Nurturing Britney (Surrender Book 7) by Becca Jameson (best books to read fiction .TXT) 📗

I don’t point out that I’ve asked her to stop thanking me. Just this once. “You’re welcome, sweetie.” My hand runs up and down her back again, inching toward her bottom. The tank top is thin, and when she’d leaned back, I’d caught a glimpse of her hard nipples straining against the fabric. I swallow my reaction to the memory.

I have to let her go before I take things too far. For the first time since meeting her, I feel this ridiculous hope that perhaps she might be interested in me as more than just her savior. I shouldn’t. It’s too soon and she’s hurting. She might not even remember this in the morning.

I ease her off my lap and lay her down so that her head lands on her pillow. She finally uncurls her body as she lands on her back and blinks up at me, biting her bottom lip. Before I lose the last thread of my self-control, I pull the covers up over her sweet body.

I do so slower than I should, letting my gaze take in the smooth skin of her thighs, the white cotton of her panties covering her pussy. Her tank top has ridden up several inches, gracing me with the flat planes of her belly before my gaze lingers on the small mounds of her breasts and the erect points of her nipples poking against the shirt.

It takes a lot of willpower to pull the covers up to her chin. She’s still blinking at me, that full lip between her teeth. I want to pluck it free. I want to lower my lips to hers and kiss her until she moans. I want to flatten my hands on her body and run them up and down, learning every inch of her. I want to cup her breasts and stroke my thumbs over her nipples. She’d release that lip if I did so. I know she would.

I do none of those things. Instead, I glance at the second pillow next to her and remember the stuffed animal I retrieved from her apartment. I pat her hip. “Be right back.”

I pad from her room and head for the kitchen where I’ve left the bag of her things on the counter. I grab the bunny and then make another illogical rash decision. I rifle through the few articles of clothing I grabbed from her apartment and lift up the one and only dress I’d found. It’s a simple sundress. Hardly worn. I doubt it was new to her when she got it, but it’s still in better shape than any other clothes she owns. Most are threadbare and unraveling.

I hold the dress in front of me. Am I making the right decision here? It’s the wrong time of year for something like this. It has spaghetti straps. I wonder why she even owns it considering all the rest of her wardrobe consisted of jeans and cotton shirts.

Even the dress is cotton. It’s soft. Pale blue with tiny white flowers. The bodice is fitted and the skirt is loose. The truth is I’d rather see her in this than anything else she owns. So, I’m not giving her options.

This could backfire on me, but I’m praying it doesn’t. I grab a pair of white panties next and tuck the two items under my arm. When I return to her room, she hasn’t moved. She follows me with her eyes.

I head for her bathroom first and set the dress and panties on the counter. Her jeans are folded up in the corner. Fortuitous. I grab them and tuck them under my arm. As I do so, I notice her bra was folded into the jeans. The strap is sticking out. Even better. What she doesn’t have, she can’t wear.

I return to her side, settle on the edge of the bed, and hold out the stuffed animal.

Her face lights up and she wiggles her arms free from under the covers to take it from me. She pulls it to her chest. “Bunny,” she murmurs before looking back up at me. “Thank you.” Her voice is small and caught in her throat.

I cup her face and lean in to kiss her forehead. “You’re welcome, sweetie. He looked like he missed you, so I grabbed him from your apartment.”

“Bunny is a girl,” she blurts out. Her face flushes as she looks away.

My cock stiffens painfully. “My bad.” I pat the stuffed animal, Bunny, and clasped Britney’s hand. “Won’t happen again.”

She giggles. God, I love that sound.

Once again, I have to force myself to break our stare. I must leave this room. I stand, keeping her clothes from yesterday tucked under my arm. “I set some clothes for you in the bathroom so you can get dressed in the morning. Tomorrow we’ll see about getting you some new things.”

She blinks again. “You don’t have to do that.”

I lean down and kiss her forehead again, saying nothing.

I leave her, not even looking back as I close her door, but it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Chapter 9

Britney

A ray of sun is streaming across the room when I open my eyes. For a moment I’m confused. My sheets are too soft. My pillow is too fluffy. Everything smells fresh and clean. I open my eyes wider and take in the room.

A second later, I remember. I’m at Davis’s house. It all comes crashing back to me. My boss. My fear. Sleeping in my car. Davis finding me in the parking lot. Charles. Cindy.

Shit. I take several deep breaths and inhale…pancakes? I haven’t had pancakes or even breakfast for years. My stomach growls, so I slide out of bed. When my feet hit the floor, Bunny falls off the edge of the bed.

As I grab for her, I remember more.

My God. I had a nightmare. I woke Davis. I must have cried out. I shudder at the memory of that bad dream. Mr. Lazinski’s voice. And