Page 56 of Shielding Aubree

He tried to ignore how stalkerish that might make him look.

And he didn't even really think about what might happen if she woke up.

Hell, she might even put a bullet through him, but he couldn't just keep away from her.

Not after hearing Jagger's story.

His words had weighed heavily on Ruben's mind.

So there he was sitting on the back of her sofa, watching her sleep.

Just reassuring himself that she was okay-

That she was breathing-

"'Ben?"

Aubree turned over in bed, her flat sheet falling away as she rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes.

He could just smile at the sleepy way she said his name. If she was tired, she dropped the first syllable, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"What? What are you doing?"

He let out a sigh. "Sorry. I know this might look-"

She sat upright and swayed a little at the sudden movement.

Ruben got up from the couch and moved closer, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder and steady her.

"I'm sorry for just... showing up."

Aubree yawned and waved off his words. "'s not a problem..." She frowned and looked up at him. "How... how did you get in?"

He wanted to explain, but there just wasn't a good way to explain that he'd picked her lock.

Then, it didn't seem to matter.

Sagging back against her pillow she held out a hand to him. "Come to bed, Ben."

He gestured at himself as if there was someone else in the room and he wasn't sure who she meant. "Me?"

Her smile lifted more on one side than the other. "You."

"Yeah." His voice was barely audible to his own ears and as he moved closer, he found the volume and confidence to say more. "Okay, yeah. I want to hold you, 'Bree."

He took the hand she offered and placed kisses across her knuckles before sliding in behind her, wrapping his arms around her body.

It did wonders for him to feel her snuggle back against his body.

He lifted his head and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

The contact of his lips against her skin did more than soothe his worries, it heated his blood.

Aubree covered one of his hands with her own. "Hmm... I was missing you."

He felt her words deep inside him. "Yeah. I was missing you, too."

Her words were clearer when she spoke next. "I should get you your own key."

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