Page 47 of Keep Me Safe
“I’m willing to do what’s necessary to get what I want. You should know by now that includes not fighting fair.”
I drove the point home when I yanked her into my arms and crushed my lips to hers, making resistance impossible. She was angry with me, flustered... but we were standing in the middleof the restaurant and had an audience. She didn’t want to make a scene.
Well, too fucking bad because that was exactly what I planned to do.
My hands were on her back, pressing her forward and flattening her amazing breasts against my chest. I couldn’t help myself. I slid a hand lower to rest on the curve of her ass, and a jolt of surprise glanced through her body.
Kissing her was . . . addicting.
It pumped steam into my blood, fogging my mind and making my body buzz harder than drinking too much beer on an empty stomach. It also disabled the logical side of my brain.
My tongue slipped into her warm mouth, and the corners of my own lifted in a pleased smile when she allowed the possession. Reluctant, then welcoming it. She could be mad, but her body responded to me regardless.
I didn’t care that we were putting on a show for the other diners in the restaurant.
There came a sound of surprise from L, but it was nearly drowned out by my brother’s harsh words. “Shawn, what the fuck?”
I ignored them both, as did Kara. As much as she didn’t want to, she desired me as badly as I did her. But I needed to be strategic.
It was harder than I thought it would be to relax my grip and step back, leaving her looking adrift. “Markus will pick you up at nine-thirty for your interview,” I said. “I have appointments all day, but you can tell me how it went over dinner tomorrow night.”
I said goodbye to my family, who could not have looked more displeased with me, and realized I liked the shade of red she flushed when she was irritated the most.
And if she was mad now, just wait until tomorrow.
18
KARA
I hookedthe clasp closed on the sexy black bra Shawn had unknowingly bought me, letting it give me some satisfaction. A matching bra and underwear made me feel pulled together, like I could channel some man-eating runway model.
ShawnFuckingDunn. He’d walked out on me last night, after feeling me up in front of the entire restaurant, leaving my head spinning. He wanted me. Not just sexually buteverything, and I wanted him, too.
There was no denying him, and I no longer wanted to deny him.
What was wrong with me?
God, just thinking about his kiss flooded me with heat. How could I want more, when half of what he said was pure manipulation? Why did I like this?
It probably only made me more desirable to him when I said he couldn’t have me. Nothing was off limits to him.
My suit in place, I put on the red heels. I wouldn’t let him ruin them for me. I’d take back as much as I could from him, including these bizarre feelings I wanted to go away.
The drive to the brewery was short and anxiety-inducing. The impressive front building had an old-world, classic Bavarian exterior, with a large lawn sloping up to the grand front entrance. The Osterhägen logo in the top corner was quietlyelegant. Markus drove past the first building to the more generic offices beside the massive brewery and pointed to a glass door.
“Your appointment,FrauHayward.”
Inside the office lobby, a practical-looking woman in her fifties waited by the receptionist counter with a stack of paperwork in one arm. “Kara Hayward?”
I nodded and extended a hand toward the woman.
She shook it quickly and began to move, encouraging me to walk beside her. “My name is Diana Heineburr. You can put your things at your desk, and then I’ll give you the tour. It’s this way.”
I hesitated. “I’m sorry, did you say ‘your desk’?”
“Yes, project managers usually have their own office, but we’re scrambling to find a space for you right now. It’s temporary. Is that going to be a problem?”
It was a thousand degrees in the room. She looked surprised when she turned a corner and realized I wasn’t following her.
