“Don’t ever think anything. You should always know, especially when dealing with inmates.”

I pulled my arm from his grasp and tried to move away, but he held me strong. When I shifted, my chest rubbed against his and he closed his eyes in pleasure. Finally, I tugged my arm free and backed away, taking large pulls of oxygen to slow my beating heart.

His eyes raked across my face, trying to determine what I was thinking.

“You’re upset with me.”

I was. I wasn’t about to deny it.

Shaking my head in annoyance, I blew out a breath and looked at the ceiling. “You know what? I am. I’m upset. Why’d you do it, Christopher? Why’d you beat those officers? I was starting to think you weren’t the monster everyone said you were, but then you had to go and… Never mind, just forget it.”

I was heated and when his lips tilted in a sexy grin, I felt my anger spike.

“You’re smiling? You think what you did is funny? Because I assure you, it isn’t. You could’ve killed them.”

I knew I was raising my voice too much, and I was starting to worry the people outside his curtained space could hear me. But I was so hot, bothered, and angry with myself for it that I wanted to take it all out on him.

“Yes, I’m smiling, but not because of that.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“You called me Christopher again.”

Rolling my eyes, I pressed into his chest in exasperation. When I realized I’d touched him so personally, I pulled my hands away quickly with wide eyes. I didn’t need to poke the bear. Plus, getting comfortable with the inmates was strictly forbidden.

Before I could pull away, he reached out, grabbed my hands, and pressed them back into his chest. His eyes devoured my face, waiting to see what kind of reaction I’d have.

I gasped and pulled against his hold, but the strangest thing was that I didn’t feel like I was in danger in any way. The look in his eyes wasn’t scary; it was as if he was testing his limits with me. He was curious, and I couldn’t deny the fact that I was, too.

He was hard and hot beneath my palms, his muscles twitching against my fingertips as if begging me for more.

“What are you doing?” I whispered. My eyes flittered around the space, seeing that the curtain was covering us completely.

He closed his eyes and breathed deep, as if he was getting some sort of relief from my touch.

“I’ve been in this place for ten years. For all those years, the only touch I’ve felt has been either out of hate or for medical purposes. This is…” He paused, his hands pressing my palms deeper into his chest. “Your touch… it makes me feel alive again.”

His eyes opened, and his gaze was soft as he looked me in the eye. I was so confused. He was two different men—one with the authorities and other inmates, and one with me. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like maybe I was being played for a fool.

I pulled my hands away like he was on fire when the curtain keeping us blocked from the rest of the infirmary was whipped back.

Officer Douglas poked his head in with a worried smile. “You okay, Ms. Evans? It was quiet in here.”

Smiling through my beating heart, I nodded. “Yeah, I was just finishing up.”

I stayed away from X for the rest of my shift, busying myself with paperwork and intake.

The following day, when I checked on him, I kept my eyes away from his face and stayed strictly professional. I’d gotten comfortable with working in the infirmary and with the way things worked. I went about caring for the inmates with a smile, and I was actually starting to feel good about taking the job.

My bills were all caught up, and there was food in my refrigerator and gas in my car. Slowly but surely, things were coming around.

I’d just given Mr. Davis his insulin and was headed to Dr. Giles’ office to let him know I was going to grab some lunch, when a hand reached out from behind one of the curtains and grabbed me. Pulling me into the curtained room, he covered my mouth to keep my scream locked in.

His hot hand moved across my lips, making my stomach roll with disgust, and his foul breath cascaded across my cheek as be begun to whisper.

“Shhh. Don’t make a sound or I’ll tear you apart.”

My mind went a million miles a second as I tried to remember which COs were in the room and where they were posted. But before I could make a noise, something sharp was jabbed into my back.

My eyes widened as all the things he could do to me went swirling through my mind. Suddenly, the alarm starting ringing and the lights began to flash as all of Fulton went on lockdown.