Read Because You Are Mine Part V: Because I Said So for Free Online Page A

was so sweet and so responsive and . . .
    . . .
far more than you ever expected or planned for.
    He paused in the action of loosing the straps of the hands-free vibrator.
    “Ian?” she asked. He winced when he heard the raspy sound of her voice.
    “Yes?” he asked, avoiding her gaze as he mechanically began to replace the things he’d brought into the room back into the bag.
    “Is . . . was everything all right?”
    “It was fantastic. You once again surpassed my expectations.”
    “Oh . . . because . . . you seem sort of . . . unhappy.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said quietly, readjusting his clothing and zipping his pants. He looked at her, determinedly ignoring her flagrant beauty and the confused expression in her dark eyes. “Why don’t you shower in here, and I’ll use the other bathroom? Afterward, I’ll order us dinner.”
    “Okay,” she said, the uncertainty in her voice cutting at him.
    Still, no matter how sharp the sting, he started to walk out of the room. He stopped abruptly and turned, his control faltering. She hadn’t moved. He held out his arms.
    “Come here,” he said.
    She flew across the room. He hugged her to him tightly, inhaling the scent of her hair. Her breasts were a delicious, erotic fullness pressed against his ribs. He wanted to tell her how exquisite the experience had been—how exquisite
she
was—but for some reason, his heart began to beat uncomfortably hard. He didn’t like the way he’d felt exposed there at the end . . . weakened by his need for her.
    Still, her mouth tempted him. He kissed her with focused restraint, aware of her probable soreness. Her sweet sigh against his mouth made him want to take her over to the bed and spend the night with his lips and nose buried in her silky, fragrant skin. The fantasy of doing just that plagued him.
    Instead, he gave her a final kiss and released her, needing to prove to himself he still had the ability to walk away.

The goddamned walls in his temporary apartment residence might as well be made of cardboard, Vic Savian thought as he came into full wakefulness at the low, mellow sound of a voice emanating from the hallway. He’d never actually heard the mystery woman who lived across the hall from him speak, but he recognized her immediately, nonetheless.
    Weird. Just her voice made his cock stir and stiffen against the cool sheets.
    He’d seen her twice now, once in Louie’s—the steak-house located in the lobby of Riverview Towers. The other time they’d been alone on the elevator together.
    He’d have bet the finest stallion in his stable that she was as aware of him on that elevator ride as he was of her.
    Sort of an understatement, actually, to say that Vic had been
aware
of her. He’d noticed everything about her . . . the light sprinkling of freckles on her nose, the movement of her lips when they closed and parted, the pulse at her elegant throat, the shape of her breasts beneath the conservative yet sensual silk blouse she wore.
    She was beautiful. Vic knew better than most how overused that word was when it came to women. But other descriptors—pretty, attractive, sexy—fell far short when it came to the woman across the hall.
    She was luminous.
    He liked women. He liked them smart, feisty, sexy, skilled, and hot. But this woman’s beauty irked him. He steered clear of beautiful women. Ever since the debacle with Jenny.
    His head came up off the pillow when he heard her speak again. Did her voice sound strained?
    When he heard a man respond in an angry tone, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his jeans.
    “Evan, I’ve made it very clear where I stand with you. I’ve never played coy. And no, I can’t give you some kind of timeline as to when I might feel differently,” she said before Evan had the chance to say the predictable.
    What was it about getting dressed up for a black-tie affair that made a man think he was going to get laid?
Niall