Page 20 of Protecting Andie

His eyebrows shot up. “Like what?”

“The bathroom has to be clean. I can’t stand a dirty bathroom.”

He shrugged. “I entered the Navy young and scrubbed so many latrines and showers I might still have blisters from scrubbing. I absolutely will not live with a dirty bathroom.”

“I change sheets every three days. I can’t sleep on dirty sheets.”

He nodded. “That’s reasonable.”

“I hate olives. They make me want to puke.”

“I don’t have any feelings about olives.”

“When people comment on my weight, it hits me hard. Sometimes, I sit in the bathtub and cry with a bottle of wine.”

He cupped her cheeks. “Hopefully, you’ll listen to me and understand that I think you are beautiful and other people’s opinions don’t matter.”

“Are you just blowing smoke up my ass so you can fuck the fat girl and go home to brag to your friends?”

He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t know who told you that you weren’t beautiful and desirable, but they suck. I am hard as a rock just looking at you naked. I want you. I want you as you are. I don’t care what other people say women are supposed to look like. I want you.”

She sighed. “But you don’t really know me.”

“You are trying to find every excuse, aren’t you?”

“I just don’t want to fall in love and then have you leave me when your friends start calling me porky or piggy.”

“I’d beat the shit out of them if they did, and they know that. I’m not so shallow as to care what other people think about you. And I do know stuff about you. Emily talks, and I listen. I know you’re a really good friend to her. You are a good person and worthy of love.”

She sat back and frowned, trying to think about when she’d grown so dark. A long time ago she’d been full of happiness. “It was Tony,” she whispered. “Before him, I didn’t care about my weight, but he put me down time and time again. I took it in.”

“Words hurt. They have the power to stick with us long after we should have abandoned them. What can I do to help you?”

She blinked at him, thinking her life was surreal. “You really are a good person.”

He chuckled and leaned in to kiss her. “I try to be. It feels good to hear you say that. I know this is new, but I can’t deny my feelings.”

“I feel like we’re moving fast, but I also feel like I’ve known you for a long time.”

“I want this to work between us. Seriously, come to San Diego with me. The reality of my job means I could end up having to leave on a mission. I don’t deploy for another eighteen months.”

“What is that like?”

“I’m gone for six months to a year. It sucks for people left at home, but it’s part of the gig.”

“I can get through anything as long as I have you in my corner.”

“We’ll need to talk about the realities of being deployed. But right now, I need to be inside you.”

The look in his eyes turned her on. He was so freaking sexy. She dropped back to the bed, laughter spilling out. “Take me now.”

“Done,” Rider said before kissing his way from her knees up to her pussy.

She let him do his thing, loving how skilled he was with his tongue. He had her begging for more in minutes. As he slid in, she moaned and arched up, needing more. He felt so damn good she thought she might burst into flames. How the heck had she gotten so lucky?

12

Rider had only had sex one time without a condom and that had been over a decade ago. He’d been young and dumb, but incredibly lucky that nothing happened.

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