Page 55 of Protecting Josie
They both sat, and from the first forkful, Blink was more sure than ever that Josie was the woman for him. She reallydidcook better than his dad. She also turned him on more than any other woman had, and she soothed him in a way he thought he’d never experience. After all he’d seen and done, that was a big deal. In the past, he constantly thought about what he should’ve done differently on missions, how he might prevent any of his teammates from getting hurt in the future. But with Josie, he’d found he wasn’t stuck in his head. He could just…be. And he hoped it was the same for her, as well.
They ate without speaking, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Working together as they had each night, they cleaned up after their meal and settled on the couch.
Holding Josie against him always felt like coming home.
“Tonight…after I fall asleep…can I…” Her voice trailed off.
“What, Spirit? Can you what?” Blink would let her do anything she wanted. Anything.
“Can I sleep with you?” she asked. “You always carry me tothe guest room, and it’s nice in there, but,” she looked up at him, “I want to be with you.”
Blink’s heart stopped beating for a moment. He swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to pick her up right that second and carry her to his bed.
“Sorry. That’s weird, right? I just?—”
“No! It’s not weird.” He’d paused too long and she felt uncomfortable. That was unacceptable. “I want you there. Always. I just don’t want to do anything that would make you think I was taking advantage of your situation.”
“You aren’t. I…I like you, Nate. A lot.”
There she went again, making his heart skip a beat. “Good. Because I like you too.”
“Will you kiss me again?”
“With pleasure.”
It took every ounce of strength Blink had not to strip off all of Josie’s clothes and take her right there on the couch. But he was enjoying their not-so-innocent making out too much to do anything that might change her mind about liking him. He loved having her hands on him. Loved the feel of her body against his own. Loved even more seeing how much their kisses affected her. The fast beating of her heart, her quick breaths, the way her eyes got glassy and her nipples pebbled under her shirt.
When they finally settled in to watch a movie, Josie quickly fell asleep in his arms, as usual. Blink lived for this moment. For holding her. Watching her sleep. Knowing that she trusted him enough to completely let down her guard.
Later that night, when he got up to go to bed, instead of taking her to the guest room as usual, he felt deep satisfactionwell inside him as he opened his bedroom door and gently placed her on his mattress. She’d slept there before, when he’d woken up and found her on his floor that first night. But tonight felt like a new beginning. She wasn’t coming to him because she was uncomfortable and needed the reassurance of knowing he was close. She was there because she wanted to be with him. And because he wanted her there, as well.
Blink stripped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers. It felt as natural as if they’d done it every night for the last ten years or more for her to snuggle up against him and use his shoulder as a pillow. Her gorgeous blonde hair draped over his chest, and he inhaled deeply, loving how feminine she smelled.
But he wouldn’t have cared if she was still covered in dirt and muck from that damn cell. Just having her in his arms was perfection.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The last week had been like a dream come true for Josie. She’d never felt so at peace. Of course, she still had plenty of things to stress about…her belongings, Millie and Gen, getting back into the swing of things with her job…but the good far outweighed the bad.
Nate was at the top of that good list. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a guy. He wasn’t perfect, but then again, neither was she. But things between them were fun…and exciting, intimate, comforting, and promising. She felt more at home with Nate in the short time she’d known him than she did with Ayden or anyone else she’d ever dated.
And the more time she spent with both Remi and Wren, the more at home in Riverton she felt. With friends like them, and a man like Nate to spend time with after he got home from work, Josie was falling into a rhythm.
That’s why she wasn’t thrilled with their plans. She and Nate were going to Vegas to pick up the things her landlordhad stored. Somehow, she felt as if going to Vegas was going to burst the happy little bubble she’d been in since she’d been rescued. Which was stupid, but she still dreaded it.
Millie and Gen hadn’t let up on the emails. She’d blocked them both, but all they did was create new email accounts to use to harass her. She’d block those too, but the next morning, she’d haveanotheremail from one or both of them, telling her what a horrible person she was, how she’d regret killing Ayden.
She hadn’t told Nate about their harassment because it upset him so much. And there wasn’t anything he could do about it anyway. She just had to ignore them until they got tired of their juvenile games and left her alone.
Still, even being in the same city with them made her uneasy. It wasn’t as if they knew she was going this weekend, but returning to the place where she’d met Ayden, where she’d lived before making that fateful decision to fly to Kuwait, felt as if she was entering the lion’s den. Like she’d somehow get sucked in and wouldn’t be able to leave.
“Breathe, Josie. This’ll be fine.”
Josie smiled at Nate. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread.
“Did you see Remi’s latest cartoon?” he asked as he put an overnight bag in the back of his truck. They were driving up to Las Vegas today, spending the night in a fancy hotel on the Strip, then going to her old apartment complex tomorrow morning, loading up the trailer he’d rented, and coming back to Riverton. She would’ve preferred they do it all in one day, but since he’d be doing most of the heavy lifting, literally, andit was at least a five-hour drive, she didn’t him want to overdo it.
Josie nodded. Remi’s latest Pecky the Traveling Taco featured Pecky at a night club. He was so exuberant on the dance floor that he lost most of his filling, leaving him feeling naked with only the meat in his shell. But then Latrice the Lettuce Leaf came forward and enveloped him in a big hug, covering him up.
