Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
It took him a couple beats, but eventually, he managed a stiff nod, and that settled things for me.
This was happening.
“Then you’re under my care.” I rubbed his back slowly, feeling all the contrasts that made up Danny Rose under my fingertips. His sleek, trim muscles. Soft flesh. His warmth.
Welcome to my personal hell.
I’d been struck by his appearance two years ago too. Especially those eyes and his rare, genuine grins. But Danny was right—I’d been closed off. That was how I coped easier. Seeing so many soldiers, being in and out of so many people’s lives…and never lingering.
If it weren’t for my family, I wouldn’t have anybody either. Before I’d taken on the twins, I was used to coming home to an empty flat and having dinner by myself. Which stung a bit more when I placed Danny in the same shoes. I didn’t want him to feel lonely.
“What do you need money for?”
“My future,” he croaked and cleared his throat. He let his hands fall too.
“Elaborate.”
“Are we just gonna stand here and hug?”
“Yes.” I felt a smirk tug at my lips. “Although, you’re not really hugging me back.”
“Because it’s weird. You’re weird as fuck, Payne.”
I chuckled under my breath and had to fight the urge to do something stupid. Like kiss the side of his head. For a fraction of a second, that was all I wanted.
He was right. I was weird as fuck.
“Tell me about your future,” I repeated.
He let out a steadying breath. “I wanna buy a farm and have a bunch of rescue animals, but I gotta pay someone to watch them when I work.”
Goddamn. Yeah, that fit his profile. It spoke volumes of his character, too. Those animals would love him back unconditionally and never leave his side.
It gave me insight into more than that. Maybe he’d given up on finding another person to share his life with. Maybe he didn’t dare try. Maybe he didn’t believe he was worthy of friends. Maybe he thought they would bail anyway. Maybe a wife and kids didn’t interest him. Maybe I was thick in the head for pretending I didn’t already know he was gay. I mean, I was fairly certain.
“That’s a good dream,” I murmured.
He took another breath, a longer and deeper one, and rested his forehead on my shoulder.
The last of the tension was draining out of him, and it felt so fucking amazing. I wanted him to be able to relax around me. I understood it would take time before he didn’t tense up at first, but this had to be a good first step.
I was in trouble. I remembered, two years ago, I’d thought…in another time and place, I would’ve made a move on him. Danny was the right amount of complicated and feisty for me. I was rarely interested in perfect covers and untattered pages, because I was none of those things. Give me something to sink my teeth into. Someone who had his own scars and battle tales. Someone who could understand my own journey. But that didn’t matter anymore. I was a new brand of authority figure to him now. I needed to earn his trust, not prey on him.
When the hug stopped being about calming him down, it was time to ease back. Otherwise, it would just be me taking advantage.
“We’ll put together a plan for your training tomorrow.” I nudged up his chin, not surprised to find him reluctant to make eye contact. I’d pushed him a bit outside his comfort zone tonight. “By the way, did you sleep here last night?”
He raked his teeth over his bottom lip and nodded hesitantly.
I snorted softly and shook my head, amused. “Trespassing punk.”
My reaction seemed to put him at ease, and he smirked a little.
“I’m gonna crash early tonight. It’s been a long day,” I said. “I have books in my room if you wanna find your entertainment for the night. Otherwise, I’ll just prepare the couch for you and say goodnight.”
He scrunched his nose. “There’s nothing to prepare. I have a sleeping bag.”
Fucking nonsense. In our field, few things topped sleeping on clean sheets. Sometimes, it was all I could think about when I was stuck in some godforsaken country, sleeping on a floor or in a ditch.
“You should know better than to turn down fresh linens,” I told him. Then I went into my bedroom and reopened my bag.
It was my one luxury. My bed at home with expensive linens. I’d brought extra for the twins, but since they weren’t here…
“Go brush your teeth or something.” I fanned out the bottom sheet over the couch and tucked the sides underneath the cushions.
I was going too far, I recognized. I never would’ve made the beds for the twins. I would’ve just given them the sheets. But fuck it, right? I could indulge discreetly. I missed having someone to take care of. Hell, I couldn’t remember the last time… I guessed it was about three years ago I’d had a semi-serious relationship. That sort of thing just didn’t work with what I did for a living.