Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) by Laramie Briscoe

into her life either. He’d done enough to cause her hurt, and he didn’t want to push his luck.
    Not speaking, she moved back from the door frame, allowing just enough room for him to walk through. Their arms brushed, and both of them inhaled at the unexpected touch. Closing the door behind him, she locked it on habit.
    “Good to know you haven’t forgotten all the stuff I taught you.” He tilted the corner of his mouth up into a grin. When she’d first moved into her apartment, she’d gone to bed with her door unlocked because she’d always felt safe once her mother moved in with Liam. Dalton had drilled it into her head that the world wasn’t always safe and she needed to take her safety seriously.
    “Some things you never forget.” She shrugged, trying not to get taken in by the sexy grin he’d given her.
    The implication hung in the air. She would never forget how he reacted to her news.
    Immediately the tilt of his mouth fell. Dalton felt like shit on the bottom of his motorcycle boot, but he knew he’d brought this upon himself. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry.” He walked towards her, stopping before he could touch her.
    “Why are you sorry?” She whispered the words, wanting him to admit it, needing to hear confirmation of what he was doing to her. She wanted him to say it, to realize the implications of stringing her along.
    “For hurting you, for not responding to you when you needed me to.” He couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips, kissing them as softly as he spoke. “I haven’t been the man I should be, I haven’t been the man I promised myself I would be for you, and it kills me.”
    “How do you think I feel, Dalton?” She fought back the fucking tears again. “I know something’s going on with you. You wouldn’t turn away from me like this if there wasn’t, but you don’t trust me.” She tried to firm her bottom lip and chin but she couldn’t. It quivered to the point of her teeth chattering—and that’s when the tears fell. “That’s the worst part. You don’t trust me, after everything we’ve been though.”
    “No.” He brought their foreheads together so they touched, inhaling the vanilla scent that was Mandy’s. He smelled it in his fucking sleep, in his dreams, and in the morning when he woke up with his hard cock in his hand. “It’s not about trust at all,” he admitted, holding her face in his palms. Giving her a little bit of the truth wouldn’t hurt. He hoped like hell it would improve the way they were trying to communicate. “It’s about safety, about keeping both of you safe.” He moved his hands down to her stomach. “Even if I’m not around, I need to know you’re safe.”
    Her stomach clenched as she dug her hands in his cut, fisting it in between her knuckles. “What do you mean you might not be around? What’s going on? I know you took a leave of absence from Heaven Hill—Mom and Dad both told me. Why would you do that? We’re your family.”
    He couldn’t take her words any longer, couldn’t take the tearful sound of her voice, the way she looked at him like he was about to break. Grasping the nape of her neck, he pulled her lips to his, branding her with the forcefulness of the kiss. Desire hit him in the sternum, and he knew he had to have her. It probably wouldn’t make this situation any better, but he didn’t see how it could make it any worse.
    She moaned, a sound he heard in his dreams every night. It was his favorite sound she made. Bending down, he ran his hands down to the backs of her thighs. Gripping his palms around the skin there, he lifted her up so that she settled against his waist, wrapping her legs around him. He pulled away, memorizing her face. “I need you, and if this isn’t want what you want, Mandy, tell me now.”
    She couldn’t tell him she didn’t want him. She always wanted him, no matter what they were going through.
    “Take me.” She loosened her limbs, allowing