Read Protector #6 (A Navy SEAL Military Romance) for Free Online

into his arms and held me close.
“Nothing bad is going to happen. Not now.”
    I
smiled as I hugged him tightly, then whispered, “But don’t leave, okay?”
    “Fine,
you win,” he said as he stepped back and looked at me smiling. “I’ll call and
have it all delivered. Although, after today I’d have guessed that you’d be a
little more wary of people delivering food to your door.”
    “Don’t
joke about it!” I laughed as I swatted him lightly. “Just get it here soon, I’m
starving!”
    Brian
smiled as he pulled out his phone and called in the order, then he turned and
pulled me back into his arms and we stood holding each other for a long time.
    *****
    When the food
arrived, the knock on the door startled us both. We’d been standing in the
middle of the room with our arms around each other appreciating the silence and
the feel of our bodies pressed together. I could smell Brian’s cologne and
mixed with my perfume and our sweat, and nothing had ever smelled better—except
maybe the pizza Brian had ordered.
    We
dug into the huge pizza and ate with gusto. It felt like a whole other lifetime
since we’d eaten, and maybe it had been. We were the same people that we’d been
that morning, and yet totally different now.   I looked at Brian as I slurped up the cheese that stretched between the
dough and my mouth and wondered what he was planning to do now that he didn’t
have to watch over me anymore. I wondered when my father would call and relieve
him of his duties. I wondered if I’d ever see him again after tonight.
    Brian
smiled at me with a mouth full of cheese and pepperoni, and said, “I’m here to
stay, Ava.”
    “How
did you know?” I asked with wide eyes.
    “I
don’t know, I can just hear what you’re thinking when you want to ask me
something,” he shrugged.
    “You
can read my thoughts?” I blurted out.
    “No,
not like I can read your mind,” he laughed. “I can just tell when you’re
thinking something that you want to ask me and you are afraid to put the
question into words.”
    “I’m
not sure I like that,” I said darkly. After all the fear and hiding I’d had to
do with Dominic, I wasn’t sure if I wanted a man in my life who thought he
could read my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if that was a safe thing.
    “I
promise that I’ll always use my powers for good,” he swore as he raised his
right hand and looked straight into my eyes.
    “Alright,
then…” I said not quite convinced, but appreciative of the gesture. “So, what
are you going to do next?”
    “I
have no idea,” he laughed. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
    “Will
you be leaving?” I asked hesitantly.
    “Do
you want me to stay?” he replied. I looked at him and wondered if I did. Did I
want him to stay with me? What would that mean? What would he do? We couldn’t
live here in my dorm room, but was I ready to move in with him? The questions
came tumbling one after another. “Ava, I’m not asking if you want to marry me
or even move in with me, I’m simply asking if you’d like it if I stayed.”
    “I
think I would,” I whispered softly as I looked down at my plate. “I would like
that very much.”
    “Then
it’s settled, I’m staying,” he announced. I smiled and took another bite of my
pizza and chewed slowly as I looked over at the handsome man sitting next to
me. The one who had saved my life and was now willing to stay in a small
college town to be near me.
    “I’m
sorry,” I said softly.
    “For
what?” he asked as he tipped his head and gave me a confused look.
    “For
the email I sent and not telling you what I was doing, and…” I trailed off
embarrassed and unsure of how to say what I wanted to say. “And for saying all
of those things about you when I was trying to distract Dominic while I was
hoping that you’d wake up. I know you heard me, and…I’m sorry.”
    “Oh
Ava,” Brian smiled as he put down his plate and turned toward me. He raised his
hand and stroked