Saving Grace (Serve and Protect Series) Read Online Free Page A

cold cloth to the red flesh at the top of her thigh.
    As he bent over his task, Grace studied his lean face, so infinitely dear to her. Deep grooves bracketed a sensual mouth, and sandy brown hair sprang back from a high, smooth forehead. His downcast lashes lay sooty against his dark skin, shielding warm brown eyes.
    Oh, God, why did it feel like she was losing him? It made no sense. Nothing made sense.
    He glanced up. “Better?”
    “I’m scared.”
    A muscle leapt in his jaw and he lowered his gaze again. “It’ll be okay,” he said, his voice gruff as he flipped the cloth to the other, cooler side.
    Would it really? Something terrifying loomed at the edge of memory, just beyond her grasp. Would it ever be okay again? A shudder racked her.
    “Hold me, Ray.” The words were out before she knew she was going to say them. His head came up again and she met his eyes, realizing with a shock that they were as pain-filled as hers must be. Her fear took another leap. “Please.”
    He groaned, pulling her into his arms. She pressed herself against him, seeking to obliterate the fear bleeding into her soul from that dark, shrouded corner in her mind. Love me , she begged silently, her hands roaming his back.
    He crushed her against his chest, trapping her arms and burying her face against his neck. Oh, Lord, he was going to rock her like a baby. He planned to comfort her in that same sexless way he’d treated her all week.
    No! She wouldn’t let him do this. Her arms might be pinned by his embrace, but she still had options. She opened her mouth on his neck, tasting him with her lips and tongue.
    “Grace.”
    Her name on his lips was a growl, a warning she was past heeding. She needed this, needed him. Wriggling on his lap, she inched higher, kissing the underside of his clenched jaw, inhaling the clean scent of the lemongrass soap he used.
    “No, Grace.” He grasped her upper arms. “Your leg.”
    “It’s fine. I’m fine. I have been for days.”
    He eased her away, holding her at arm’s length. A few days ago‌—‌shoot, maybe a few minutes ago‌—‌she’d have let him put her aside. But not now. She couldn’t let him retreat to that place he’d been these past days.
    She dipped her head as though giving up, and he slackened his grip. The instant he did, she leaned into him, using her full weight. Had he anticipated such a move, she never could have budged him, but as it was, she overbalanced him easily. The next instant she sprawled atop him. The look of astonishment on his face would have been funny, under other circumstances.
    Oh, my God, I’m on top! What now?
    Quickly, before he could recover his wits, or maybe before she recovered her own, she bent and kissed his slack mouth.
    For a few heartbeats, he lay there, unresponsive. Fueled by equal parts of fear and need, she kissed him with renewed desperation. Then, just as she began to despair, she felt him catch fire beneath her. In a single heartbeat, he was right there with her. Trapping her head, tangling his fingers in her hair, he kissed her back.
    Giddy, she slid her hands over him, glorying in the way he arched up into her. Could she take him like this, claim him as thoroughly as he’d claimed her so many times? The idea sent bolts of excitement zinging jaggedly along her nerve endings. Did she dare try?
    Deciding she had nothing to lose, she broke the kiss and sat up so she could tackle his belt.
    He groaned and pulled her back down. Wrapping an arm around her, he rolled her swiftly onto her back, pinning her beneath him. She wanted to protest, but then he was kissing her again, deep and hot and insistent, and she couldn’t think of one single thing to complain about.
    Besides, it was probably best this way. She needed him to take her with an authority that left no room for doubt.
    “Love me, Ray,” she urged against his ear. “Love me like you’ve never loved me before.”
    His body stilled. Cursing, he levered himself off her and