Page 20 of Vaughn

I laugh, tilting my forehead down so that they touch. "My goal is to make one of those escape when you least expect it, babe. I'm gonna do it."

Her eyebrows raise. "You have a pet name for me now?"

"Never had one for anyone else, but it feels right. We're roomies, we should get close." I'm playing with fire, and we both know it. I've gone down to my truck and gotten my bag. "Mind if I go take a shower? It's been a long day."

"No, feel free." She pulls back. "Do you want some dinner? I'm not used to cooking for two, but we should be good for a few days. I just don't know what you like."

I'd love to tell her everything I like to eat, but none of that includes food, and neither one of us are ready for it. "Whatever you make I'll enjoy. I can promise you that."

She gazes at me with scared eyes, and I take a moment to try and put myself in her shoes. How this has turned into something she never asked for. Walking the few steps over to where she is, I cup her cheek in my palm. "We're gonna make it through this, Val. It's going to be weird at first. I've never stayed or lived with a woman either, and I'm beginning to understand your situation before you escaped."

"I left."

"You. Escaped. Make no mistake about it. They would have snuffed you out like the flame on a flickering candle. There was no oxygen there for you to keep growing, and you knew it. You made a difficult decision and I'm going to help you live that life. If you need me to be here and make sure you're safe, then that's what I'm going to do. No one is going to hurt you on my watch."

She presses her cheek into my hand. "No one's ever protected me before, Vaughn."

I'm about to say something that I know I won't be able to take back. I'm putting myself out there in a way I never have, not with anyone, and especially not with a woman I'm coming to care significantly for. "Then let me be your first for everything."

"Do you know what you're saying?"

I nod. "Yeah, I know exactly what I'm saying."

"You might regret it." She whispers.

"And I know I'm not going to. I'm going to be what you need, I promise you that."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Val

I've learned not to count on people who make promises, but the sincerity in his eyes? I want to believe him. I want to let go of all the doubts I have and let someone in. It's been so lonely and I've wanted someone to hug, to tell me that things are going to be okay, that I'm not in this by myself. "Thank you." I curl my arms around his neck.

He holds me tightly, allowing me to melt into his body.

"I know we had planned on doing one thing, and now it looks like we're going to do another, but I need to take a shower. Do you mind?"

Although I know this man is going to be living with me from now on, I haven't given thought of how this is actually going to work out. "I don't, but you have to realize it's a very small space, and you're probably going to be knocking your elbows on the walls."

"It won't be the first time." He grins. "When I was younger and my parents split, dad had us living in some small spaces in order to be able to afford it. I slept in a twin size bed until I was sixteen, and I was six-two. It's not going to bother me. As long as I'm able to get clean, it'll be fine. May take me a little longer than it takes you because I'll have to wash parts of my body atonce, but it'll happen. Until you're safe, I'm going to make sure you don't worry about it." He bends down, grabbing his bag, and raises his eyebrows. "Where's the bathroom?"

"That door." I point to a door over near the part of the apartment that's been turned into the kitchen. "Hopefully you'll be able to shut it once you're inside. It's that small."

"I got this, Val. Don't worry that it's going to scare me off. There's a lot of shit I've put up with, and anything having to do with you isn't putting up with it. I wanna be here. If I keep saying it, hopefully you'll realize it."

When he goes in there and shuts the door, I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Having him here in this space is going to be hard, because I've enjoyed having this small apartment to myself, but also because I'm going to be sharing a home with this man I can't get out of my head. How am I going to feel comfortable going to sleep with him possibly next to me? I have no idea how I'm going to be able to survive this. I've never been tempted to give myself to someone, but I am very tempted to give myself to this man.

Only, I don't know exactly what that means.

It's so hot in here. I head over to the fridge and open the freezer, sticking my head in not only to look and see what there is to cook, but also to cool myself down. We're supposed to get a cold front in the next few days, which will usher in fall. I can't wait, this summer has been brutal.

I hope Vaughn likes tacos, because it looks like that's about all I have to make. I've never paid attention to what he goes toward in situations where he isn't indulging in the treats at Get Baked. I guess we have a lot to learn about one another. I've never had to learn about a man before, never really had to learn about anyone. When I lived at home we were told what to eat, what to wear, we weren't given choices. That's been the biggestdifference in what I'm going through now, the fact that I can choose. It's almost overwhelming

Pulling the thawed meat out of the fridge, I get everything ready to cook it, while making sure I have enough tortilla chips to make nachos, after I see I don't have any taco shells or tortillas. Looking inside, I see I have some tomatoes, onion, limes, and lettuce. It's enough to make pico that will hopefully add to the filling nature of the meal. I'm not used to feeding someone, not since I left home. It's taken me as long as I've been here by myself to start making meals that weren't enough for an Army, and now I have to figure out how to feed another person now. It's as if my life can't figure out what in the world it wants to do.

In the middle of me questioning what I'm doing here, the door to the bathroom opens, and steam rolls out, along with Vaughn, only wearing a pair of low-slung sweatpants. There's no shirt covering his torso, and he's glistening with the remnants of the shower he just took. I've always known he's strong, but seeing him like this? He's stronger than I envisioned. My eyes take in the entirety of his bare flesh. There's a small smattering of hair trailing down his stomach into the waistband of those sweatpants. The tattoos that I normally don't pay a lot of attention to are slick with the leftover water, and it's as if he's put oil on his flesh to emphasize how hot they are.

My heart thunders in my ears, as I feel the warmth in between my thighs, the way I did the other night when we were together. My breasts feel heavy, and I wish I could cup them to help with the weight.

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