Page 10 of Challenging Her Protector

“Well, let’s fix that right now.” He took everything out of the bag: cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, fries, three shakes and several different types of sauce. “You go first; don’t be shy. Take what you want.”

Vee hesitantly reached out for one of the boxes of nuggets.

“Take some fries with that.” The box warmed his hand as he transferred it to Vee.

“One of these shakes has your name on it too.” Silver placed a to-go cup and a bottled water on the nightstand beside her. She was still eyeing the food in her lap like she didn’t know what to do with it. Her expression was like a kid who’d just been told they were spending a month at Disney World.

“I’ve never tried these before,” Vee murmured.

Silver glanced over his shoulder, brow raised. “Never tried what?”

“Any of this. Fries, chicken nuggets, definitely not a shake. I don’t know where to start.”

He crossed the small space to sit on the bed beside her and went to work opening three different flavors of sauce. “Honey mustard, barbecue, and sweet-and-sour. I like honey mustard, but you might find you like one of the others better.”

The grin that played across her lips illuminated her entire face, knocking the wind out of him.Fucking beautiful.He’d give her anything to have that expression aimed in his direction again. The sound of pleasure she made when she bit into a fry made his groin tighten. After that, they didn’t hear another sound from her until she laid back on the bed with her hands on her stomach. “That was by far the best thing I have ever eaten. Do we get to go back for breakfast?”

He choked back his laugh. “I think we can find something better, but if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get.”

“Can I save these? They were so good, but I couldn’t finish them. It seems like such a shame to throw them out.” She was eyeing the box like she might change her mind about being done, then extended the food toward him.

“Yeah. I can put them in the refrigerator.” He took the container from her and frowned. She’d only eaten about three of the nuggets, half of the fries and a few sips from her shake, yet her hands were resting on her belly, and she looked uncomfortable.

“Thank you so much, Silver. That was life changing.”

“You’re an easy-to-please date.” Silver smiled over at her. She dropped back down on the pillow and was out in seconds.

“I guess me and you are sharing a bed tonight.”

Iron chuckled. “I like to be the little spoon.”

Silver gave him a light punch as he passed. “How’s your leg doing? I noticed the limp.”

“Fine,” he answered a little too quickly. As he did his best to get to the bathroom, he couldn’t ignore the sharp pains in his stump. After he’d brushed his teeth, he went back to the side of the bed and removed the prosthetic. He didn’t care that Silver was laying on the other side of the bed. The SEAL had seen plenty of others with prosthetics, arms and legs, who are still able to be part of the Navy. He rubbed ointment on his raw chafed skin and noticed a bruise forming above where his knee once was. He’d be sore for a few days, but he would’ve endured any type of pain to get Vee out of that situation.

The simple fact that she enjoyed her mediocre fast food so much and was able to eat so little told him without a doubt her family had restricted her diet drastically in the pursuit of some fucked-up ideal. Her food intake wasn’t the only thing they restricted. They’d isolated her from the outside world. At least it seemed that way if Thalia had been her only friend. Never again, at least not while he was breathing. He would delight in giving her as many moments and experiences as he could just to watch the pure pleasure on her face. What other things was she unable to try growing up? Funnel cakes at a fair? Skinny-dipping in a lake on a summer night? A bonfire on the beach? When they made it back to Virginia, if she wanted his friendship, he would willingly give it.

For the first time in a very long time, he was excited by what the future held. Yeah, he’d been encouraged when he started his business, Iron Auto Collision Center. Had been proud to sponsor the unified baseball team in town, but excitement was different than happiness. No, those weren’t things that he’d felt for quite some time. The thought should’ve made him nervous because those feelings were directly tied to Vee. The childlike wonder she possessed with an unexpected soul of steel was a lethal combination. He fully understood that once she got on her feet and took control of her own life, those feelings would leave with her, but for now he was going to selfishly snatch up the opportunities while he could. He rubbed ointment over the tight skin of his leg before putting another protective covering over his chafed skin. Then he lay on his back and turned out the bedside lamp.

Light was starting to filter into the room through a gap between the heavy drapes. He’d been awake for the past two hours. He couldn’t sleep well on typical nights, but with Vee across the room, it had been nearly impossible to shut his mind off. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her ranging from some of the things her parents had said to everyday likes and dislikes. He shouldn’t want to know about her on a personal level. Wanting to learn about her had nothing to do with the protectiveness he was feeling, and everything to do with keeping her safe. At least that was the story he was sticking with.

Silver had gotten up and left the room ten minutes earlier grumbling about the coffee sucking. Across the room, Vee was beginning to stir. Her hair was tousled around her face, and she was breathing with her mouth slightly open, but every so often she’d stretch before immediately snuggling in with the pillow. He could’ve been staring at her for minutes or hours, but then as if sensing him, she blinked her eyes and focused on him.

A slow smile spread over her lips and his chest tingled. “Hi,” she whispered. The sweetness of her voice hung in the small gap between the queen-sized beds.

With only the two of them in the room the moment seemed more intimate than it probably was. Christ, a simple greeting was all it took for the image of them tangled in bed together to jump into his mind. Shaking off the inappropriate thought, he propped himself up on one elbow. “Hey.”

She drew in a breath, eyes gleaming. “I’m going to eat my food from last night.” She smiled huge and sat up in bed, throwing the comforter to the side. When her feet hit the floor, she winced visibly, but it didn’t stop her from gingerly tiptoeing to the refrigerator and retrieving her leftovers. She started carrying it back to the couch. “Want to heat those up?” She tore her gaze from the box, shifting it to Iron like he held all the answers. Maybe in this case he could help. “There’s a microwave.”

“Will you show me how to use it? I’ve never cooked anything before.”

He didn’t have the heart to tell her using the microwave was a far cry from cooking but to each their own. “Yeah. Give me a sec.” He grabbed the silicone liner off the nightstand and rolled it over his limb. It took him longer than he would’ve liked to get the prosthetic secured and when he looked up, Vee was staring.

“Does it hurt today?” Once again, her expression didn’t reveal an ounce of pity. Simply curiosity and perhaps a bit of guilt if the way she was biting her lip was any indication.

“No,” he lied. “But even if it did, it’s insignificant compared to keeping you safe.”

“Keeping me safe?” She let out a shaky breath and stared at him with disbelief. “Iron, you saved my life.” He could feel himself closing off. Gratitude was goddamn painful, bringing him back to a time and place when reality slammed home that he’d failed so fucking badly he’d never claw his way out of the darkness he’d created. “And now you’re going to teach me how to use a microwave? Someone should cue up Mariah right now.”

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