Page 26 of Her Billionaire Hero
Knowing that I had been in a ten-year relationship with the man who’d had an affair with my mother had really done a number on me. What would knowing that he’d also killed her do?
I was in a fragile place, whether I had realized it or not. But Baldwyn had seen it clearly. He’d stepped right up, right away. He had my back and that was what really mattered—for now.
I needed someone to protect me and he was the man for the job. Tall, lean, a real fighting machine—if he had to be—Baldwyn was hero material. And from what he’d said, he wanted to watch over me, protect me, and kill for me if it came down to it. Which I knew it wouldn’t.
Rubbing my sore cheek, I thought about why I was so sure where Preston was concerned. Sure, the man was under tremendous pressure, but hitting me, treating me like I was his property, wasn’t warranted or even expected.
A light rap came on the door and I jerked the blanket up to cover myself as I yelped with surprise. The door opened slowly, and Baldwyn peeked inside. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just heard you moving around in here and thought I’d make sure you’re okay.” He came to the bed and sat on the edge of it, pushing my hair away from my face. “You know we can sleep together if it’ll make you feel safe.” He smiled at me with such genuine affection that my heart melted. “This isn’t a come-on either. I’ll keep a blanket border between us.”
Or we could just sleep together, skin to skin.
I wasn’t sure how much I could control myself if we were all cuddled up in bed together, blanket border or not. But I wasn’t getting any sleep and I would need some for work the next day. So, I threw back the blanket and scooted over. “I will accept your offer, kind sir.”
He had on a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, so he was covered. And I had on a set of pajama shorts and a crop top, so I was sort of covered. I’d never been able to sleep in full pajama gear.
As I held the blanket up, he tried hard not to look at my bare legs and midriff. But my bulging breasts that burst from the top part of the low-cut shirt were too much for him. “Um, uh, I think …”
Even though I wasn’t trying to seduce him at all, or look at his private area, I found that I had affected him. His pajama bottoms were beginning to tent. “Oh.” My cheeks heated with embarrassment. He was trying to be there for me, and I was taking advantage of his generous nature. “I didn’t mean to …”
Shaking his head, he climbed into bed, moving his finger in a circle to gesture for me to roll over on my side, facing away from him. “Let’s not make this weird.” He shoved a pillow between our bodies, then ran his arm over my waist, holding me, but not tightly. “I just want you to feel safe, not on edge that I’m trying to get action from you.”
And it would be sweet action too.
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure how thankful I truly was about his gentlemanly ways. “This does make me feel better—more secure. You’re an exceptionally good man, babe.” The term tumbled off my lips. “I mean, Baldwyn.”
“You make me want to be a good man.” He kissed my cheek. “Babe.”
With him there, even with the pillow between us, I fell asleep with ease. When I woke up alone, disappointment filled me. I’d been hoping to get a glimpse of him sleeping. I wanted to see his unruly curls even more disheveled, gaze at his pouty lips as he snored lightly, his cheeks red from the heat of being pressed against a pillow. But no. I didn’t get to see any of that since he’d gotten up before me.
It was my own fault for being lazy. I usually woke up earlier than that. It seemed that sleeping in his arms had lulled me completely. I already looked forward to the night ahead, sleeping in his arms once again.
Getting out of bed, I went to shower and get ready for work. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I went to the kitchen, finding the scent of fresh coffee hanging in the air, along with a sweet smell. “Did you make breakfast?” The stack of pancakes answered my question as he held them up. “Wow, color me impressed.”
He set the plate on the bar. “I’ve got some scrambled eggs and bacon too.” He put another plate on the bar then came around it to pull out a barstool. “My lady.” I took the seat, then blushed as he kissed my cheek. “You look radiant this morning.”
“Um, thanks.” He’d surprised me once again. “You’re a real treat.”
“I try to be.” Pouring us a couple of mugs of coffee, he put just the right amount of cream in mine, then poured in two sugar packets before bringing them to the bar. “I thought we needed a great start to this new day.”
“Well, you’ve outdone yourself. I feel like today will be awesome.” Stabbing a couple of pancakes with the fork that had been placed next to the plates he’d already set out on the bar, I helped myself, feeling hungrier than ever for some reason. “I’ve never been a breakfast person, but you may have changed me into one.”
“Good.” He took a seat next to me, filling his plate. “The truth is that I’ve never been one either. But cooking for you has turned me into a breakfast person too.” He nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. “We complement each other well. Don’t you think so?”
“I have to agree with you on that.” He seemed to rise to the occasion like cream to the top since he’d decided to become my protector. “Being my hero suits you, Baldwyn Nash.”
“Please don’t call me that.” He dug into the eggs. “I care about you, and making sure you’re safe just goes along with that. I’m no hero.”
I could tell he wasn’t going to let me gush about how great he was. “Okay. You’re just doing what any friend would do.”
“Well, maybe I am doing a bit more than what anyfriendwould do.” He placed his fork on the plate then turned to face me, turning my stool around so I was staring straight at him.
Only I still held my forkful of eggs. I had the feeling something was about to happen and put it on my plate quickly as he looked at me with an odd expression on his handsome face.
My heart began to race for some reason, and I held my jaw tightly. “I’ve got a funny feeling, Baldwyn.”
“Me too.” He huffed. “My stomach does weird things when I’m around you. It tickles in a way, almost wiggles at times. My heart does odd things too—speeds up, slows down—aches at times. All when you’re around. Funny, huh?”
“It sounds sort of painful. So, not funny at all.” I had to grin, as I knew he was getting around to saying something meaningful to me.
