His to Protect: A Fireside Novel(2)

I cringed again and peeked at him, looking with one eye through my separated fingers.

He was standing back with his hands up, palms facing me. Despite his fierce scowl, he hadn’t meant his gesture to be threatening.

Unfortunately, for far too long, I’d been around men who thought it was okay to intimidate a woman with their size and their fists. It had become instinct to protect myself, even if it usually ended up getting me in more trouble.

“Sorry,” I gasped when I realized what I’d done.

“I won’t hurt you,” the man said and gestured toward the door. “Let me feed you and your dog. He can’t come in, but we can tie him up out here.”

I realized my hand was still raised and lowered it to my side, still balled into a fist, as if I could do damage to this guy.

“Why?”

He rubbed his jaw and shrugged. “Because I can’t keep cleaning up my alley and you apparently need to eat.” Then he nodded and pointed at my dog. “So does it.”

“Boomer,” I corrected him. It always bugged me that Kevin referred to my dog as an it. I should have known that a man who couldn’t love an animal could never love a woman properly.

“Right.” I saw a flash of white teeth as he smiled, and then it disappeared. Something about that, the way it seemed he was trying not to laugh at me, had a disarming effect.

My pulse, which had been elevated since he terrified me by appearing in the alley, began to slow and my shoulders dropped.

“You’re really just offering a meal?” I asked, sucking my bottom lip in between my teeth. Heat suffused my cheeks when I added “For free?”

My stomach knotted at the thought. I had the money to pay. I just really needed to save it. Taking off with only a few hundred dollars wasn’t the smartest decision, but I figured the less that was missing, the less suspicion it would raise, giving me more time to get on the road before Kevin realized I was truly gone.

“What else would I be offering?” he asked, his brow furrowed. He dismissed the question with a swish of his hand. “Forget it. You coming?”

My lips pulled to one side and I looked down at Boomer. The harmless dog. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth and he was panting as if he’d just eaten a feast. A quick glance at the emptied container told me he had. Now he was eyeing this strange brute of a man with excitement. A new friend to jump on.

His eyes were wide and black and his tail thumped against the asphalt. “Can we keep the door propped open so I can keep my eye on him?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately and nodded.

It had become instinct in me to cower from men, thanks to hits I’d taken from Kevin. But I had stayed and tolerated it for a purpose, all the while planning to escape when the time was right. I could have been more frightened than I was of this man and his offer, but his apparent desire to make me comfortable made me relax.

“Okay, then,” I said and began following him to the door.

Once we got there, I let go of Boomer’s collar and pointed. “Down.” With my palm out, I said, “Stay,” and watched as Boomer listened. “He won’t go anywhere, no need for a rope,” I told the man as he watched from the doorway.

He was so close to the light, I could see him clearly now, and my pulse began increasing all over again. His skin was tan, his shoulders broad, which I already knew, but what I couldn’t make out in the shadows outside were the dark-brown eyes and the chiseled jaw and the slight hint of deep-black scruff along his cheeks and chin. With his shaved head and large muscles he appeared to be more akin to a bar bouncer than a restaurant owner. My feet halted.

“You work here?” I asked, looking over his shoulder to see if there was someone else inside. It suddenly hit me that this could be quite possibly the dumbest thing I’d done since saying “I do” to Kevin Morgenson five years ago.

I took a small step back.

The man walked farther into the restaurant, as if to give me space to make my decision. “Name’s Declan James. The Fireside Grill, which you’ve been pilfering garbage from for the last week, is mine. I own it myself and there’s no one else here but me. Closed it down a few hours ago and have been cleaning and waiting to catch the rug rats who have been messing up my alley.”

His lips spread into a smile then. A full one, so wide it stretched his cheeks and a dimple popped in his right one.

My pulse fluttered for an entirely different reason now, and I swallowed.

I shouldn’t have been noticing this man. First, he was everything I was trying to get away from, meaning men in general. But secondly, he had muscles and anger and scowls and fists that looked like they could break bones.

