Page 59 of Guarding Bristol

“Sure, he’s in the truck.”

She followed him over to the pickup and waited while Beckett opened the rear right passenger door.A furry little head popped up, droopy eyes half closed from being woken in the middle of his sleep, but his long, feathery tail thumped gently against the edge of his bed in greeting.

Oh, he was the most adorable old guy.“Hello, Walter.”

Walter got up with a weary grunt and turned his oddly shaped little body around so he was facing her.She leaned inside to stroke his head, felt the unexpected prick of tears when he licked the back of her hand.His breath was terrible, but she didn’t care.“You are thesweetestthing.”God, why was she on the verge of crying again?She was safe.

“He’s a good boy,” Beckett said from behind her.

Okay.Get it together.Back to reality.“Thank you,” she said, kissing the top of Walter’s fluffy bedhead.When she straightened and turned around, Beckett had a slight smile on his normally hard face.“I really needed that.”

“Walter’s happy to oblige, anytime.”He reached past her, ruffled the top of the dog’s head.

When she looked past him, she found TJ watching her from next to the elevator.She felt the impact of his gaze right down to her core, and an answering heat bloomed in all the right places.

Or all thewrongones.

They thanked Beckett again and got into the elevator.Jase rode up with them to show them the unit, but by the time they got there, her entire body was humming with an almost electrical awareness of TJ.Need and arousal pulsed through her, and the harder she tried to suppress it, the stronger it got.Until her skin felt so sensitive she could hardly stand it.

That brief, forbidden kiss earlier had changed something inside her, and now she couldn’t shut it off.

“It’s only one bedroom, but it’s still peak tourist season, so we’re running low on inventory right now,” Jase said as he let them in.

The strong smell of new paint hit her first.The unit was small but the light buttercream paint on the walls made it seem larger and airier.Everything looked brand new and spotless, but the space was practically bare, with just a sofa and TV in the living room, and the made-up queen bed in the bedroom.

“Towels and whatever are in the bathroom.”

“This is great, thanks,” TJ said to Jase, standing a step ahead of her.She took the opportunity to eye the breadth of his shoulders.Imagined running her hands over his bare back, tracing all the muscles.Digging her fingers deep into them while his weight pressed her into a flat surface.

She pushed out a breath, tried to shake off those thoughts and the growing ache building inside her.

After explaining the security system, Jase left them.TJ locked the door behind him.

When he turned around to face her, her insides tightened painfully.“You take the bed,” he told her, expression unreadable.

But she knew his indifference was a mask.She’d seen the cracks in his façade earlier tonight.For all he pretended otherwise, she knew she wasn’t the only one fighting the pull between them.

She stood in the bedroom doorway as he walked past her to the couch in the tiny living room and started making up a bed there.

Bristol watched him, deep in thought.She had an important decision to make.

Tonight had shaken her false sense of security, had shown her just how uncertain life could be.TJ had protected her.Had comforted her.

He had also lived a life of severe deprivation on the streets for too long.He’d gone without human kindness or contact for too long, and she was sure that included any emotional connection with a woman.

The fact was, she wanted him.And she was pretty sure he wanted her too, much as he seemed determined to fight it.So even if it was completely out of character, she was going to have to be the one to make a move.

A heady surge of feminine power rolled over her as she walked up behind him.As if sensing her presence, he stilled, the blanket in his hands.He stood motionless, the air around them crackling with latent anticipation.

It was now or never.

Dredging up every last bit of courage she possessed, she stepped around in front of him.Her gaze found and held his as she brought her hands up to settle on his shoulders.She couldn’t resist sinking her fingers into the thick muscles there.Testing the power of him.Reveling in it while her pulse went crazy.

His dark eyes stayed locked on hers.“Don’t,” he warned, his voice low.But the fire blazing there belied what had just come out of his mouth.

The heat between them intensified, igniting a delicious throb between her legs.And something in her enjoyed seeing him like this.Watching him fight the attraction and being able to push his buttons, seeing how far she could go until he snapped.

TJ didn’t move, but the muscles under her hands were locked tight as she slowly skimmed them down to his collarbones, to the first button holding his flannel shirt together.

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