“My dream man?” she asked, and he gave a clipped nod. Tell him that he was the dream man? No, thanks. So, she decided to describe the man she hoped to end up with. “He’s not a pretty boy who’s never known pain. He’s been through trials, so he has an appreciation for the trials of others. He’s tall and handsome. Kind and gentle. All the usuals. But, most important, he absolutely, positively must have a massive...”

Brow arched in intrigue, Bane leaned closer to her and said, “Muscle mass? Kill list? Bank account?”

“A massive cock, of course.”

As his own tongue seemed to strangle him, she fought a grin and failed. Nice to know she could shock the stoic brute somehow.

He stopped abruptly, his gaze on her mouth, his features stripped of any calm. “Your smile,” he croaked.

She gulped, shivers trekking down her spine. “Yes? What about it?”

He licked his lips. “I want to taste it.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

What his scars reveal

BANE BATTLED A raging hard-on. Again. But then, “raging hard-on” was a semipermanent condition whenever Nola neared. She had a smile so bright it could be a beacon in the darkest night, a heart more dazzling than any diamond and a past more tragic than his own.

He’d sorely misjudged this woman, and his abysmal treatment of her would forever haunt him. Guilt would forever eat at him...but neither doused his desires. No, unease settled in and did the honors.

All his life, he’d tended to his own wounds. He and Meredith had agreed: only the weak required such “pampering.” Nola had fussed over him and...he’d liked it. Liked it enough to look forward to his next injury.

The sheer lunacy of the situation panicked him.

He wanted Nola too much. The beast wanted her too much. But she yearned for a kind and gentle man, something Bane could never be. Never mind that he’d once been that way with Meredith, and the lovers he’d enjoyed before meeting his wife.

Aveline’s actions had changed and hardened him. And yet, Nola made him want to try. Especially when her angelic rosebud lips uttered the word cock.

Her eyelids seemed to weigh a hundred pounds, dipping low as she said, “You want to taste my smile? Too bad, so sad.”

“A denial? If I shoved my hand into your panties, you’d be wet. Soaked.”

A flush warmed her cheeks. “So what?”

“So. We should find out if I’m right.” Before he realized he’d moved, he’d used one hand to urge Nola closer and the other to pin both of her arms behind her back. She remained on her knees, her breasts smashed into his chest. Just the way he liked. The feel of her against him, all softness and heat, the scent of her skin, all sweetness and wicked delight...he had no defenses.