Page 102 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

“Why? You can’t talk to me like this?”

“Naked? No, I’m pretty sure no man could talk to you like this.”

“Well, that’s just too bad. You’re going to tell me what’s going on, or I’ll just stand here naked.”

“That’s going to be pretty embarrassing when I carry you out of here.” I glanced at my watch. “We need to be on the road in an hour.”

“I can wait.”

“So can I,” I said, taking a seat in the chair by the window. I crossed my arms over my chest, once again pretending that this was totally normal. That I could stare at her naked body and not react to it. It was damn fucking hard, and so was I, but I wasn’t giving in on this point. I would not get involved with a client.

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“I’m not stubborn. I’m logical.”

“You’re a pain in the ass,” she retorted. Biting her lip, she walked over to the chair and snatched her dirty clothes, tugging them on. I shifted in my chair, growing more uncomfortable by the minute as I watched her ass sway as she pulled on her pants, struggling with only one arm. “You could help, you know,” she shot over her shoulder.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t,” I said, clearing my throat. I was painfully hard now. If I stood and walked over to her, I would do things I really shouldn’t do.

“Fine. Be a jerk.”

“Trust me, you want me to be a jerk.”

But that all went out the window the moment she pulled the sling off and cringed in pain. Getting to my feet, I stalked over to her and grabbed the top to help her into it. She slowly looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes asking me for something I couldn’t give. We had issues to deal with, and none of those would be solved with a quick roll in the sack.

“Let’s get this on you.”

“I thought you didn’t want to help.”

I gripped the shirt even tighter, fighting the urge to do what I really wanted. “We have to leave,” I said, sliding the shirt over her head and helping her arms through. After getting her flannel shirt on, I stepped back, rubbing my hand across the back of my neck.

“I’ll be in the truck.”

I turned and stormed out of the room, berating myself for being so weak. As I sat in the truck and waited for her, I wondered if it would really be that terrible to give in and take what I wanted. But as she walked out of the room, looking a little more than dejected, I realized too many people had already used her. I wouldn’t be one of them.

“Ready?” I asked as she got in the truck.

“Sure.”

I put the truck in reverse and pulled out of the lot. It was going to be a long drive to Kansas.

* * *

We drovefor most of the morning in silence. The air was broken in our new-old truck, so the windows were down and the hot breeze was the only thing keeping us moderately cool. We would stop in Colorado for the night before continuing in the morning. I had a lot on my mind, worrying about how Hayes was involved in this, what Beth knew that might get us into trouble, and my own company.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as I glanced over at her, trying to find a way to move past what happened this morning. The only thing I could think of was to tell her exactly how it was, and that might cause a greater fallout in the end. But it had to be done.

“I don’t sleep with clients,” I said bluntly, not bothering to look over at her.

“Excuse me?”

I pressed my lips together, irritated I had to talk about this. “You’re a client, and I get it. I saved your life and now you think there’s something between us. It happens a lot. But Beth, no matter how many times I save your life, nothing’s going to happen between us.”

I sat there, waiting for a response when she finally gave a one word answer. “Wow.”

I waited for more, but it didn’t come. Finally, I tore my eyes from the road and looked over at her. “Wow, what?”

“You really think a lot of yourself.”

---