But he seemed to be doing all he could to set me at ease and for that, I decided a mealone hot meal before I left townwas worth the risk. I’d just get on the road sooner than I’d originally thought, now that someone could recognize me.

“Trina.” I shortened my formal name of Katrina on a whim. I’d always been Kat or Katrina, but never just Trina. I never wanted to hear the name Katrina again.

Declan stepped further into the kitchen, giving me plenty of room, so I exhaled a slow breath and stepped forward into the back of what was obviously the kitchen and prep area. Stainless-steel counters shined along the length of one wall and two metal doors were at the far end.

“I’m Trina,” I said again when he didn’t acknowledge me.

Instead of saying something, his eyes dropped and scanned my body. I waited for him to finish assessing me, which was what he seemed to be doing instead of leering.

I knew what he saw.

Not a woman who looked like she should be digging in dumpsters. More like a woman who belonged at a country club. I was wearing jeans and a short-sleeve shirt and my favorite pair of Pumas, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that I was not wearing thrift-store clothing. Even if I did only pack one bag full of yoga pants and jeans and tees, leaving behind the dresses and ball gowns, it was still obvious that my clothes were expensive.

His eyes were blank when they met mine again, though. “Nice to meet you. Now what are you hungry for?”

He turned and walked away from me, clearly expecting me to follow.

I shot one last look at Boomer.

He lifted his head and stuck out his tongue, panting sloppily before he yawned and lay back down, closing his eyes.

I shook my head and walked toward the kitchen.





Chapter 2


Declan


I walked away from the womanTrinabefore I did something asinine like demand she tell me who gave her the fading bruise on her cheek. I noticed it and felt the overwhelming urge to pummel someone as soon as she stepped into the light in the doorway of the restaurant.

Figuring she wouldn’t like seeing my hands balled into fists, I tamped that anger down with every ounce of self-control I possessed, and scanned the rest of her body.

When I did, I noticed several things all at once.

She wasn’t homeless.

My ex-wife, Mara, spent enough hours at the salon getting her hair and nails done, and then bitching about roots showing and chipped polish, for me to instantly see that this woman lived a lifestyle that Mara had craved.

Trina’s clothes were high-end. No cheap pair of jeans could hug a woman’s hips and thighs, and most likely her ass, as well as the ones this woman wore.

A flash of her throwing her hand up in front of her face when I went to stop her from running pierced my mind, and I fought the urge to growl.

No, she wasn’t homeless, as I originally assumed when I saw her crouched over a ripped-up bag of garbage handing scraps to her dog.

She was hiding.

Running.

And for some damn reason, I had an overwhelming instinct to take care of her.

For a meal, I reminded myself.

I had enough shit going on in my life that I didn’t need to take on this additional cause. Saving my restaurant, which hadn’t turned a profitable month all year, was my priority. And while the fall and football season generally meant more business, I still had more problems than solutions. I didn’t need any more.

“You decide what you want?” I asked, turning on the grill.

Focus. I needed to focus. Feed her, get her out of here, go home and have a stiff drink, so I could wash away the memory of what I thought when I first saw her.

Protect her.

When she didn’t answer, I twisted my neck to see her hovering by the doorway. She was keeping an eye on the door to the alley and her dog, as well as me.

I didn’t blame her for being scared of me. Women either wanted to fuck me or skip to the other side of the street when they saw me coming. I couldn’t help it. I’d been addicted to sports since I could walk and throw a ball. Four years of college football only increased my love for being in shape. The few minor bodybuilding competitions I did after I graduated cemented it. Lifting weights and working out relieved my stress. I carried enough on my shoulders on a daily basis that lifting was no longer a hobby, but an obsession.

“I can get you a menu,” I told Trina when she didn’t answer me, just sucked her lip between her teeth.

“Salad,” she muttered and blinked. “No, wait…” I tried to keep my expression blank while she chewed on that damn lip. Not because it was sexy, but because between the lip biting and the fidgeting she was doing with her hands, I could tell she was still nervous. Over a damn meal?