Now it was Gavin’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Okay, what was that about?”
“Nothing.”
She said it too quickly. He turned so he was facing her and folded his arms. “Nothing means you look at the text and don’t make a face like that. Come on, spill.”
She worried her plump lower lip with her teeth, and just like that, desire spilled through him. He wanted to touch that lip himself and capture her mouth with his own. Instead, he reached for her arm, trying to pluck her phone from her grasp. “Come on,” he cajoled as she laughed, trying to keep the phone from him. “Tell me, otherwise I’ll just keep bugging you.”
She tried to pull away, but he only snaked an arm around her waist. Now pressed up against him, he gazed down into her eyes, his heart beating fast. He wondered if he should kiss her. His entire body thrilled at the thought.
But then a car horn sounded, and they jumped apart like two teenagers caught necking in the back of a car.
Gavin took a deep breath. What the hell was he doing?
“It wasn’t a text message,” she blurted.
He just looked at her.
“It was an email, from online. Um, I’m not explaining this well.” She rubbed her arms, like she was cold. “Anyway, I keep getting stupid comments on something I put up online, that’s all. This was just another one. I need to turn off notifications.”
“I don’t understand.”
She sighed. “Did you know I’m a computer programmer? No? Well, I am. I also recently started making video games. Just for fun. Anyway, I launched a new game and there are some people who aren’t happy about it.”
Gavin waited for her to explain further, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to. “Okay, so what kind of comments? ‘This game sucks’? Like that?”
“I wish.”
Her voice seemed so sad that his heart clenched. “Kat,” he said in a soft voice, “tell me.”
To his surprise, she plucked her phone from her purse and, after unlocking it, launched the email in question. “Here, read them yourself.”
He wasn’t really sure he should be reading her email, but when she gestured at him to take her phone, he gave in. Glancing at the screen, he scrolled through one comment after another, his blood boiling higher with each one.
Girls should be seen and not heard, preferably sitting on my dick, said the first one. Another one read, Take this down, you fucking copycat. The comments went on and on, each one worse than the last. By the time he got to the end of the email, he wanted to murder someone.
“These are comments directed at you?” he demanded.
She shrugged. “Yeah, or at least the game I made.”
“What the hell kind of game is it? Wait, don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter.” He returned her phone. “Can you report these creeps?”
“I do, but they just keep coming back. Anyway, I’ll probably just delete the game.” She made a face at the suggestion. “Although I hate the thought that they managed to run me off. That almost pisses me off more than the comments themselves.”
Gavin marveled at that, both at how Kat managed to stay calm after reading something so insulting, and at how absurd it was that she’d stick it to the man simply to prove that people weren’t getting to her. He didn’t know whether he wanted to shake her hand or take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.
“This isn’t right,” he told her, trying to make her see that. “I don’t know what’s going on exactly, but any man who makes those kinds of comments about women should be drawn and quartered by his balls.” His earlier anger about Mrs. Gentry’s comments regarding Emma only added fuel to his rage now. Could he just find one of these guys and pound them into oblivion? Surely no one would be upset if he did.
Kat smiled. “Thanks, but I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about it.”
Too late, he thought. I can’t help but worry about you.
Gazing at her, he thought again how pretty she was. It was rather shallow of him, but he couldn’t help it. Everything about her called to some primitive part of him—okay, it was the part of him that wanted to get laid—but there was something else about her that made him want to protect her. Not exactly the way he wanted to protect Emma, but perhaps it was similar. He wanted to carry her away to his tower, keep her safe from everything, and then kiss her until she melted and he could make her his.
But Kat Williamson was convinced she wasn’t the type of girl guys needed to save. Gavin rather wanted to prove her wrong anyway.
“I should get going,” he said into the night air. “You okay driving home?”
“Why, because some guy will jump me?” At his expression, she patted him on the chest. “Relax. Nothing’s going to happen. People are assholes on the Internet all the time. You would know that if you ever used a computer.”
The imprint of her hand on his chest made his heart pound. He wanted to curl his hand around her fingers and pull her close. He wished he’d kissed her earlier.
“I use computers, enough to know that you’re a smart-ass.”
She grinned. “You didn’t need a computer to know that.”
He growled, her hand still on his chest, and he covered it with his own, pressing her hand against his heart. Can you feel how fast it beats for you? he wanted to ask her.
Her eyes widened at the gesture. “Gavin,” she whispered.
He wished he’d kissed her earlier? Well, he’d rectify that now.
One click Make Me Yours now!
Also by Iris Morland
Heron’s Landing
Say You’re Mine
All I Ask of You
Make Me Yours
Hold Me Close
The Flower Shop Sisters
Oopsie Daisy
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Petal Plucker
War of the Roses
Love Everlasting
including
The Youngers
Then Came You
Taking a Chance on Love
All I Want Is You
My One and Only
The Thorntons
The Nearness of You
The Very Thought of You
If I Can’t Have You
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Someone to Watch Over Me
Till There Was You
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
About the Author
A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.
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Iris Morland’s Mermaids
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