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

shirt, the control in his movements. He took up my entire hallway and left me no room to breathe. “Thanks for putting him down,” I murmured, forcing the words past my lips.
    In a stance that belied the sheer strength of him, Viking casually leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. For the first time, he let his eyes wander. Dropping his gaze to my lips, he did a slow sweep down my neck, across my breasts and over my hips. He took in the length of my bare legs and heat flushed across my skin as if he were touching every inch of me.
    “Are you frightened of me?” His deep, quiet voice didn’t bend the silence, it owned it.
    Hating how he made me feel both insignificant and like the only woman alive, I tried to swallow past the sudden dryness in my mouth. “No.”
    His chest rose with a steady inhale then he pushed off the wall and took a step toward me. “When I ask a question, I want the truth.”
    My heart raced and every fantasy I’d ever had of him flew through my mind unchecked. Except none of them left me as terrified and breathless as he was making me now. “Yes,” I whispered. “You scare me.”
    “Turn around.”
    This was bad. Really bad. I couldn’t handle a man like him. I didn’t want to handle a man like Viking. I was Conner’s mother. Nothing else. I needed to be nothing else. But every cell in my body was aching to do exactly as he commanded.
    “Now.”
    I spun on shaking legs.
    Spicy musk filled my nostrils and his warm breath touched my cheek. “I will not hurt you.”
    “I wouldn’t let you if you tried.” Any sort of bravado I might’ve had was completely wiped out by the ridiculously high pitch to my voice.
    “Did you trust me with your child today?”
    “Yes.” I wouldn’t lie about that.
    “Then trust me now.” His finger traced a line from just below my ear to my collarbone. “Drop your head.”
    I trembled but the command blanketed my racing heart and my chin fell to my chest.
    Calloused fingers wrapped around my nape and my zipper slid down my back.
    Cold air hit my spine with a shock of reality and I sucked in a panicked breath. “Neil, we need to talk about—”
    “Do you want to be with your son’s father?” Firm, warm, electrifying, his hand brushed down the middle of my back.
    Just like his voice, his touch was commanding and I answered his question without thinking. “He’s gone.” But he’d be back. The next time he needed money or a place to crash or something else he thought he could use me for.
    Viking’s fingers pressed into the sore muscles of my lower back as if he knew holding Conner and wearing five-inch heels had taken a toll. I shuddered at the bite of pain followed by the release of tightness.
    He slipped his hands further inside my dress and curled his fingers around my hips. “Are you with anyone?”
    God, it felt good having him touch me. “I don’t do relationships.” Or one-night stands, I reminded myself.
    “The boy’s father?”
    Apparently eight hours with him had worn me down, because I didn’t even flinch at his abrupt manner of questioning anymore. “He was the last,” I admitted.
    His thumbs rubbed hard, slow circles. “Why?”
    An ache pooled between my legs and I didn’t even try to fight the moan. “Because… reasons.”
    His hands went perfectly still. “Which are?”
    I didn’t want to think about my promise to myself. Not now. “It doesn’t matter.”
    His lips nearly ghosted across the back of my neck. “Tell me.”
    His breath on my skin, the low timbre of his voice, it made my head swim and suddenly I needed to catch my breath. The spice of his cologne mingled with the musk that was all him and I wanted to breathe it in forever, but this was Viking. No question or action would make him anything different than cold and unattainable. “I don’t rehash the past.”
    “Your pulse is racing,” he accused.
    What the hell did he think would happen when he decided to play massage therapist? “Your hands