Free That Kind of Special by Abby Wood

out of the room, and returned after what she suspected was an errand to rid himself of the condom. “This is what’s going to happen. I’m not playing around anymore. We’re together. Because I give a damn about how my girl is protected, you will lock that dead bolt and be aware of your surroundings. When you agree to be only with me, I want us together all the time, except when we both have to work. If you want your friends around for company, then you damn well invite them over. I’m going to have Tim drive you around, because I would feel better knowing the most important person in my life is safe and protected. He’ll take you to your job sites and return to take you home when you’re finished. When you have an errand to run, call him, and he’ll take you. Are we clear?”
    She stared up at him from the bed. The reality of what he ordered her to do penetrated her sexually satisfied brain. “Oh, shit.”

Chapter Nine
    Trent sat on the couch in Katina’s apartment. Now that he’d set the rules, he expected the backlash. Katina had stayed in her room for an hour and then busied herself in the kitchen for another ten minutes before daring to glance in his direction.
    He could wait.
    She tried hard to hide her need to have a handle on the situation. From the bright red T-shirt and the knee-high boots she wore over skintight jeans after coming out of the bedroom, to her lack of smart-ass comments she normally threw at him, she was struggling to maintain her safe little world.
    She reminded him of a Swedish warrior. Ready to cuss him out and go to war against the strongest of men, and she had his attention. He latched his hands behind his head and stretched his legs out, crossing his ankles. He had nowhere to go tonight, and he wasn’t leaving the apartment until he believed she was on board with his plans.
    Her thick auburn hair hung loose and wild around her shoulders. Her large, high breasts, wide hips, and solid thighs pleased him, and he hardened. Again.
    He couldn’t get enough of her. She was a woman who wouldn’t break under his weight and had enough curves for him to lose himself in.
    He threw his arm along the back of the couch. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
    “Just taking everything in and trying to grasp what just happened.” She pursed her lips and walked back into the kitchen to stand behind the counter.
    With the open floor plan, he could still keep his eye on her. She attempted to show him indifference, but her mood told a different story. He suspected she couldn’t handle what was happening, and he was trying to figure out why.
    She walked to the window, putting her back to him, and gazed outside. He stood, his patience growing thin. No doubt, he’d gone overboard in the heat of the moment.
    “Kat?”
    She cupped her elbows in her hands. “What are we doing?”
    He joined her at the window, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Will you relax? Take what we’re doing, and roll with it. There’s no hidden agenda. I’m not playing a game. I want you to be comfortable. Most of all, I want you to be real.”
    “Like you are?” she whispered.
    “Yes.”
    She pushed out of his embrace, turned around, and laughed. The sound showed no humor. “You’re so full of shit. You orchestrated this whole thing. You’re acting like the perfect man, saving me from the ex-boyfriend”—she pointed to the door—”drilling a hole in my damn apartment for a lock, and giving me mind-blowing sex, while showering me with more attention than I deserve. How am I supposed to relax when you’re…you’re bossing me around, and I don’t have time to tell you no?”
    “Remember what I told you that first day after I punched your boyfriend—”
    “Ex-boyfriend,” she mumbled.
    “Right.” He inhaled deeply. “There’s a certain way you treat a woman, and laying your hands on her without her permission is not acceptable.”
    “Fine. That explains that, but what about earlier at your house?