Page 55 of Dearest Protector

Other than his concern about my well-being, Ben had a tight rein on his emotions right now.

He was incredibly affectionate, but he hadn’t let things get out of control since that night in the hot tub.

Rationally, I knew it was better if he didn’t kiss me, but I couldn’t help myself from wanting…more.

“I care about you, too, Ben,” I murmured against his shoulder before I reluctantly released him and continued walking. “I just really wish you’d let me thank you once in a while.”

He kept a tight grip around my waist as he replied grumpily, “Someday, I’ll be more than happy to let you thank me. But not with words.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I nearly tripped over a small rock on the sand…again.

Luckily, I didn’t go far since he had a firm hold on me.

Shit!

He couldn’t just say those kinds of things to a woman and expect her not to react.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Things had changed since Ben had kissed me.

Yeah, we could still be friends. We could still banter like buddies and have a good time. We could talk about nearly anything.

But now there was always an underlying electricity and heat that smoldered between the two of us whenever we were together.

Sometimes, I could manage to ignore it because I knew nothing could happen.

Other times, I just couldn’t forget it was there beneath the surface.

I didn’t know if Ben felt the same way, but I had to assume that he felt it, too.

It really made me want to get my shit together sooner rather than later so we could explore that attraction more thoroughly.

Financially, my situation was definitely improving.

My work was drawing more attention, and I’d just received a larger batch of prints for a bigger selection of my work that I’d uploaded to my website.

I’d also added more work to my portfolios now that I was more relaxed and inspired to create.

Just recently, I’d even been offered large sums of money for commissioned pieces.

“I officially owe you dinner next time,” I informed Ben. “I sold the last of my original uploads today. I just finished putting up a larger collection. I can hardly believe I sold them all so fast.”

“I knew you would,” he answered smugly. “There was never a doubt in my mind.”

I sighed. “I have to admit, I had my doubts. Now, I get up every single day thinking about what I can create next instead of worrying about how I’m going to eat. I won’t thank you because I know what you’ll say, but my life has changed so enormously, Ben, in such a short amount of time.”

“Are you happy?” he queried.

“Yes,” I answered honestly.

I was so happy that it was almost frightening.

Despite my counseling, which was helping, part of me was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Maybe that was ridiculous, but for a woman who had struggled a lot over the last year, maybe it wasn’t so weird that I felt that way.

“That’s really all that matters,” Ben replied as he cut away from the water and headed up the beach toward his home.

---