The Cinderella Mission (Family Secrets #1)(35)
Author: Catherine Mann

For him.

The surge of victory made his self-denial worthwhile. “Kelly?”

“Don’t talk. Don’t stop.”

An easy enough order to follow. He sought, found, circled with two fingers, her breathy sighs guiding him until he learned her pace. He stroked, soothed, teased her closer, the increasing pressure of her hands digging into his shoulders offering all the encouragement he needed.

A moan started low in her throat. Heaven help him, he should have known she would be vocal. That incredible voice of hers so perfect in her pleasure. Hearing her desire build was the hottest damned thing he’d ever experienced and he hadn’t even had sex with her yet.

Yet?

Yet.

Her back arched against his supporting arm. Her cry rolled up and out of her throat with a force that charged through him, leaving him conversely physically frustrated and mentally satisfied. Before the echoes of Kelly all around him faded, she collapsed against his chest.

Soft, pliant and for the moment—his.

Kelly rested in Ethan’s arms, her world hazy until she could only be certain of one thing. The guy wasn’t budging on the issue of completing what they’d started. The pig-headed, honorable man had it in his head he would be taking advantage of the adrenaline from danger.

Like she didn’t know her own mind.

Of course, until about fifteen minutes ago, she hadn’t known her body could feel so incredible. She wanted more than ever to get out alive. Now. So they could finish what he’d started. She’d been right to pursue Ethan.

He tucked her closer to his side. “So tell me how you got that tattoo.”

Peppermint-scented words drifted down.

“Single-minded son-of-a-gun, aren’t you?”

“Focused.”

And she’d benefited well from his focused attention on her. “You may have noticed I’m not the most outgoing of people,” she stated. He stayed diplomatically silent while his hands stroked over her back. “Well, once I started college, I decided the time had come to assume control over my life. I was hell-bent on doing something daring. So I packed an overnight bag, and took a bus to Reno.”

He kissed the top of her head. “And got a tattoo.”

“Eventually, but that wasn’t my original intent.” The dark made it too easy to slip back to that time, to relive the frenzy that had driven her to lash out in rebellion since she couldn’t tell her parents she was tired of trying to be the perfect daughter they wanted. Seemed ridiculous now, but so very real then. “I planned to go to the casinos and pick up a guy.”

He stilled against her, so silent only the sound of his heart thudded in her ears.

“Stupid, I know. Don’t worry, I chickened out in the end and realized I was doing it for all the wrong reasons. After I lost fifty bucks, I decided I was going to have something out of that weekend. So I spent my last forty on a tattoo.”

Ethan raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her wrist. “You still haven’t told me what it is.” The heat of his words branded her skin.

“I wasn’t going to get a rose or the cute little mouse they tried to sell me. I was out to make a statement.”

Ethan’s laugh rumbled against her chest. “I’ve found from experience that when you decide to speak up, it’s impossible not to listen.”

She wished she’d had that power then. Kelly scratched her fingers through the dirt beside her. “I know now it was just a knee-jerk reaction. I was striking back at my parents for years of pressure. Sort of like how I tossed on a few extra layers of sweaters and pitched out my lip gloss after the attack. I needed to regain control of some portion of my world.”

“Whoa.” Ethan’s hand found her leg and squeezed. “Back up. Attack?”

Had she told him that? She hadn’t meant to, didn’t want that between them or in his mind when he thought of her. She wasn’t a victim anymore and refused to let anybody think of her as one. “Oh, uh, I guess I left out that part.”

“Yeah, you did.” His grip tightened on her. “Kelly, what attack?”

She knew he wouldn’t back off until she told him. What he imagined was probably worse anyhow. “My ancient languages professor in grad school. I was so young, only twenty when I started graduate school and beyond innocent. I didn’t have a clue what he was after until it was too late. There were eleven other people in that class, nine of us women, and for some reason he targeted me. I guess I didn’t realize guys like that prey upon vulnerability more than beauty.”

A burning need blistered Ethan’s brain, a need to escort that son-of-a-bitch straight to hell and then spend a few years torturing him.

Before he killed him.

He needed to lash out at the person who’d dared hurt her. He hadn’t been able to fight the disease that had ravaged Celia, but the threat to Kelly had been tangible. Real.

Soon to be in pain, if Ethan ever got his hands on the guy.

Ethan regulated his breathing, tucked those dark thoughts away and focused on what Kelly needed. “Talk to me. Tell me everything.”

His arms tightened around Kelly as if he could protect her from that long-ago threat.

Long ago? Just four years.

“Most of all, I hated the lack of control. Other than a powerful set of lungs, I was pretty much at his mercy. But the minute I convinced him to stop covering my mouth, campus security heard me scream.”

The thought of her beautiful voice racked with terror sliced him clean through. But he couldn’t let that show now. He swallowed bile. “Did you ever talk to anyone about this?”

“I am now.”

“I mean before now.”

“Why?” Her hair tickled his chin as she tipped her face toward him. “He didn’t actually, uh, penetrate. I’m still totally a virgin.”

While Ethan thanked heaven and a thousand patron saints that the cops had showed up in time, he still knew she had to carry some emotional scars. “You were attacked. Whether or not he,” Ethan blinked back the red haze of anger, “penetrated, he assaulted you and you deserved to have support.”

“It was his word against mine, so there wasn’t much chance of a conviction in court. But I put enough pressure on campus for him to retire early. I took self-defense courses.” A whisper of a laugh escaped. “Bet you didn’t know about my edge that day in the gym.”

“No.” But he admired her for using it.

“I’ve done everything in my power to make sure I can defend myself.”