“And then?”
“I handled it.”
Boone raised his eyebrows.“Meaning?”He didn’t move from where he stood across the room even though every nerve-ending in his body was firing, urging him to go to her.Protect her.Soothe her.
Radley cleared her throat.“Let’s just say he’s the one who ended up with broken bones.After I broke his nose, I kicked him down an entire flight of stairs.I left him there at the bottom, too.”
“Good.”
Shocked laughter escaped her lips, and then she shook her head.“I’m sure he’s in plenty of pain right now.He didn’t get what he wanted though.He told me he was here to collect payment.Me.”
“Fuck.”The quiet curse came out before he could stop it, but he was pissed.Livid that a man would put his hands on her.Radley might be a force in her own right, but she was a woman—smaller than him.Delicate.Soft in a way he never could be.She’d deny all that, he was certain, but the truth was still there.Boone had killed before—countless times.If he’d been there when a man had touched Radley—hurt her—the guy would never walk the face of the Earth again.
He was moving toward her before he thought better of it.
“Boone.”
“Let me see,” he ordered gently.
Radley edged her top up, and he bristled.“You should ice that.”
“I did,” she said lightly.
He sucked in a breath, his hands careful as they reached for her.“Did he break any ribs?”Boone asked, gently running his fingers over her skin as she shivered.Her skin was so fucking soft and smooth, he wanted to explore every inch.Breathe in her scent.Run his lips over her body.Taste her with his tongue.
Radley’s chest was rising and falling, but it wasn’t from fear.She was as affected by Boone as he was by her.She glanced up, and their eyes briefly locked.The vulnerability in hers nearly slayed him.
“I don’t think anything’s broken,” she said, her voice breathless.“It’s just a bruise.”
Boone lowered her sweater, turning her so that she was facing him once again.He brushed her hair back, unable to keep away from her any longer.“I worry about you,” he said, his voice husky.
“There’s no need.”
She reached for him anyway, her small hands clutching onto his shirt.There was a hint of fear in her eyes, but something deeper, too.Trust.Desire.Want.
“Tell me I shouldn’t do this,” he said, covering both her hands with one of his own, trapping them against his chest.His heart was thudding, every nerve ending in his body firing at her closeness.He could feel her heat, breathe in her scent—he wanted her.
Radley searched his gaze, her lips parting.
“Since when do I tell you what to do?”she asked, her voice breathy and soft.
He could get lost in the pretty green pools of her eyes—drown in them.Lose himself in nothing but Radley.And she looked about as far gone as him right now.
“Since forever,” he murmured.“And I’m sorry,” he added, ducking his head closer, hovering only inches away from her.
“Sorry for what?”she asked, the air thickening between them.
“Kissing you.”And then his mouth was on hers, insistent and hot and hungry.Radley whimpered but yielded to him, clutching tighter onto his shirt, as if he was the only thing holding her up.
Boone released her hands but wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, palming the back of her head.She tasted feminine and sweet and so damn right, his body’s reaction nearly shocked him.His cock sprang to life, throbbing and hard against his boxers.Heat flooded through him, adrenaline spiking his blood stream.His body tensed, every part of him ready to pounce.To absolutely devour her.
He backed her against the counter.
Boone’s big hands slid to her hips, and then he was lifting her up, setting her on the countertop and stepping between her spread thighs.
“You okay?”he asked, his gaze briefly dropping to the side where she was bruised.
“More than okay.”