Neil (The Uncompromising Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

screen. There is no TV but there is a TV stand. Half the apartment is unfurnished and there is no milk in the refrigerator for the child.”
    Out of all of the reasons why I thought he would’ve grabbed my wrist, none of them were even close to the actual words that came out of his mouth. “Are you calling me a bad mother?”
    One of his nostrils flared but his voice stayed even. “You had money for the dress.”
    Unbelievable hurt crushed my chest and I lashed out. “You have no right to judge me.” I yanked my arm free and made it a whole step.
    He caught my shoulder and in one swift move, he pulled. My back hit his chest, his fingers dug into my upper arms and his breath landed on my ear. “I neither presume nor judge. Fact is fact. Why have you not said something to Luna? He has company phones and apartments.”
    I snorted because I was embarrassed. Yeah, my boss had a bunch of extra cell phones and yes, he owned the building the office was in and it had apartments on the upper floors. There was even a parking garage and a gym and a fancy elevator that actually worked. I knew that. I knew all of it, but just because I was a twenty-one-year-old single mother didn’t mean I was a fucking charity case. “I don’t need handouts.” I spit the words out with enough force to hopefully make them true.
    “Then what do you need?”
    The question took me off guard, not because he asked it or even the reason why he was asking, but because of his tone. Gentle, filtered, it was almost as if he cared. But I was smarter than the eighteen-year-old version of myself. Much smarter. And I knew men didn’t care. “I need you to take your hands off me.”
    His thumbs drew slow, deliberate circles across my bare shoulders and he lowered his voice. “You do not like me touching you?”
    The sweet lick of desire mixed with alarm and swept through my veins. Every inch of my body stilled as I tried to process his shift. “What?”
    “You heard me.”
    My heart raced. “Is this some kind of alpha hot-cold bullshit to throw women off their game?”
    “I do not play games.”
    I thought I’d wanted to be alone with this man. I’d dreamt about it. Strong, unyielding, I thought about what it would be like to have him protecting me, shielding me… making love to me. But now that he was here, I knew I’d been a fool. Viking didn’t make love and he wouldn’t shield me from shit. Stupid fucking fantasy. “Then what are you doing?”
    His palms skimmed up my arms and over my shoulders. “What are you afraid of?”
    Him. His touch. What happened to my heart every time he held Conner. But I didn’t say that. I stepped out of his grasp and carefully didn’t look at him because from the second I’d first laid eyes on him, I swore he could see into my soul. “Nothing.”
    “Turn around, Ariella.” His quiet command took up my whole living room.
    Ignoring him would only draw attention to the wounded heart I desperately hid. I was never again going to let a man take my trust and crush it. Being left with a newborn and bills was one thing, but falling for a warrior like Viking? That was emotional suicide. So I sucked in a breath, pasted on a bored expression and turned.
    Viking’s gaze swept across my face like he could read my thoughts then he did something completely out of character for him. He shook his head.
    My face burned. “What?”
    He tipped his chin toward Conner’s room. “Go. Check on your son.”
    Refusing to let him get to me, I strode to what used to be my mother’s bedroom and went to the crib pushed into a corner. Perfectly tucked in, his little security blanket folded next to him in case he woke up, my baby was sound asleep. Awareness crawled up my spine and I glanced over my shoulder.
    Viking stood in the doorway.
    I left a kiss on Conner’s forehead and tiptoed back out. Viking let me pass then pulled the door shut.
    I’d never been more aware of another man—the reach of his arm, the crisp fabric of his