Cat cupped his chin with her free hand. “Listen to me. There’s a difference between being scarred and being a victim. You took what was a terrible childhood, and you made sure your daughter would never feel any of those things. She’d never be hungry or cold or scared.”

“A lot of good it did her. She wants to be a celebrity and have pink hair. Next, she’s going to be telling me she doesn’t want to go to college.”

She gave his grizzled chin an affectionate squeeze. “Stop. You didn’t have control when you were a kid. Your parents weren’t responsible enough to provide the stability and security you needed to feel safe. It’s why you’re Mr. No now. Why you were such a dick about the show.”

“I wouldn’t say I was a dick—”

“Totally a dick.”

“Fine. I was a dick,” he conceded. “I just. Things need to be safe, tidy, secure. I’m in charge of the livelihood of this town, and I take that very seriously. I don’t want to let anyone down or make a bad decision that would hurt people.”

“So, you play it safe,” Cat filled in the blank.

“Sometimes maybe a little too safe,” he admitted. He picked up her hand and traced the tattoo with the tip of his finger. “I’m unnaturally good at assessing risks. And you’re a huge one.”

She grinned. “How am I risky? I’m light, I’m fun, I don’t require constant care and attention.”

“Oh, you’re risky. I could fall for you, and you could just walk out of my life onto the next job, the next guy, the next adventure. And I’d just be left remembering.”

--------

Cat woke with his sleep-hardened cock buried at the base of her spine. Even in his sleep, Noah was shifting against her, greedy for more friction.

Her body felt sore and well used from last night, and yet… there was a sharp yearning for more. She’d thought getting it out of their system at least once would dull the need she felt. But now she feared she may have only awoken the dragon. The intimacy? That was too much. But the outcome. Dear, sweet baby Jesus, she’d never experienced anything like that in her entire sexual history.

It was ironic to get to thirty-two only to realize how sorely she’d been deprived. She wanted more. More of his rough words, more of his body worshipping her own. More of that edge of pain mixed with a pleasure that threatened to drown her. And yet, her heart ached for him, for that little boy hungry for love and safety. She’d misjudged him on so many levels.