Page 104 of Guarding Bristol

“Let’s hope.”She laid her head back down on his chest.Sighed.“I’m gonna have nightmares for weeks about hearing those shots, seeing the blood, and then you drowning in the water.I threw a life ring at you.Not that it did much good.”She shivered.

TJ tightened his arms around her.“Heard you called the Coast Guard.And fired a flare gun too.”

“I did.Pretty proud of myself for that, actually.”

“You should be.I’m damned proud of you too.”

She snuggled in closer.“Travis and Brandon pulled me from the boat.”

“I heard that too.”He combed his fingers through her hair, tried to shut out the image of her scared and tied up and alone on that burning boat in the middle of the storm, thinking he was dead.“I’m so damned sorry, Bristol.For everything.”

She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his chest.“I know.I forgive you.”

Just like that.No hesitation.God, he didn’t deserve her or her soft heart.

Then she sniffed, and her shoulders jerked.

“Hey.”He cupped her jaw, tried to tip her face up to his, but she curled tighter into him.

“Don’t you dare t-tell me not to c-cry,” she blurted.“Cry if I want to.”

Yeah, she could.And at least he could hold her through this storm.

When her tears finally faded, he reached down for the throw blanket on the end of her bed and spread it over her, kissed the top of her head.“You need anything?”

“Just you,” she whispered, and his heart squeezed painfully.“God, how can I feel this way when I barely even know you?”

“You do know me.”All the most important things.

“No, I don’t.”

He traced a finger down her cheek.“You know I’d die for you.”

Shock flickered across her face.“Don’t say that,” she whispered, looking aghast.

“Why not?It’s true.Also, I love your fire and your quick mind.I love your bravery.I love your big, tender heart that scares the shit out of me.”

“Why does it scare you?”

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt.”He loved pretty much everything about her he’d seen so far.Was pretty sure he was more than halfway in love with her already, as unreal as that sounded.“Your body is hideous though.Utterly disgusting.”He squeezed her sweet, round ass.

Bristol snort-laughed and gave him a mock glare, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.“So you do have a sense of humor after all.”

“Yeah.It’s rusty,” he admitted, “but it’s still in there somewhere.Maybe you can help polish it up a bit.”

“Hmm, maybe.I wonder what other mysteries I can uncover?”

“Like what?”

“Your favorite foods, and music, and what you like to do for fun.Plus a million other more important things that make you, you.”

“Some of that’s pretty deep.Finding all that out might take a while.”

“It could, depending on how difficult you are.”

He suppressed a grin.“Could take days.Weeks.Months.Longer, even.”

“Let’s hope notthatlong.”She looked up at him.Went still.“But that would mean you’d need to stick around long enough to give me the chance.”Her eyes searched his.

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