instead. His deep brown eyes seemed to trace my eyes, mouth and other facial features. I should have felt insecure under such intense scrutiny, but it didn't feel invasive or clinical.
    His eyes held something else entirely.
    “What is it?” I finally summoned the courage to ask, then stupidly diluted the question with a joke. “I can't already have soup on my face.”
    I hated doing that. Was I so afraid of being truly noticed that I had to dissolve or downplay all the attention I received. It was a bad habit that plagued me since forever.
    “I just don't get the chance to look at you enough.” His words, his silky tone, Mal was confidence incarnate. He could have had me in any way he wanted at that moment, he made my body feel like melted chocolate.
    “Why were you sad during the ceremony?” Mal asked, instead of crushing me in a kiss that would've ruined me.
    He saw that I was sad from the back of a church when not even my own family, a few feet away, noticed! How? Who was I kidding? I didn't think about Mal all the time just because he was handsome.
    Although fantasies of him coming into my room and tearing my clothes off definitely kept me warm on cold nights, I had fallen so hard for him because I always felt he knew me. The real me. The me I spent so much time trying to hide.
    So what did I say to those eyes that beckoned me to fall in and get lost?
    I could've told him that I felt like my chances at marriage were slipping away. I saw how happy my brother and his fiancé were and I felt the claustrophobic despair of never getting that for myself.
    I wanted to tell him that I was scared of being alone and that I might be carrying his child. Every atom in my body screamed for me to open up and spill my guts, to tell him all my hopes, fears, and worries. I wanted to tell him that I love him.
    “Our soup is getting cold.” I replied, glancing away.
    But if he knew the truth I might lose him.

Chapter 12
    Mal
    ––––––––
    T he call came in only four minutes ago and the fire truck was already hauling ass out of the station. The fact that I wasn't on it really pissed me off.
    This call was for a massive five-alarm blaze in the industrial district, several fire companies in the surrounding towns were called in to help.
    It was the perfect opportunity for me to take my mind off of Kait.
    Unfortunately for me, I hadn't finished training yet so I was forced to stay back at the firehouse. I left the main doors opens for airflow and stalked over to the heavy bags to relieve some of my pent up frustration.
    I had taken Kait out on a few more dates since that first night on the couch. We'd gone to a few of our old haunts as kids, some restaurants we liked as kids and a few of her newer favorites as well. I took her to the butterfly exhibit and a local concert. Everything with her felt right, except for one thing.
    Something big was bothering her and she wouldn't let me know what it was.
    I stripped off my shirt and threw a few quick jabs into the punching bag to warm up. We hadn't had sex again either. That was tough. It was hard to have her next to me and not ravage her.
    As foreign as it was, I was starting to understand that sex wasn't everything. It was fun and I loved it, but I wanted all of Kait, not just her body. If she needed me to take it slow physically, I could do that. I wanted her to see that I supported her and that I would be there for her no matter what.
    The lack of sex I could handle, it was the fact that she kept some part of herself hidden that bothered the shit out of me. She still didn't trust me.
    I had warmed up and was now throwing combos and