Page 9 of Protecting Vera

“Your dog is great.”

Thario nodded. “Yeah. He’s a good one. I didn’t think it would make that much difference, but he does. He keeps me even.”

“I’m glad you have him.” She owed these guys so much. She didn’t know how she would ever repay them.

On the way back to Ben’s place, she was lost in thought. She’d known the police hadn’t believed her, but they’d disparaged her. She should have left town after that incident.

Ben cleared his throat before he spoke. “I have to be at the base early in the morning. I usually end up getting home a little after three, sometimes four. There is food in the refrigerator. Eat anything you like. Over the next week, we can work out food buying and how we’ll deal with storage and stuff.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

“I’m happy to help.”

She glanced toward him, then away. Feelings rose, and she had to force them down. Ben was just helping her because of Frizz. There wasn’t a special connection between them, and there wouldn’t be.

In a few months, she would have to move out. Maybe she would stay somewhere close, or maybe she would move to Oregon or somewhere else. One thing for certain, she could never go back to Texas, at least not for a few decades. Hopefully, Logan would give up and stop looking for her. If he didn’t, she wasn’t sure what she would do.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The first night with Vera sleeping just down the short hall felt weird. He thought it was just having someone new in his space. He’d lived alone for so long that having someone sleeping down the hall from him was just odd.

On Saturday morning, after six days of living with Vera, he woke with an insane hard-on and jerked off before he even left his room for coffee. It wasn’t her, it was him. Though he thought she was attractive, the hard-on wasn’t tied to her, it couldn’t be.

Too many weeks had passed since he’d been with a woman, and he needed to do something about it. His body wasn’t responding to her being close. It was just simple biology. Maybe he would go out tonight and pick up someone. That should help.

After his run, he stepped inside, and the scent of bacon and other breakfast foods hit hard. He groaned as hunger took over.

“I made extra. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Heck no. That smells amazing. Let me hit the shower real fast.”

“Sure. I can start the eggs when I hear the water stop.”

“Thanks.”

The mention of her being able to hear the water stop made him think about jerking off. Had she heard him doing that? She was very quiet. He wasn’t sure, but he thought she showered while he was at work. When he came home in the afternoon, she was usually still working. He thought about asking her about her work but didn’t want to get too close. If he started asking her about her life, she might think they would become more than friends. She wasn’t here to date him, and he didn’t want her getting the impression he liked her.

When he’d heard that she’d taken a shared ride to buy a computer and then ended up at Thario’s place in the middle of the afternoon, he’d felt weird, disturbed. He convinced himself it wasn’t jealousy. He’d just wanted to see Thario. That was all.

That Thario used to be a total flirt had nothing to do with his reaction to thinking about Vera alone with the man. No, he’d felt that pang because he had missed seeing Frog. It had nothing at all to do with the way his heart sped up when she walked into the room. His reaction to her coming into a room was because he was surprised to have someone living with him. There was absolutely nothing to his feelings at all.

At least she was independent enough he didn’t have to drive her around. Though, he hoped to spend some time with her today since it was Saturday. He just wanted to get to know her, nothing more. He wasn’t interested in dating her because he wasn’t interested in dating anyone.

No question,Ben was hot. He worked out, went for runs, and stayed physically fit. When she looked at him, attraction fired hot. But she wouldn’t go there. He was Frizz’s brother and totally off-limits.

There was a knock on the door before the shower stopped and she flipped off the burner on the bacon before stepping away from the stove. She opened the door and three men with beards or scruff stared down at her.

“Hey, Vera, is Hop here?”

“Hop—oh, you mean Ben. I forget people call him that. Um?—”

She heard the door open behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing Ben in shorts but no shirt. Heat raced up her chest to her neck and face as she stared at the expanse of his muscled pecs and evident six-pack.

Ben smiled and waved them in. “Come on in, guys. I’m running late.”

“Holy shit, that smells good. Can we help?”

Vera had made enough for the two of them but hadn’t made extra. She was about to say something when the guys moved to the kitchen and took over.

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