Protecting Jessyka (SEAL of Protection) (Volume 6) (7 page)

“Okay.” Jess paused then quickly said, “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, Jess. Thank
you
for contacting me. It means a lot. Sleep now.”

Jessyka didn’t think she’d be able to sleep, but surprisingly, she was out of it within moments. She never knew that Kason stayed awake for another hour, simply enjoying the feel of her in his arms. She never heard him mutter softly, “You’ll always be safe if I have anything to say about it.”

Chapter Six

Benny tried to be quiet in the kitchen as he fixed Jessyka a good hearty breakfast. He was still going through all she’d told him last night. He had a lot of work to do in order to help her, but first he wanted to get some food into her.

All his life, Benny had felt a need to protect people, but his thoughts about Jess were way beyond anything he’d ever felt before. He’d been a horndog in the past, sleeping with women for a night and then not thinking twice about how they were feeling when he never called them again. But Benny had never found anyone who he actually liked. Who he wanted to get to know outside the bedroom. But with Jess, he found that he wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know who her friends were, her favorite foods, her everyday routine, just everything.

Benny had never been friends with a woman before. He supposed it was cliché, but there it was. He used women and they used him. Now that he thought about it, he was friends with his teammates’ women, but that was different somehow. They were already taken. There was no chance of them wanting to be in his bed, and he certainly didn’t want to be in theirs. But Jess? Yeah, Benny could admit he wanted her in his bed, but along with that was the fact that he just plain liked her. She was strong, hardworking, witty, and she was compassionate. She didn’t look at him and see a conquest. At least he didn’t think she did.

He knew Jess was different when the thought of her in his kitchen didn’t freak him out. He didn’t like when people tried to “help” him when he was cooking. He was meticulous about it, and had been made fun of on more than one occasion by his teammates and their women, but it was just the way he was.

The first thing he’d thought of this morning was a vision of Jess standing next to him as they fixed breakfast together. Benny supposed it was partly because he’d held her all night. The feel of her body next to his was unlike anything he’d felt before. In the past he’d cuddle with a woman because it was expected of him after sex, not because he felt any real connection with her. That probably made him an asshole, but he couldn’t force feelings when there weren’t any there.

But with Jess, Benny had been completely satisfied holding her all night. He didn’t feel the urge to have sex with her, he just wanted to hold her and make sure she felt safe.

Benny was brought out of his musings when he saw Jessyka’s head pop up from over the couch.

“Sleep well?” he called out, stirring the eggs in the bowl he was holding.

Jess turned her head and saw him in the kitchen. “Surprisingly, yeah.”

“I’ve got an extra toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom. I don’t have any girly soap or shampoo, but you can use mine if you want to shower.” Benny watched as Jess’s eyes got big. Yeah, she wanted to shower.

“Clothes will be an issue until Dude gets here this morning with your stuff, but in the meantime, I put one of my shirts in the bathroom along with a pair of boxers. They’ll be big on you, but they’ll do until later.”

Jess blushed, hoping Kason couldn’t see it. Just the
thought
of wearing his underwear made goosebumps break out all over her body. She tried to tamp down her reaction. Kason was her friend, no matter how sexy he was, she didn’t want to ruin the best thing to happen to her in the last year.

“I’d love a shower, thanks.” She stood up and swayed a bit, catching herself on the couch.

Before she could take a step, Kason was there with a hand on her elbow, steading her.

“Are you okay? I should’ve asked that first.”

“I’m good. I just stood up too fast.”

“How’s the hip?”

“Kason, I’m okay. I promise.” Jess watched as he backed off, still looking worried.

“If you don’t mind, take a few steps so I know you won’t face plant on my floor the second I turn my back,” Benny demanded, wanting to see for himself that Jess could walk.

He watched as Jess did as he asked. She looked okay, she had her normal limp, but it didn’t look any more exaggerated than he’d seen it before. He headed back to the kitchen and the words popped out before he could stop them.

“Brian’s a fucking idiot. You’re not crippled. I love your gait.” Benny watched as Jess turned to him with an incredulous look on her face. He decided to play it off as nonchalantly as he could. Sometime between his making breakfast for her and coming to her side to make sure she didn’t hurt herself, he’d decided she was his. Benny couldn’t have all these protective feelings about her and not want to keep her. He’d give her as much time as she needed, but he hoped in the end, whenever that might be, she’d want to keep him right back.

“I don’t know why you have that limp, but I’m assuming somehow your left leg is shorter than the other. I’ve watched you for several months now. Jess, it’s sexy as hell. You don’t get that, but I do, and so do my teammates. When you walk, you sway. Because of the difference in the length of your legs, your hips have an exaggerated back and forth movement to them. From behind, your ass just begs to be caressed. From the front, your sway makes your breasts move with your body. Again, it’s sexy as all hell. For Brian to call you crippled just means he doesn’t appreciate the female form. And Jess, your form is abso-fucking-lutely perfect. Own it, because I swear to God, every man in that bar appreciates it. Swear to fucking God.”

Jess stood in the entrance to the hallway that apparently led to the bedrooms and bathroom. She simply stared at Benny, not knowing what, if anything, she was supposed to say to him.

Benny smiled and continued to beat the eggs, getting them just the right consistency before he poured them into the pan to make an omelet. He’d gotten to her, as he’d meant to, but every word out of his mouth had been the truth. It was time she stopped believing the words that asshole spewed to her for too damn long.

“You taking that shower, gorgeous, or are you just going to stand there staring at me?”

Jess turned and fled down the hallway, ignoring Benny’s laugh as she hurried away.

