Hero: Declan. A restaurant owner/chef whose ex wife did quite a number on him. When he meets a scared young woman in the alley, scourging for food for her dog, he is shocked by the intensity of his need to protect her.

Heroine: Katrina (Trina). A trophy wife for whom the shine had been wearing off her marriage for a long time. When fists replace words, Trina runs and discovers that not man want to hurt.  Some are born to protect.

This scene is short but is a powerful indication of the growing trust and attraction Trina has for Declan.

He had taken off his shirt and I couldn’t stop staring at his chest.
He was cut.
Ripped.
Holy crumb cakes, the man was a serious work of art.
My eyes followed him as he sauntered around the bed, almost as if he’d slowed down when he noticed my eyes were stuck to his body like glue. Then he sat down on the bed next to me.
Next to me!
My eyes bugged out when he kicked his feet up on the bed, crossing them at the ankles, his back at the headboard.
Then he reached over to me, slid his arm around my waist, and pulled me to him as if I were light as the pillow he rested against.
“Um. Declan?”
His arm tightened around my waist until I had no choice but to rest my head on his shoulder and my hand on his stomach.
Without speaking, he plucked the remote out of my hand and started flipping through channels.
“You’ve had a long day, and you’re tired,” he said, before I felt his lips press against the top of my head. “Had a lot of ideas in my head today, of how we could move forward with exploring whatever’s going on between us, but that’s going to have to wait.”
Um. My blood began pulsing and heating. A throb began, and not in my injured ankle, but in a much more pleasurable area. I couldn’t stop my fingers from flexing against the taut skin of his abdomen, which was covered by the sexiest dusting of hair.
I wanted this. I wanted whatever he originally wanted to explore.
I wanted to explore him . . . and his body.
I wanted him to explore mine.
[…]
“Declan?” I whispered, adjusting as best as I could so I was sitting up further. His fingers on my hip held me in place. “What if I want to explore . . . um . . . you tonight?”
His eyes turned to mine and his jaw tightened further. “You’re hurt.”
I looked up at the ceiling and opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off by dropping the remote, then cupping my cheek with his warm, large, calloused hand. “When I take you, Trina, and I promise you I’m going to, I want to know that everything I’m giving you is pleasure. And tonight, I can’t know that for certain. I don’t want to be worried that you’re hiding pain in your ankle when I’m making you feel good in other places. But trust me, it’ll happen. This will happen between us, when I can know that I can take you and not hurt you.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. The surprise I felt at hearing his words, along with the taste and feel of him, his lips surprisingly soft, made my lips part and he slid his tongue inside my mouth.
Tasting me.
Gently.
But fully and completely.

His To Protect by Stacey Lynn releases July 12, 2016 and is the 2nd in her Fireside series. Each one can be read as a stand alone.

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