Page 31 of Color of Love

Those damn words still haunted him. Did they mean anything?

The door to the bar banged open, startling them both and they leapt apart. He looked over and saw a couple of guys stumbling out, laughing, and waited until they’d wandered off down the road before he turned to face Justine. He needed a minute to get his body under control.

“What the hell was that about, Blake? That was humiliating!” she cried, her expression cold and shut off now.

“I was trying to protect you. You should’ve heard what that guy was saying about you in the bathroom. You need someone looking out for you if you’re going to continue meeting up with strangers. Do you know what they wanted to do to you?” he huffed.

“I wasn’t going to be doing anything with them. My date was just walking me to my car! Do you think I’m that easy that it only takes one date and I’ll spread my legs?” she spat at him. The thought of her spreading her legs for anyone but him had rage coiling low in his gut.

“Of course I don’t think that but I wasn’t sure if you knew what they wanted from you. You said you don’t have much experience with guys and I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he replied, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

“I don’t need to have any experience with guys to be able to handle myself. You had no right to interfere!” she shouted at him, her chest heaving in the moonlight. He stepped forward, getting in her space.

“Justine, have you ever been with a man?”

“What? Why are you asking me that?” she asked, her anger dialling down in her confusion.

“Because some guys are good guys, and some are bad and that guy you were on your date with was going to try and take advantage of you. You don’t have the experience to tell the difference yet and I was just trying to make sure your first experience didn’t end up being one you’d never forget, for all the wrong reasons.” His anger was getting the better of him. She was fine, she hadn’t been hurt but she could have been, and he didn’t like the thought one bit.

“Thank you, Deputy Miller, for humiliating me so, what would I do without you?” she muttered sarcastically, she looked away, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Justine, you said this week that you trust me, I need you to trust that I did the right thing for you tonight. I don’t want you getting hurt,” he said, his tone sincere and after a beat, her eyes softened at him in the moonlight.

“I do trust you, thank you for looking out for me. I mean it, even if you’ve now made it so no man will ever come near me,” she joked, and started walking towards her car. He smiled to himself; he couldn’t deny that was a stroke of genius on his part. He didn’t want her to be lonely, but he didn’t want her with anyone else either.

“You can count on me, Justine. If you need me or don’t feel safe, just call me,” he called after her. She nodded at him and then left.

That night, he went home alone.

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