Page 19 of Protecting Talia

She blew out a breath and shook her head. “It probably wasn’t anything, but my last delivery was some jerk. He came outside and met me on his porch, telling me I had to go inside his house to set the bags down on his counter.”

“What the hell?”

“Yeah. I set the bags on the ground. He lunged toward me while I was placing them, and I fell. My ass hurts.”

Zip chuckled. “I’m not going to offer to kiss it.”

His words made her laugh. It felt good to laugh about it. She’d been so hot before, but now that she was in Zip’s arms, she could see the funny side.

Zip stopped laughing and sobered. “I want you to be careful while you’re out there. Do you have mace?”

She shook her head. “No. I used to, but it was cheap, and the thing broke. Ruined my purse.”

“I’ll buy you some that is good. I want you to practice using it.”

“How?”

“We could use a spray bottle. You don’t have to mace me, though I have been maced before. It’s part of our training so you could if you feel you need to.”

She nodded. “I wouldn’t want to mace you. I guess we could practice with a spray bottle.”

“I want you to feel safe.”

“I wish I didn’t have to work two jobs, but I can’t make it without the extra money delivering stuff.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

She nodded. “Yeah. How was your day?”

He shrugged. She wondered if he was going to stay silent when he turned to face her, his lips down in a frown. Worry hit.

“What?”

“One of the other SEALs was at the beach. He saw me confront those two jerks.”

Heat filled her, racing up her neck to her face. Breathing became difficult, and her head started to swim. Zip held onto her elbows and lowered his head, locking his gaze with hers.

“He said he had my back. I don’t know how much he heard, but he told me he supports me—us.”

She shook her head. “He doesn’t know me.”

“No, but he knows me, and he knows I’m solid.”

She shook her head and tried to turn. “I shouldn’t?—”

“No. I’m not losing you because of some idiot.”

“I’m not yours.”

“You may not be yet, but I’m not giving up.”

Her heart swelled at his words, and her throat closed. He knew what to say to make her feel like she couldn’t walk away from him. She hated that she was becoming dependent on him. He could easily crush her, but she couldn’t pull away, not yet. She wanted to see what was next for them.

11

Zip could feel the agitation and worry coming off Talia. He had to admit he would be worried, too. She’d had a rough life, been abused, and treated like shit. It would be easy to form such a hard shell no one could get in. He hoped she let him in.

He grilled steaks and vegetables and heated up mac and cheese while the steaks were on the grill. She tried to help, but he told her to sit and let him take care of everything.

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