Page 167 of Protective Heroes

She turned in his arms. “Let’s take it slow, Dyson. Okay? There’s, just…I have a lot going on now and anything more than the fun times we’ve had… maybe it’s not such a good idea.” There went that lip between her teeth again.

He tightened his grip, bent at the waist and scooped her up to the sound of cheers and whistles from the onlooking crowd.

“Dyson Ward, you brute. You ever think I’d like to walk on my own?”

He smiled, liking the way he made her lose her breath.

“Why, when I’m here to carry you, precious?”

Two

Carry her? Like he wanted to shoulder her problems? Or did he just want to have a fun night and romance her?

Ugh. So many questions. And now more to add to the growing pile. What was all that back there with Bautista?

Dyson’s words weighed on her more than they should. Maybe she was being too damn emotional. No one needed to carry her. She’d been fine until he stepped in and ruined her whole plan.

But he didn’t know. No one did and she preferred it that way. She’d let Bautista cool down and reach out to him tomorrow. Hopefully she could salvage their small business deal.

Now, she supposed, all she could do was wait.

Shay tightened her grip around Dyson’s neck. The man she secretly wished could be hers was carrying her away from peering eyes and off into the sunset.

She damn near snorted at that romantic thought. That is not what this was. Irresistible he was, the settling, marrying, and raising a family kind of man he was not.

This was another night in their string of multiple one-night stands when he was on leave. Dates and coming home to meet the family was strictly off the table.

“It’s good seeing you again.” She kept her head against his shoulder as she spoke.

“I’m glad you think so.” He tightened his hold as the sound of party music faded was replaced with the sound of waves crashing on the wide, empty shore. “There for a second I didn’t know what to think.”

Truth be told it was just nice not being alone and with someone who was familiar.

She’d spent the last year struggling to save the small family business her mother once loved then abandoned for the bottom of a bottle because her father left her. That paired with raising her younger sister left a lot to shoulder. With no one there to help her it had been a long, lonely road.

From time to time, she had fantasized about her mother rejoining their small family of three, but depression, alcohol and finally, cancer, had robbed her of that dream.

With no other family, she and her younger sister depended on the small florist shop, and with her late mother’s mounting medical bills and college tuition for Abigail, it just wasn’t enough anymore.

Her best shot at getting the twenty grand she needed to push her business out of the red and into the black for good had just stomped out of her cousin’s wedding, taking his sizeable checkbook with him. If the stars found a way to align hopefully tomorrow, she would find the opportunity to present him the partnership offer she’d worked out in exchange for a loan.

What the hell had happened with Dyson to make him react the way he had with Bautista, in the first place? She understood the man had a spotty reputation as a businessman, but the way Dyson and her cousin had reacted made it seem as if he was a secret hitman for some mob boss.

Before her mother passed, in her more lucid moments, she talked fondly of a childhood friend in Cabos, Bautista, and how he had become quite the businessman.

When her cousin and his new fiancée contacted her about doing the flowers for his wedding in Cabos and asked her to be maid of honor too, she’d seized the chance. Using her mother’s connection, she’d called Bautista to be her date—a two birds one stone kind of thing.

Landing Bautista as her plus one had given her a small glimmer of hope. Hope that was now so far out of reach she was lucky she could see past the fear gripping her heart.

And now, who knew what the future held. She certainly didn’t have a clue.

She trailed a finger over the exposed skin peeking out of Dyson’s collar. She couldn’t blame him. What did he know?

The fading rays of sunshine bounced off the water and mixed with a strong breeze to create the illusion of peace. She tried to relax, but the picturesque view did nothing to her mounting frustration.

Dyson slowed to a stop and placed her on the cooled sand.

With her toes barely touching, he turned her and caught her lips with his.

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