Page 26 of Challenging Her Protector

“Didn’t you do the exact same thing when you left the rehearsal dinner?” He glanced over to the passenger seat. She was still nibbling her bottom lip. How he wished he had the right to pull over to the side of the road and kiss the worry right off her face.

“I feel so ashamed, Iron. Why’d I wait so long? Why didn’t I say enough is enough years ago?” Her eyes focused on her clasped hands in her lap.

“It’s easy for the what-ifs to take over once a situation has passed. You can’t go back. Only forward.” The irony of his words wasn’t lost on him. Those what-ifs still kept him up at night. Sometimes he’d dream that he’d made a different decision and pulled Scooter away from danger and they’d all come back to US soil as a team of six. Then he’d wake up to reality, the nightmare, and realize he’d never get the chance to amend his mistake.

“I know. I just let myself become trapped for so long. I don’t want to waste the rest of my life making decisions that won’t bring me what I want.”

“What is it that you want, Vee?” His voice drifted through the vehicle like smoke.

“Home. A family. Somewhere to belong.”

Up in the distance, his bungalow came into view and there was a pang in his chest. She’d shaken him up and he wasn’t sure things would ever completely settle back into place when she was gone. “No matter what happens, no matter where you go, you have a place with us here in Virginia.”

He pulled into the driveway, parked the car, and turned off the ignition. The interior of the SUV was silent without the hum of the engine.

When she directed her gaze at him, his heart caught in his throat at those wide, innocent eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

“Thank you,” she whispered. They sat there, eyes locked. Thoughts he didn’t dare speak joined the crackling energy snapping in the space between them. He released a long breath, willing himself not to do something stupid like lean over the center console and kiss her. She had healing to do and needed all her strength and attention focused on one thing. Finding herself. “Ready to hit the beach?” he asked, tone lighter than it had been in a long time.

“Let’s go.” She grinned at him and opened the car door.

*

After Iron duga pair of swim trunks out from the back of his drawer and pulled them up over his hips, he took off his prosthetic. Vee had already seen him without it. Maybe that’s why he’d been so comfortable suggesting they spend the afternoon on his private stretch of beach. He wasn’t embarrassed by his lack of a leg. He just hated the potential for awkward questions or comments and then people either distancing themselves or being too helpful because they assumed he wasn’t capable. For Vee, it just simply was. If she asked a question, it was out of simple curiosity. Him being an amputee didn’t seem to affect her one way or the other, so he’d made the decision to do something he hadn’t in years. Spread a towel out on the sand and swim in the sea. He stood, positioning the cushioned top of the crutch beneath his arm, and moved across the room. When he got into the living room, Vee was waiting with two towels and one of those radiant smiles on her face. If he hadn’t come to know her, hadn’t watched the transformation before his own eyes, he might’ve thought her frequent grins were disingenuous, something for the cameras. This fresh-faced, bright-eyed woman’s joy was addictive, though. He didn’t miss the way her eyes roamed his body, pausing on his chest. When a pretty blush colored her cheeks and burst of heat speared through him. She already looked far healthier from when they’d stolen her away from Texas. She’d been beautiful before, but watching her blossom over the past week and embracing her new life made him realize how her smile, which didn’t reach her eyes at first, now radiated. She stood up from the couch and he nearly swallowed his tongue. The bikini she wore was conservative but did nothing to hide her full breasts or the flare of her hips. She was a decade his junior. His friend’s sister. The last thing she needed was to have the man who’d committed to protecting her, gawk at her.

“I got some towels from the bathroom closet.”

“Thanks. Lead the way.” He recognized his mistake the moment she turned around. The flirty ties on either side of her bottoms danced against her hips as she walked out to the deck. Once they hit the beach, he had to focus on not faceplanting in the loose sand. She was already opening the towels, the wind tugging at the bright-blue edges of the fabric, when he joined her by the water.

“It’s beautiful here. I can see why you love it.”

“Haven’t been out here in years.” When she just stared at him, he continued. “I watch the water from the deck, but it’s been a while since I’ve experienced it up-close-and-personal like this. Even longer since I’ve been in the water.” He tossed the crutch onto the sand beside him and crouched down, bracing both arms in front of him. The terry cloth towel touched his hands, and he walked them back, easing into a sitting position.

“Why?” She sat next to him and opened a bottle of suntan lotion that must’ve been concealed between the towels.

“At first, I was too busy healing, then hating what I’d become.” His gaze inadvertently moved to the overgrown vines on the pergola. “After that I threw myself into making the shop work. I’m not lying when I say the last few weeks have reminded me of how I used to feel before the explosion that killed my teammate. Before I lost my leg and gave up my career as a SEAL. The first time I’ve felt a flicker of purpose outside my collision center or the baseball team. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of those things, especially time on the field with the kids, but meeting you has made me see things in a different way.”

Vee poured some lotion between her hands and smoothed it down one long leg.Jesus.Why had he thought this was a good idea? The surf crashed against the shore, then receded. The bold sun overhead glinted against the water, making it gleam silver.

“At the shop when you said you shouldn’t be so happy while Thalia was still missing, well, that hits hard for me. I feel the same way about Scooter. I don’t know how I’m supposed to let him go.”

“Maybe you’re not supposed to. Maybe he’d want you to hold him right here.” She reached over and placed her hand over his heart. “You might have space for the memories if you let go of the guilt. I don’t think he’d want you to feel responsible for his death. He made a choice too. Knew the stakes were high, right?”

“Yeah, of course. There were three hostages.”

“What happened to them?”

“They were saved because Scooter diverted the attention by rushing toward the terrorists.”

“He died a hero, Iron. And despite what you want to believe, you’re one too.” She dropped her hand but not her gaze, holding him hostage with eyes as silvery blue as the ocean.

“I’m no hero, Vee. I’m broken.” His words were rough and low, blending with the wind and surf.

“No Iron.” She shook her head, face more solemn than he’d seen before. “You’re unbreakable.” She touched his face, almost reverently, then got to her knees and moved behind him. “I’ll do your back. You do mine. Then we hit the water.” He wasn’t sure if she’d changed the subject abruptly because she sensed his distress. It felt like she was slowly chipping away at his pain, taking some of it to hold on her own. Her hands started in the center of his back and spread across his shoulders. She wasn’t just applying lotion but kneading the tight muscles of his shoulders and neck.

The scent of coconut swirled with salty air and made his stomach clench. He dug one hand into the sand beside him and fisted it into the tiny granules, trying to temper the intense physical response he was experiencing. He wasn’t going to fuck this up by doing something stupid, but each time the little beauty queen stroked his skin, the sensation made his cock swell. He stifled a curse when she stood up and circled around him, sitting between his legs. She lifted her thick hair, dropping it over her left shoulder. He should be thankful. If she’d sat any closer, there’d be no mistaking the result of his attraction against her back.

His hands trembled when he squirted lotion into his palms, more when her sun-warmed skin was beneath his fingertips. He swallowed hard as he applied lotion to the back of her neck and over the delicate slope of her shoulders. Was it his imagination, or had she leaned back into his touch? He couldn’t shake the mental image of cupping her lush breasts, of dipping his fingers beneath the hem of her bikini bottoms to bring her to climax as they faced the sea, just like this, with her back pressed against his chest.

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