My gaze was drawn unerringly to Breezy’s sweet, soft lips — Good God, woman do you ever shut up?

I was half-temped to shock her into silence by sealing my mouth over hers just to see if it would work.

That low rumble of possession rattling my cage encouraged the idea.

What was I thinking?

I felt out of sync with everything I’d ever known.

I didn’t believe in that love at first sight bullshit.

I believed in the power of hot pussy, wet mouths and a fat bank account.

None of which had anything to do with Miss Never Shuts Up.

She was yammering on about the MRE’s, taking it upon herself to examine the stores, exclaiming with a pinched expression at each selection.

For a girl who’d been seconds away from death, Breezy didn’t seem to mind pushing her luck.

Not that I was expecting her to bow and scrap at my feet but...a little more gratitude wasn’t totally out of order either.

Just one more thing about the woman that threw me off track.

“Meatballs and gravy?” Breezy held the beige packaged calorie brick in her hand. “Are these even made from real meat? Are they gluten-free? I mean, how about organic? I am super sensitive to gluten. You do not want to be stuck with me in this small house after I’ve choked down this tummy bomb.”

A bubble of unexpected amusement tickled my insides. Had she just admitted she was going to blow up the bathroom if she ate anything with gluten in it?

She shelved the MRE with concern. “I can’t believe our government feeds this to our military. That’s just wrong. Did you know that the military served as guinea pigs to test out the safety of aspartame? Yeah, it was totally hush-hush and the stuff turned to embalming fluid in the heat and yet the FDA approved it for human consumption.”

A conspiracy theorist. Good to know. Maybe that’s why someone wanted her dead. “It’s a perfectly balanced meal. Keeps you alive.” I watched as she went opening each and every cupboard, looking for something better to eat. Her disappointment when she came up empty was almost cute. Almost. “If you get hungry enough, you’ll eat.”

Breezy turned to regard me with something that looked like smug certainty. “No, I won’t. I once went on a hunger strike that nearly put me in the hospital. I have an iron will.”

I shrugged. “I guess if you want to die, I’ll let you have your way. I don’t mind collecting the bounty.”

She gasped. “That’s just mean.”

“Never said I was nice.”

That delectable mouth snapped shut. That’s right sweetheart, not a nice guy in the least. If you knew what I was thinking, you’d run and hide.

Her long, coltish legs traveled to meet a pert ass that my fingers itched to squeeze.

How long had it been since I’d gotten laid?

I tried to remember but Breezy was distracting.

My internal temperature rose as my gaze soaked up details about her that I’d missed.

She had a mole on her cheek, sort of like Cindy Crawford’s but not quite as large.

A tiny butterfly tattoo nestled behind her left ear. Did it have any significant meaning?

I wanted to trace the ink strokes with my tongue.

I wanted to feel her shiver beneath my touch.

“Hellloooo, earth to Dex,” she said, waving at my glassy gaze to get my attention. “You’re off in La-La Land and we have still not negotiated what I am going to eat.”

Shaking off the ridiculous meanderings in my head, I focused on Breezy’s statement.

She was a pain in the ass.

And I was tired of her yammering.

I was an action man, not a negotiator.

I strode toward her, immediately crowding her space and causing her to yelp when I bracketed her against the old fridge.

Breezy’s big eyes widened like an owl’s as she trembled like a leaf in a stiff wind.

Everything about her intrigued me. Down to the sudden and baffling need to taste that sassy mouth.

But I wasn’t about to do that — not until I figured out what the hell was going on, both with her and myself.

“Now, that I have your attention...I’m going to say this once and once only,” I said in a low but firm tone, inadvertently catching a whiff of the citrusy scent of her hair. “We’re not leaving this place until I can figure out why someone wants you dead because here’s the thing, it doesn’t actually matter why I didn’t pull the trigger. All that matters is that I didn’t. Now our fates are tied together. I might’ve just screwed myself for backing out. We’ll see. So, in the meantime, you’re going to be a good girl and do as you’re told...and that includes eating what I put in front of you.”

“Or?”

The tiny shake in her voice belied the bold question.

“Or, I take these little hands,” I grabbed her wrists in a quick movement, jerking her arms above her head and holding her there. She barely had time to squeak before I was nuzzling her neck, murmuring, “and tie them to the motherfucking bed and feed you like a goddamn baby bird. You feelin’ me, Sassy Pants?”

“Wha...wha...” she stammered, her cheeks flushing bright red. “Y-yes...”

My cock raged inside my jeans, harder than granite, as if I’d never felt the insides of a woman’s pussy and I was about to bust a nut right then and there. She was taller than most women I was attracted to but there was something that turned my crank about those long legs.

I couldn’t help but picture them up over my shoulder.

Was she shaved, waxed or sporting a ‘70s era bush? Funny thing, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to bury my face between her folds and discover what made her squirm.

Fuck, I was losing my mind.

This wasn’t normal or natural.

Lusting after a Playboy Bunny, totally understandable.

But someone like Breezy?

For lack of a better word...she was a nerd.

Glasses, mouthy, a little ungainly, dark hair constantly ending up in her eyes, which she had a tendency to ignore unless she had a camera lens in her face.

Yeah, so not my type.

“You smell good,” I said, surprising myself as much as her. “Oranges and...mango?”

“D-dollar Tree shampoo. It was a dollar.”

I chuckled, letting my gaze drop to her rapidly rising chest. Her tits were surprisingly big, a good handful by my estimation. What kind of nipples hid behind that ironic tee? Delicate pink and rose buttons or dusky peach pits?

I knew she didn’t have a boyfriend. Nor many friends.

A loner.

Like me.

“D-Dex?”

“Yeah?”

Breezy squirmed a little as she managed, “I-I won’t complain about the food anymore. I promise.”

Her concession should’ve been the release mechanism on my grip but I didn’t want to let her go.

No, I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her straight to the bed and find out for myself what she was born with.

But I wasn’t quite ready to admit that I’d completely spilled my crackers over this girl for reasons that still baffled me so letting her go was the only reasonable choice.

“Good girl,” I growled, releasing her hands and putting some space between us.

She immediately rubbed at her wrists where I’d squeezed them tightly. Whatever fear had been there seconds prior evaporated as she lifted her chin and said as she bounced from the room, “I’ll eat what you put in front of me but don’t say I didn’t warn you when World War III happens in the bathroom!”