Page 40 of Dearest Protector

The only reason he was lounging in this hot tub right now was because ofme.Because he thought it might chill me out.

“Do you ever do anything just becauseyouwant to do it?” I asked him, only partly teasing.

When Ben wasn’t working he was focused on other people.

When he wasn’t focused on other people, he was working like a maniac.

Did he ever give any thought to whathewanted to do?

He paused for a moment before he answered, “Not very often.”

Why am I not surprised?

“You should,” I advised. “I think you need to get selfish sometimes. Do something you really want to do just becauseyouwant it. Sometimes I feel guilty because you do way too much for me.”

“I don’t think you have the right to talk about that,” Ben observed. “This house actually looks like a home now, and my home office has never been more organized. You make sure I eat well, and you’ve done all that on a foot that needs further medical treatment.”

“That’s what you pay me to do,” I argued.

“You do far more than I pay you for,” he balked.

“I’m your friend. I care about you,” I told him.

“Ditto,” he shot back.

I moved closer and slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t even try to pretend that what you’re doing for me right now isn’t extraordinary.”

I sighed. Despite my protests, he’d already arranged to pay whatever didn’t get paid by my insurance for my surgery and treatment.

While it was a relief that I wouldn’t have that financial burden, it was kind of annoying that he took on that responsibility like it was his own.

Ben Blackwood had already saved my ass, and he was still doing it.

“I’ll pay you back for all of this someday,” I promised, grateful that I was selling my artwork like wildfire.

Ben had been correct, and he had no problem about smugly reminding me about that every single day since my website had gone live. I was going to need to upload more pieces, and eventually, I’d owe him that dinner I’d promised him as well.

Unfortunately, I was fairly certain he’d never let me actually buy him that dinner, no matter how much he teased me about it.

Things weren’t slowing down for me businesswise, either. As people discovered my work on the net and through social media, my website got busier and busier.

Ben snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me close faster than I could blink.

“You’ve paid me back just by being in my life, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely.

I shivered as our bodies made contact. God, I loved it when he used terms of affection with me, even though I knew he didn’t mean it like a lover.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes, relishing every nanosecond of skin-to-skin contact.

It was literally torture not to touch him the way I wanted to touch him, but I savored his embrace anyway.

Maybe I was a fool to allow myself a moment of pure fantasy, but I craved Ben so badly that I couldn’t stop myself from giving in to that temptation.

It was difficult being this close to Ben and not wanting…more.

His hard body was just begging to be explored, and my fingertips were itching to feel more than just the nape of his neck.

“Ben,” I murmured in a needy voice before I could catch myself.

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