Page 67 of His to Protect

“You in? I don’t know if I can pay you much. You’ve seen my accounts.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I mean, whatever you can swing would be great, and I’ll still get tips…”

Her voice trailed off and her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip. When her hand on mine loosened and she started to pull it away, I gripped her tighter. “What is it?”

“Well.” Her lips twisted to the side. Something inside me twisted and turned along with them. “I’m thinking that if I’m staying, I should probably look for a place to live.”

I didn’t want her going anywhere. I liked her in my home, settled and safe. “But there’s no way I can get approved for something, not now, anyway.”

She frowned and looked out the window. I instantly detected her sadness, mixed with an anger I hadn’t previously seen.

“I hate him,” she whispered. Her quiet words were clipped with fury. “I was always taught not to hate because there’s good in everybody. But the only thing good about Kevin is his wallet, and even that’s tainted and worthless if it’s in the pocket of the kind of man he is.”

I knew she was talking more to herself than to me, but I couldn’t deny the pride that surged through me at her quietly confident words.

“Blue,” I said, an idea instantly blooming.

Her head jerked and she twisted toward me. “What?”

“Blue. Tyson just asked her to move in with him, and she’s got a great pad at an apartment complex in Latham Hills. Gated entrance with twenty-four-hour security guards. Tags for resident’s cars, outside security cameras, and an indoor alarm system in all the units. I bet she’ll let you sublease if you want, until you can find something else, wherever you want to go, but you’ll be safe there.”

Her head tilted and that frown increased. “You think I should do that?”

No. Absolutely not. I wanted her in my bed. In my house. I liked waking up to her. I liked it when I came back from a run, or came up from my gym in the basement, and the first thing I saw was her, drinking coffee, reading the paper, or frying bacon at the stove. Took my breath away every time.

“I want you to be where you’re most comfortable. I want you at my place,” I admitted. “I like you there.” I squeezed her hand to reassure her. “But if you want your own place, something to call yours, then I don’t see why that would be a problem.”

“Unless they don’t allow dogs.”

“They do,” I told her. “You decide and we can talk to Blue when we get home if you want. But I know that she was going to have to find someone to cover her lease or else pay the penalty fee for canceling early. Plus, this way, she can probably leave her furniture for you, since Tyson’s got everything.”

She smiled and a wistful expression flashed in her eyes. Fuck. She was thinking about this. She wanted this. A place to call hers.

I couldn’t blame her, either.

A slow breath parted her lips and then she licked them, looking down at our clasped hands before dragging her eyes to meet mine. When she did, she gave my hand a small but firm squeeze. “I’ll have to think about it.”

I wanted to talk her out of it.

But just like with the Explorer earlier, Trina needed to be the one to make this decision.

She had always had someone telling her what to do, where to be…whoto be.

I couldn’t be that guy.

I did it once with Mara and it ended in disaster.

And I already knew I wanted Trina more than I could ever remember wanting Mara.

---