Undertow: Building Sanctuary, Book Two Read Online Free PDF Page B

talking about James ?”
    Victor tensed. “Who else would have a claim on you?”
    No one—not even James. She jerked her hand away. “You’re an ass if you think I’d look at you the way I do after giving myself to another man. An ass , Victor.”
    “Plenty of your girls look at me,” he ground out, frustration vibrating in his voice. “They look at the other strong men too. They can’t help themselves. No one has taken care of any of you the way they should, and your instincts are starving.”
    Her hand itched to strike him, and her eyes burned. “Believe what you want. Do what you want, but don’t say I never offered you anything, because it just isn’t true.”
    Victor surged forward and caught her shoulders. “Tell me it’s not true, that you’re not fighting your instincts.”
    If only it were that simple, and her attraction to him was solely instinctive. “Of course I’m fighting them. I don’t want to pant after a man who runs in the other direction when he sees me. It’s humiliating.”
    He bit off a curse, and in the next heartbeat his mouth crushed against hers, hard and open and so very hot.
    She should have pulled away. She should have slapped him, especially after he’d all but accused her of not knowing what the hell she really wanted. Instead, she clung to him as pleasure mounted.
    More pleasure than should have been possible from a single kiss, except that he tasted like heaven and felt even better. Simone touched her tongue to his and moaned helplessly.
    A lifetime later he lifted his head with a groan, both hands sliding up into her hair, cupping the back of her head. “I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t—” He bit off a curse, and his fingers tightened. “I want you beyond reason,” he whispered and claimed her mouth again. Slower this time, his tongue teasing apart her lips as he tilted her head back.
    Simone leaned against him, her head swimming. This was what she’d always glimpsed in the moments before he turned away from her, and she wanted more. So much more.
    Her fingers tangled in the front of his shirt, fumbling with the buttons. “Victor.”
    He caught her hands and took a tiny step back. “No, too fast. Dammit, Simone, you may think it’s foolish, but it’s the way I was raised. You’ve been through hell these past few years. A good alpha protects.”
    He was doing it again, making assumptions about her state of mind. “Some of the women on the island have had a hard time, but I’m fine. Please stop presuming to know how I feel and why.”
    Doubt clouded his eyes. “You didn’t say you hadn’t had a hard time.”
    “Haven’t you had a hard time? Hasn’t everyone? I don’t know what you want me to say.” His hesitation was insidious because it stemmed from such genuine concern that she almost forgot how dangerous it was. It would be too easy to tell herself that he only had her best interests in mind—and let him walk all over her.
    She took a deep breath. “It’s one thing to protect, or to want to take things slow, but it’s another not to trust me to know my own feelings.”
    “And the wizard? Does he know your feelings?”
    “Yes. Unlike some people, he’s bothered to ask.” Lingering guilt sharpened her tongue. “Why do you persist in bringing James into every conversation? This has nothing to do with him.”
    Victor’s expression of disbelief might have been comical, under other circumstances. “You spend your time with him. You share meals with him. The whole pack thinks you’re a couple, and you haven’t been quick to dissuade them.”
    Because it hadn’t mattered, not with Victor doing his best to avoid her. “I enjoy spending time with James. I wish I enjoyed it more,” she admitted, sick with misery. “All he wants is to love me, and I hate that I can’t give him that.”
    “Simone, this isn’t—” He closed his eyes and rubbed one hand over his face and stubbled jaw. “You may know your mind and heart, but if you would