Bared by Him Read Free

him think idiotic things about the softness
     of her skin, made him want to break her. Didn’t she see what he so clearly saw?
    How pointless it was? How a little bitty person like her could do nothing to stop
     a monster so relentless and powerful?
    “As I told you before, I’m from the Lincoln Heights Breast Cancer Foundation, seeking
     donations for not only our members, but locals in our area who lack insurance to cover
     their treatments…”
    He watched her speak while a ton of sensations roiled inside of him.
    Her sleek, winged eyebrows arched over clear amber-gold eyes and were framed by thick,
     spiky lashes that tilted attractively up at the corners. Her nose was delicate and
     slightly upturned, her face heart-shaped, and her mouth was small but pouty, and very,
     very pink.
    He didn’t understand why.
    Why he wanted her more than anything he’d wanted in years. More than dying.
    Suddenly, looking into those eyes that were brave and at the same time scared and
     vulnerable, he wanted to strip her bare and lose himself inside of her, and help her,
     protect her, and destroy her, all at the same time.
    He hadn’t fucked in years. Years. He hadn’t wanted anything but not to feel. Now he wanted to bury all of himself,
     every ounce of anguish, inside of that healthy, glowing, sweet body, until she stopped
     saying that word: cancer.
    Just hearing that word made him seize up like he’d been dragged to the depths of hell.
     An image of Laura, young and dying, came to mind. And he was so angry to be reminded
     of it, he still wanted to yell at this woman and fling his laptop to the wall.
    “… hoping that with the knowledge that your donation could be tax deductible—”
    “Who do you think you are?” His whisper was barely audible as he slowly started walking
     toward her, watching her eyes go round. “Where in the hell do you get off?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You don’t just come here and talk to me about cancer and make me feel like it’s my
     fault!”
    Her eyes tripled in size. There was no mistaking she was afraid of him as she stood
     up on quavering legs and started backing away. “I never said it was your fault, Mr.
     West. All we want is your help. We can’t find the cure yet, but we can definitely
     boost survival rates. You could do so much for us!”
    She laced her hands together as if in prayer and gave him a face that only made him
     wonder how she looked when a man made love to her, a face which made him want to get
     her naked and make her look up at him in just that way she was looking at him now.
     Like he was everything she’d ever wanted and more than she’d ever need.
    God.
    Had she any idea of what beast she was awakening?
    And he was not talking about cancer here!
    She thought she was doing the world a good deed … well, she was in for a sorry reality
     check. She wasn’t taking his millions. She wasn’t taking a damned penny; she’d unsettled
     him enough.
    He caught her before she could retreat another step, and the touch of his bare hand
     on her bare elbow zapped straight to his balls. It made him hold on to her tighter
     as his cock twitched painfully inside his pants. “I work like a lunatic here,” he
     said warningly. “I don’t give away my money, even for pity. But I’ll tell you what.
     You want my money? I’ll gamble you for it. How about that for your charitable donation?”
    Her spine shot up straighter as if the mere thought of him gambling his money away,
     instead of donating it, affronted her. “I’d be very happy to take your money from
     you, but I don’t have funds to play your little game.”
    “I’ll make it goddamned simple for you. We’ll play for your clothes, lady. Let’s see
     how saucy you are when you’re bare-butt naked at my place.”
    “If you think I will back out of a perfectly good donation merely because you’re a
     bully and a pervert, think again!”
    “So you agree?” he dared.
    She stared, wide-eyed for a moment,