Duty To Protect

As she opened her mouth to protest, he hooked her left arm around his neck, pulled her up against his taut, muscled frame and anchored his arm at her waist. All thoughts of arguing fled.

Riley, under normal circumstances, could make Ginny’s breath catch, her body hum. Riley, up close and personal, sent her body into overdrive. Her heart thrummed. Her head swam. Her skin tingled.

Being cautious about moving the relationship too fast didn’t mean she was immune to Riley’s…er, charms. Even if she could have walked in by herself, she would have faked an injury at that moment just to be held so close to his solid strength. She inhaled the spice of his aftershave, and a heady thrill swirled from her nape to her toes.

But even as she savored the sweet sensations Riley inspired, her head told her to go slow with him. His heroism on her behalf could easily be clouding her painkiller-muddled perception.

And, Lord knew, her history of misjudging men spoke for itself. Painfully so. Her own dating track record aside, she could never forget the heartache her poor judgment with men had caused her college roommate, Donna. A deep ache sliced through Ginny, lessening the headiness she felt from Riley’s proximity.

Thoughts of Donna nagging her, Ginny studied Riley’s rough-hewn features again. Sure, he was handsome as sin, thoughtful, brave….

But other men she’d dated had been handsome, polite, and had seemed charming—until she discovered there was a wife waiting at home or that the charm was an act to get her into bed.

Not that in bed wasn’t where she hoped to end up with Riley…eventually. But first, she had to be sure he was as good as his first impression purported. She had a heck of a lot still to learn about this man before she’d let herself believe he was all he seemed.

The expression “too good to be true” rang in her head. What was the real Riley like?

“Ginny? You okay?”

She realized she was staring at him like a schoolgirl and shook herself. “Yeah. Thanks. Thought I could do it alone, but my knees thought otherwise.”

“Listen, soon enough things will be back to the status quo. For now, you need to listen to your body. Don’t tax yourself, okay?”

As Riley guided her, taking baby steps toward the door, she itched to move at a faster pace, take the lead and steer him along a different course. Perhaps a route that afforded her a few extra minutes of snuggling close to his sturdy body?

Instead she gave him an apologetic grin. “Sorry, I don’t do pampering well. My mom says my favorite phrase from the time I could talk was ‘Do it myself!’ That’s never changed. I need my independence.”

“Nothing wrong with that…as long as it’s practical. Besides, every now and then everyone deserves a little TLC.” Riley slowed further as they reached a short flight of steps leading to the apartment entrance. “Consider this your turn.”

“I really don’t need help. Dealing with this—” She held up her casted right arm. “—will be tricky at first, but I’m up to the challenge.”

To prove her point, she pulled away from his grasp and trudged up the steps at a quicker pace. The show of defiance left her a tad winded and more than a little dizzy. Apparently yesterday’s brief oxygen deprivation had taken a bigger toll on her than she’d thought.

When she hesitated at the top of the steps, Riley stepped back into place beside her. She covered her effort to regain her equilibrium with a bright smile and by sliding an arm around his waist as if giving him a flirtatious hug.

The lift of his blond eyebrow said he wasn’t fooled.

He braced a hand under her left elbow and drew her up against him again. “Need a minute to catch your breath?”

She tilted her head back to meet his gaze. “Maybe. But your holding me like this is not going to help. Being this close to you seems to leave me breathless.”

He hitched up the corner of his mouth in a provocative grin. “The feeling is mutual, gorgeous.”

Ginny shook herself from her starry-eyed daze and leaned more weight against the railing.

Slow down!

“You know, as a counselor, I spend a lot of time talking with clients, helping them decide a plan of action, ways to change their life. But all our talk is no good if they don’t suit words to action, if they don’t follow through.”

“The whole ‘actions speak louder than words’ thing?”

She shrugged. “Something like that. So it’s a matter of professional pride that I do things for myself. I have an example to set, you know?”

With a steadying breath, she pulled away from him again to head for the door.

“An example. Right.” But he sounded unconvinced as he drew her back up against him. “Speaking of actions, I’ve been bummed about something since yesterday, when I visited you in the hospital.”

Her brow knitted in confusion. “Bummed?”

“Yeah, bummed! When I revived you, you missed the whole your-lips-on-mine thing. I figure all this flirting is really just going over points we’ve already established. We know there’s a definite sizzle between us.”

She gave him a suspicious nod. “Yeah?”

“And rather than keep wondering what a real kiss would be like…”

Ginny saw his intent in his smoky gaze, and her breath caught. “Riley, maybe we should wait until—”

She never got the chance to finish her thought.

He swooped in and captured her lips. With gentle pressure, he molded her mouth to his, then swept his tongue inside to tangle with hers. He tasted like cinnamon, hot and sweet, and when her head swam dizzily this time, she knew it had nothing to do with the lingering effects of oxygen deprivation.

Riley cradled the back of her head with one large hand and pulled her hips closer to his with his other. The intimate contact of their bodies made her womb tighten and weep with longing.

Ginny savored the ebb and flow of his kiss, giving back every bit of the passion and heat he showed her, even as her brain screamed for her to take it slow. She had a lot to learn about Riley before she could risk getting more involved with him.

With a soft brush of his thumb along her cheek, he pulled away and grinned unrepentantly. “That is called follow through.”

Ginny sighed contentedly. “I do love a man of action.”

As Riley swept a flyaway wisp of her hair back from her eyes, a flash of color and movement snagged Ginny’s attention.

She cut her gaze toward the distraction. A police car cruised slowly through the parking lot. The cop’s presence reminded her why Riley was with her, why the extra patrols were needed.

She’d been attacked last night. She could have died.

A shudder shimmied through her, and she backed away from Riley’s arms.

“Ginny?” He narrowed a concerned gaze on her.

She nodded toward the parking lot. “We have company.”

“What?” Riley turned and looked out over the cars. When he spotted the cruiser, he gave the officer a little wave. “Why don’t we get you inside now, where we can have a little privacy?”

“Privacy? You forget…my mom is on her way. She has to see for herself that I’ve gotten home safely and have locked my door.”

“You’re lucky to have a mother who cares so much.” A spark lit Riley’s gray eyes as he tucked her into his embrace.

“I guess. So does your mom make a big fuss over you, too, worrying and nagging?”