Excerpt: Impulse Control by Amanda Usen

Her simmering anger erupted into a full boil, and she pushed against his chest. “Men like you enjoy making women feel weak, and I’m sick of it.”

His arm tightened around her waist. “There is only one very specific instance in which a man like me enjoys making a woman feel weak, and I am trying to show you what it is. I’ve had my ass handed to me by female black belts. I’ve jumped beside women who made better landings than I did. I’ve been outswimmed, outgunned, and outranked—by women. I’ve got no problem respecting women.”

Now it was her turn to scoff. “But not a woman like me. I’m just good for baking cookies, cleaning the windows, and feeding the babies. Oh, and sex.”

“For God’s sake, I was being an asshole because you were standing there in your perfect pink suit looking at me like I was something you wanted to delicately scrape off the sole of your high heel. And I call bullshit. You want to pigeonhole me with your asshole ex, but I’m not him. I don’t put other people down. I kick them into higher gear. Good God, woman, you climbed a mountain with me today. Have you ever done anything like that before?”

She shook her head, unable to speak. Her ex-husband never would have accepted responsibility for her near collapse on the trail yesterday, and he certainly wouldn’t have apologized. Russ had stepped back so the cameras could get a good shot of her when they reached the top of the mountain today. Ethan would have hogged the peak or at least insisted on being in the picture. Russ was right—he was nothing like Ethan.

She ducked her head to avoid his fierce gaze, but she couldn’t escape his voice. “I know myself inside and out, because I’ve been in a lot of fucked-up situations where decisions had to be made fast to keep people alive. I don’t like to lose—fights, games, competitions, or people. I push hard, I fight hard, I do everything hard, but I take care of my own. Nobody messes with my team. Like it or not, Susie, we’re a team now. I’m goddamn pissed at your ex-husband for leaving you wounded, but I’m fairly certain undoing the damage is within my capability.”

She lifted her chin. “That sounds like pity to me.”

“Not pity.” His erection throbbed against her belly. Her breath caught, and her nipples peaked. He groaned, low in his throat, and the sound vibrated in her core. “Trust me—not pity. Give me one night, Susannah.”