Page 5 of Mine to Keep

She gritted her teeth and glared up at him. “I have no intention of leaving on my own again. I thought I needed some space, but you’ve… helped me to realize that space is dangerous.”

She saw a flash of guilt in his hazel eyes before he shuttered the emotion. He nodded sharply and grunted, “You done running?”

“No,” she answered quickly.

She really wasn’t done running. She needed the exercise to help centre her and give her an endorphin boost to help her fight any triggers or cravings she might experience. Not that she had many of those any more. But she liked to be safe. Robert nodded again and inclined his head toward the path. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, not wanting to turn her back on her would-be attacker. Finally, she huffed at him and stomped out of the trees. She glanced around the brightly lit area. It wasn’t super busy, but there were still some people. It amazed her that he was able to grab her so quickly and shove her into the trees without anyone noticing.

“Had Ben lay on the horn over by corner and distract any people that might’ve noticed me grab you. You probably didn’t hear it with your music,” Robert explained as he fell into step beside her.

Veronica’s jaw fell open and she stared around wide-eyed. Then she saw the black Escalade SUV pull up alongside them and start driving slowly. She was really beginning to think she should’ve gotten more details on exactly what her new security situation would look like before agreeing to it.

Who was she kidding? When it came to men like Jay and Robert, her agreement wouldn’t be necessary, just expected. With a snort of disgust, Veronica jabbed her earbuds back in, threw Robert a look of annoyance and took off at a sprint. Her lips spread into a smile of contentment at the point in her run when she realized Robert loathed running. She wasn’t surprised. With a body like that, with his finely honed and thick muscles, he wasn’t built to run. Still, he did well. He didn’t seem winded at all after almost an hour of running.

Which pissed her right off and ruined her buzz. By the time they made it back to her condo, she felt like a sweaty noodle and he looked good enough to lick. A thought she hadn’t had in years. She thought her sexuality had had all but died after the trauma of her time spent on the street. Or perhaps it had never existed. She couldn’t really remember a time when she’d enjoyed sex. If she had, it was so long ago it didn’t register anymore.

Now this man was invading her space and touching her things, including herself, and she was expected to just lay down and take it. She stormed toward the door of her apartment, ignoring the man who was hot on her heels. She unlocked the door and threw it open, ignoring the thump it made as it hit the wall, the impact causing the trinkets on her side table to jump and shudder. She glared at them as if they’d done something to piss her off.

She was in the process of cutting short Harry Styles “Sign of the Times” when she found herself gripped by the arm and swung around. Robert met her glare with one of his own and reached to tug her earbuds out. She smacked his hand away and tried to wrench her arm from his grasp. Of course, he held her tight.

Gritting her teeth, she snarled at him, “Let me go!”

His nostrils flared and his fingers tightened around her skin for just a second before he eased his grip. He didn’t let her go. “What the fuck’s your problem, woman?” he demanded. “What’s with all the hostility?”

She narrowed her eyes and waited for the usual panic to flare up inside her chest. Waited for the nausea and black dots to swarm. But nothing like that happened. Her stomach was in knots and heat was rising within her, but she wasn’t… afraid? Even though a towering man was clearly annoyed with her, she wasn’t scared of him. Hmm, maybe nearly three days of his irritating presence had rendered him less frightening.

“Just back off and stop messing around with me and my stuff all the time,” she growled up at him, tugging at her arm again.

She glanced down pointedly at his hold. Holy crap, his hand circled the entirety of her upper arm! He could crush her so easily if he wanted! A tiny flutter of panic flared within her, but she stomped it down. She’d been living with him for days. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he could’ve done it at any time. Like when he had his hand wrapped around her neck in the park.

“Is it too much to ask for a little space in my own home?” she demanded.

Then she did something she hadn’t done in years. She voluntarily touched another person that wasn’t her daughter. She placed her hand in the middle of his chest and tried to push him away, out of her space. It was like trying to move a mountain. She glanced up in time to see a flare of heat that she easily recognized as unbridled lust flash through his hazel eyes.

Oh oh.

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