Page 66 of Protecting Josie
“I’ll send you the video I took if you give me your number,” the bystander told him.
“Appreciate it.”
Millie turned to walk away, but the officer who wasn’t talking to Blink reached out and grabbed her arm. “Ma’am, we need some information from you.”
With that, Millie began to fight—hard. To Blink’s surprise, it took both officers to subdue her. Throughout the altercation, Gen yelled for them to stop, that they were hurting her mother. It was bedlam, and all Blink could do was wrap his arm around Josie and hold her against him as they watched everything unfold. It took a while, but finally Milliewas taken away in the back of the police car, while Gen followed behind in her vehicle.
The people standing around wandered away…but Blink couldn’t help but wonder which one had called Ayden’s relatives, letting them know Josie was there in the first place.
Trying to shove the unsettling thought to the back of his mind, Blink turned to Josie. “Did you find everything?”
“I don’t know. I still need to go through some more boxes.”
“Well, go ahead and do that so we can get the fuck out of here.”
To his amazement, she giggled softly.
He was blown away by her all over again. He brought his hand to her nape and leaned down to put his forehead against hers. “You’re amazing, Spirit. You have every reason to be freaked out right now, and yet, you’re standing tall.”
“They’re upset. I get it. Their brother and son died. I was going to break up with Ayden, but I didn’t want him to die.”
“I know you didn’t, sweetheart. Youdoknow it wasn’t your fault, right?” Blink asked, afraid that she was taking those bitches’ words to heart.
“Yeah. I told him I didn’t want to go on that boat,” she admitted in a whisper. “At first, all he said was that he had a surprise for me, and I should wear my swimsuit and cover-up. When we got to the dock and I saw the boat, I didn’t want to board. I’d thought we were going to a pool or beach or something. He insisted that it would be fine. Fun. I said it was too dangerous. That’s when he started belittling me, like usual. I didn’t want to irritate him further. I should’ve refused, but just because I didn’t stand my ground, that doesn’t mean whathappened was my fault. It wasn’t even his, really. He was just being too cocky.”
Blink closed his eyes briefly. She was being a lot kinder than he would’ve been in the same situation. “I still want you to submit that order of protection.”
To his relief, she nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he agreed, then straightened. “Find the rest of your stuff so we can go home.”
“Home,” she whispered. “How is it that I’ve been in your apartment for so little time, but it already feels like a safe haven?”
Blink was speechless. His apartment wasn’t anything special. It was pretty average. But for her to feel safe there made him all the more determined to make sure she always felt that way.
“Thank you for being here with me,” Josie said. “For helping me.”
“Always,” Blink replied, then kissed her briefly before heading to the door. He needed to put some space between them, otherwise, he’d end up taking her right then and there.
Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Blink hurried toward the box he’d dropped on the sidewalk earlier, when he’d heard Millie and Gen’s awful words. He packed it into the trailer then went back to the apartment.
To Josie.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Josie woke up next to Nate and smiled. Even now, three days after their trip to Vegas, when she thought about how he hadn’t hesitated to get between her and Ayden’s relatives, she felt tingly inside.
Or maybe that was because of the way he’d made love to her the night before. Their first time had been fast, hard, and a little desperate. But last night, Nate had been loving and gentle. It was wonderful…and eventually, a little frustrating. She’d loved the domineering and bossy man he’d been at the hotel in Vegas. And when she’d told him that, she’d felt the change come over him.
It was obvious he thought he’d been too rough. Too hard with her. But the reality was, she felt feminine and beautiful when he put her where he wanted her, when he took his pleasure from her not with pain, but with force.
She was sore that morning between her legs, but in a good way.
“Morning,” Nate said. “How do you feel?”
Josie’s smile widened. “Amazing.”
“Not sore?”
