Page 11 of Mine to Protect

He didn’t mind being used. Hell, he preferred it that way.

He’d also decided that, at forty-three, he wasn’t marriage material—much to his mother’s dismay. She wanted all her boys to get married and give her lots of grandchildren. So far, she had three from Seth, and two with one on the way from Nathan. Emmett and his fiancée planned to adopt. And Jamison and his wife had two kids and also wanted to adopt a child.

The fucking pressure on him, Emmerson, and Miles to reproduce in some fashion was often unbearable.

It was even worse when his dad got in on it.

As if they didn’t have enough offspring who’d already reproduced.

“What about you? Anyone special in your life?” Acid filled the back of his throat. If she had someone, he wanted to know now. Heneededto know. It would help him keep all the visions of holding her late at night in his new king-size bed that overlooked the open water at the end of the point at bay.

“Not currently.”

Shit. That wasn’t going to help.

However. He was a different man than he had been five years ago. He’d done the right thing by letting her go, and he could be professional now. But his mother wanted him to keep a close eye on her, which meant either he talked her into staying in his guest room...

Or Melinda, Emmett’s ex-girlfriend, could put her up at the Landon Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast. But that meant sleeping in his Jeep. Again.

He really didn’t want to do that.

But he would if he had to for the integrity of the case.

He glanced at his watch. It was pushing seven in the evening. It wasn’t that long of a drive back up to Jacksonville, and she could easily do it, but that wasn’t an option. He pushed his food to the side and reached across the table, resting his hand gently over hers. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go home. Not just because it’s late, but my brothers or mom might need to talk with you during the next day or two. And you might be able to aid me in my investigation. Remember, I can do things they can’t.”

“I was going to find a hotel.”

“A family friend of mine has a bed and breakfast not far from here. I know she has a room, but I also live right around the corner. Why don’t you stay with me?”

She narrowed her eyes, holding his gaze with a piercing stare as if the ocean had suddenly erupted in a storm. Her lips parted as if she were about to say something, so he waited for what seemed like ten minutes, only the birds making any noise.

He cleared his throat.

“I have a couple of nice guest rooms. A pool with a spa. I’m also right on the river. It would be easier for when I need you to answer questions.”

“If I were to stay with you, I don’t want you to think it would be a repeat of five years ago. I don’t want that from you.”

“I’m not suggesting that at all. I only want to help find your brother and his girlfriend.”

Shelby’s lashes fluttered over her big blue eyes. She nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay with you. I appreciate the hospitality.”

“My mom will feel much better about you staying with me than at the B&B.”

“Why?” she asked.

Shit. He shouldn’t have said that, and now he had to come up with something better than the fact that her brother might be sleeping with a member of a mob family. “My mom doesn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable, and if she or my brothers were coming and going from the bed and breakfast, that might make the guests uneasy.”

“Oh. I see. That makes sense.”

He stood, grabbing the empty trays of food. “Come on. You can follow me back to my place. While you get settled, I have a couple of errands to run. In the morning, we can go over everything you know about your brother’s girlfriend and anything else you think may be important.”

She jumped to her feet, raced around the table, and grabbed his arm. “Thank you for not thinking I’m crazy.”

The oxygen in his lungs flew out like a jet screaming down a runway. It would take all his energy to keep his damn fucking hands to himself. Even wrapping his arms around her in comfort would be too dangerous.

Maybe he could explore a date after he found her brother.

But not until then.

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