Way to build trust, dumbfuck. You know she’s freaked out about something when it comes to you, and you lose your shit on three dudes right in front of her?

I stacked up the wood and organized the rest of the shit while Valentina did something in the kitchen. Sure, she was probably trying to figure out how to get me out of her fucking house, despite her arguments she wasn’t afraid of me. Christ, I’d fucked up.

Once I was triggered, I saw red. Men who bullied or laid hands on women—not on my motherfucking watch.

I’d seen those three bitches crowding my lady and nothing else—until she put the driver on the ground like an afterthought. Son of a bitch, Valentina was wicked fast. She was so unassuming and loving, I tended to forget the black belts, but she took that motherfucker down like a damn MMA fighter with a knee in his spine and his wrist in a sick-ass lock.

The soft patter of bare feet and clanking glasses preceded her entrance to the office. She put a tray on the little table in front of the loveseat and sat down, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. When my eyes met hers, I didn’t sense any fear or hesitance, just concern. It was written all over her sweet face. Better to deal now.

“You afraid of me now, sugar?”

“Will you please sit for a second?” She patted the space beside her.

I turned the bill of my hat back to the front. “Yep.”

I sat down, both of us barely fitting on the little thing. An upgrade to furniture in my size might be in order, if she decided not to run for the fucking hills.

When she crawled into my lap, straddled me, and linked her arms around my neck, I froze. Not the expected response. Relieved, I pulled her legs in closer and wrapped my arms around her, thankful she hadn’t written me off yet.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes darting between mine.

“Yeah, baby. I’m good. You?” I rested my hands on her ass and squeezed. The woman was gonna fucking kill me with the warmth and concern.

She smiled and ran her hand through my ponytail. “I’m not afraid of you. You did nothing my own father wouldn’t have done, and I can’t guarantee he’d have stopped. Italian temper and all. But you did.”

Fucking barely.

“Jaxxon.” She ran a hand down my cheek and a finger over my bottom lip.

“Babe,” I kissed her finger and held her hand. “I have sisters . . . A daughter,” I continued. “A mother. Anyone fucks with someone I love or care for, especially a woman, it’s not something I deal with well.”

She threaded her fingers through my hair, and it took everything I had not to close my eyes and just let her lull me back to a calm place. My blood still raced with unreleased anger, and I couldn’t get rid of that unsettled feeling in my stomach.

“That’s not a bad quality. You protect those you care for. What’s the problem?”

I repositioned her so she sat back and I could see her beautiful face. “I’ve been known to get into fights over women I don’t know. Any woman. Drove my ex insane. But I won’t sit there and watch a woman get hurt if I can stop it, and I usually can. It’s gotten me in trouble before.”

With a dramatic sigh, Valentina nodded and untangled herself from my lap.

I glanced up at her standing between my legs.

She smiled down at me, stepped back, and offered her hand.

“What?” I asked. I was in the middle of trying to explain my shit, and she was . . . fuck if I knew what hell she was doing.

“I get it. My father is insanely overprotective too, but the fact that I can take care of myself eases his mind a little.”

“Yeah, I didn’t miss that. Impressive fuckin’ takedown, but—”

“No buts. Get up, please.” Her eyes danced under the fading sunlight streaming in through the window, and the little smirk on her face was like a tranquilizer to a rabid fucking lion.

I put my hand in hers and she grunted theatrically, pulling me up. As I reached my full height, she bear hugged me. Before I could lift her up, which I fully planned to do, she pulled back a little. “Jaxxon . . . you do realize I can put you down too, right?”

I laughed and pulled her into me, squeezing her tighter than I should have. She was unpredictable and fucking adorable. Given her instinctual reservations with me, I’d expected hesitance, distance, and what I got was a challenge? “I might feel better if you could.”

“Challenge.” She grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I like your style.” One perfect eyebrow raised and she moved out of my embrace and into the open space in the office. She pointed to a place about six feet away from her. “Right there.”

