Protector #5 (A Navy SEAL Military Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

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maniac night and day,” I said. “What else could possibly be occupying so much
of your time but a woman?”
    “Oh man, you are a piece of work!” he
declared. Then turning to face me, he looked at me for a long time before
speaking again. “Ava, I assure you that there is no woman aside from you.”
    I waited for him to say something more, but
he simply stared at me in silence until I looked away.
    “Okay then,” I said quietly. I had no idea
what to say next. He’d given nothing away, and I didn’t want to risk blurting
out how I felt about him only to have him start laughing again. So I asked,
“Then what are you doing on that phone?”
    “It’s something, um, personal,” he said
quietly.
    “Well, this whole mess is really personal
for me, and I let you into that ,” I
said smartly. “It’s only fair that you let me into your stuff!”
    “The difference is that I’ve been hired to
do a job that involves protecting you,” he said. “It has to be my business.”
    “Oh, so that’s how it goes,” I shot back.
His remark stung and I was on the defensive now. “All the other personal stuff
you told me was just part of the job?”
    “No, that was…different,” he muttered. “It’s
just that this is really personal, and I didn’t think it was right to involve
you in it. Plus, you didn’t seem all that…welcoming.”
    “Just because you’re sleeping on the couch,
doesn’t mean I don’t care about what’s going on with you,” I chided.
    “Well, it’s not like we’re spending a whole
lot of time sitting around talking,” he replied.
    “Probably because you’re on your phone all
the time,” I grinned trying to lighten the mood. His face darkened briefly
before he looked over and saw me smiling.
    “Touché,” he said as he returned my grin.
“Fine, let’s talk then.”
    “I’ve already started the conversation,” I
pointed out. “I asked what you’re doing to get me home.”
    “I’ve got a plan that I’m working on with a
couple of former SEAL buddies,” he admitted. “I’m not sure how it’s going to
play out, so I don’t want to say anything before we get the pieces in place,
but I should know more this evening, and if I do, I’ll tell you then.”
    “Is that what all the texting is about?” I
asked.
    “Um, no, not really,” he stammered as he
looked away.
    “Then what is it?” I probed.
    “Ava, I think there are some things better
left alone, okay?” he said. The look on his face begged me not to push, so I
let it go.
    “Fine, whatever,” I said as I turned back
around and looked at my homework. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I
thought about how he was shutting me out when I had let him into the darkest
parts of my life, but I was determined not to let him see me break down.
    “Ava,” Brian whispered in my ear making me
jump. He’d gotten up and silently moved across the room. “You can push me away
all you want, but at the end of the day I’m still going to be here.”
    “But only because you’re being paid to be
here,” I whispered at the desk as I bowed my head and I fought back the tears.
I was not going to cry.  
    “Is that what you think?” he said softly as
he ran his fingers through my hair and pulled it away from my face. “Do you
think I’m only here because I’m being paid to be here?”
    I nodded, unable to speak without giving
away my fragile emotional state. Brian bent down and scooped me up off of the
chair and carried me to the couch where he gently set me down and then sat
across from me. He took my hand and looked into my eyes for a long while.
    “I’m not here just for the paycheck,” he
said. “Let’s get that cleared up. I’m here because your father hired me, that
for sure, but I stay because of you, Ava.” He stopped and let that sink in as I
looked back at him.
    “You’re not going to leave as soon as this
is all over?” I asked. “You’ll stay with me?”
    “Well, that’s a difficult one, you know?”