“You’re serious?”

Her eyes narrowed to slits and her smirk turned downright evil. “Dead serious.”

I turned my hat backwards and waved her on. “Come with it then, sugar. Let’s see what you got.” I wouldn’t hurt her, obviously, but she’d definitely succeeded in killing a tense situation and for that, I was grateful. I’d play along and spin this so she ended up on top of me.

Yeah, we were goin’ with that plan.

She cocked her head at me. “Well . . . if this was a threat in real time, I’d jab you in the eyes, but I really like your eyes, so we’ll keep them where they are. Then I’d knee you in certain parts of your anatomy to get you on the ground, but ah, we might need them at some point. So let’s go with this, come at me. And Jaxx . . . ” she waved me on with a come-get-some gleam in her eyes. “ . . . don’t hold back.”

Fuck me. She was like a hot mini-ninja. I quickly lunged at her and reached out with my right arm, intending to wrap her up and pull her into me.

Next thing I knew, I was eating carpet with one arm twisted behind me, her knee in the tender part of my lower back and her other hand around my nape.

What in the good fuck?

A melodious and lilting sound filled the small room as she laughed and leaned down to my ear. “Babe, how very disappointing . . . I never pegged you for a man who underestimates a woman based on her size.” She kissed my ear and sat on my ass.

I turned to look at her in awe. “I didn’t even see you move. Shit me. You’re the real fuckin’ deal, sparky. Damn.”

“I promise, hon.” She crossed her finger over her heart. “I am not helpless. I won’t allow myself to be helpless ever again.” She moved her knees on either side of my legs and rested her hands on my chest before I could question, “again.” “But if you still have doubts, I’m more than happy to do another demonstration. You know, just so we can set your caveman mind to rest.”

The playfulness in her tone—instant tension-killer and a huge fucking turn-on.

I reached up and ran a finger over her lower lip. “Nah. I’m solid, sugar. My turn.” I wrapped my hands around her biceps and dragged her up so she was straddling my chest. The light in her eyes instantly shifted from humor to heat, and she gasped. I ran my hands up her thighs to just under the legs of her sexy little shorts. The heat coming off her tempting pussy was almost too much. Jesus, with one tug, I could have had my mouth on her, and I had the worst urge to hear her scream my name as I ate her like fucking dinner.

When her eyes dropped, I rethought that action. There were moments with Valentina where she reminded me of a wounded animal, and this had just become one of them, knocking me right out of sex mode and into protective.

She scooted down my chest, over my stomach, and laid down on top of me, her ear over my heart. “Can you just hold me, please?” she murmured.

“Over you kicking my ass? All night long, baby.” I kissed the top of her head and ran my hands over her back, listening to her breathe. Lifting my knees, I forced her farther up on my chest and she buried her face against my neck, wedging her arms behind my head.

“I’ve needed this since last night,” she mumbled against my skin.

Stroking her hair, I bunched the sides and gently pulled, which earned me a sexy groan. “You should have charged that damn phone and turned it on. I’d have been here in no time.”

She sighed into my shirt, warming the skin underneath. “I love the way you smell. You always smell like clean sheets, fresh snow, and pine trees. Even at the gym.”

My poor dick. Fucker was hard as shit, but she seemed to need this, so she’d get it. Fresh snow? Irish Spring. Whatever, as long as it worked for her. I scooted her down my body a few inches so I could see her face. “You always smell like some kind of fruit or cookie. I eat both, by the way.” I brushed my lips over hers and laid back down, not pushing anything more.

We lay there on her office floor, lost in each other, and I had a gut feeling she was stuck somewhere else. She’d taken the fight right out of me. Just fucking killed it with her casual acceptance that protecting women was a part of who I was as a man. What I got? Self-defense wasn’t just a part of her. It was self-preservation to the point of survival. Skills like hers weren’t just taught. They were part natural talent, part training, instinct, and something you learn only when you’ve been on the losing side of violence.