Thirty minutes later Benny heard the bathroom door open. He turned to the hallway and waited for Jess to appear.

She walked into the living area of the apartment and he could only stare at her. Her black hair looked shiny and clean and he could smell the scent of his soap wafting out into the room. But what really caught his attention was her body. Jess was wearing his clothes and that made his heart beat faster.

She walked slowly over to the stools at the bar counter and pulled herself up. Benny could see more of her body than he’d seen in a long time. The boxers left her legs bare and the shirt covered most of her upper arms, but her forearms were exposed. The shirt was also big enough that it kept falling off one shoulder. He watched as she hitched it up with her hand as she sat.

Benny clenched his fists and tried to calm himself down. The bruises on her forearms were highly visible against her pale skin. The marks at her throat were fading, but it was obvious what they were as well. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her legs before she’d sat, but Benny knew he’d see bruises there too.

He turned to the stove and poured the egg mixture into the steaming pan. “I hope an omelet is okay for breakfast.” Benny thought he sounded pretty normal, especially for the murderous thoughts that were coursing through his brain.

“It’s more than okay. I haven’t had an omelet in forever. Thank you, Kason.”

“You don’t have to thank me for every single thing I do, Jess.”

“I feel like I do.”

“Well, you don’t. You are
not
a guest in this house. You live here too. I’m sure you’ll do your part as well. Think how annoying it’ll be if we go around thanking each other all the time.” Benny tried to lessen the blow of his words by smiling.

Jess grinned back. “Okay. I’ll try. I’m just not used to anyone doing anything for me like this. Brian never did.”

“Well, one, I’m definitely not Brian. And two, you better get used to it.”

It was obvious Jess was going to ignore his words from earlier, and that was okay with Benny. He didn’t want to rush her, but he’d do whatever he could, say whatever he needed to say, to erase the hurtful words she’d most likely heard too many times from the jerk she’d lived with.

He put a glass of orange juice in front of her and turned back to the stove to flip the eggs.

“What time do you go into work?” Jess asked.

Benny turned back to her resting his palms on the edge of the counter behind him. “I’m not going to work for a couple of days. I’m taking some leave.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Well . . . because.”

Benny laughed at her. “That’s not an answer. Look. You can’t possibly think I’m going to just leave you here by yourself the day after I took you to the emergency room do you?”

“Uh . . .”

“Not happening, Jess. We’ve got shit we have to do. First up, Dude’ll be bringing some of your stuff over. At some point we have to go over there and get the rest of your things packed. I’m not letting you go back there without me or one of the guys with you. We need to find out the details of the funeral for Tabitha. I won’t allow you to be harangued by Tammy or Brian, so if I need to arrange a time for you to say your good-bye to Tabitha in person, that’s what I’ll do. You need to call the women’s shelter and tell them you won’t need the room you arranged with them. You also need to talk to your boss and tell him what’s going on and figure out your work schedule. On top of all that, the girls will want to come over and see for themselves that you’re okay. I’ve bought you some time with that, but I expect that will only last for a day or two, so you have to brace for the onslaught.”

“I don’t understand,” Jess whispered, completely overwhelmed.

“What don’t you understand?” Benny came over to the bar and leaned on it, giving Jess his complete attention.

“I can do all those things, you don’t have to stay home from work.”

“Jess, it’s what friends do for each other. You aren’t alone anymore. I’ve got your back. My friends have your back.”

“I don’t think it’s what friends do. I mean, I’ve never had friends that have done anything like this before.”

Benny reached over the bar and put his palm on Jess’s cheek. “You have friends that do that kind of thing now, gorgeous.”

Jess couldn’t help it, she leaned her head to the side and brought her hand up and put it over his on her face. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Smiling, Benny teased, “What did I tell you about saying ‘thank you’ all the time?” He put his other hand on the back of her neck and pulled her gently across the bar, kissed her on the top of the head then let go. “Do you need to take a pain pill?”

Jess had only a moment to feel disappointed Kason had removed his hands before he’d changed the subject. She thought about it for a moment. “No, I think I’m all right.” At Kason’s frown, she quickly added, “But if I hurt later, I’ll take one. Promise.”

“Okay, I was just going to suggest that it might be good if you took it with food. Here you go, omelet with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, red peppers, chorizo sausage, a little bit of bacon, and of course topped with a ton of shredded cheese. I have sour cream and salsa if you want to add a southwest flair to it.”

“Are you shitting me?”

“Nope, dig in.”

“I’ve never met a man who can cook.”

“Well, you’ve met one now. Eat.”

Jess picked up the fork and looked up at Kason. “What are you eating?”

“Mine’s cooking now.”

“I’ll wait.” Jess put down her fork.

“No you won’t. Eat, Jess. It’ll get cold. Mine won’t take long.”

“But that’s rude,” she pouted.

Benny laughed. God, she was cute. “No, it’s not. Not if I tell you to eat. Do it. Seriously, it’s much better when it’s still hot.”

“Oh all right. But next time
you
eat first.”

Benny wasn’t going to agree with Jess, but he smiled at her anyway. He was glad to see her in a relatively good mood. Benny had no idea what her frame of mind was going to be when she got up that morning. She had a hard day yesterday and she was going to have another few tough days. Jess would never completely be able to put the loss of Tabitha behind her, but maybe, just maybe with a little luck and a lot of support, she could deal with it and move on.

Benny agreed with her last statement about eating first, knowing he lied as he said it. “Okay, Jess, next time I’ll eat first.” He watched with satisfaction as she closed her eyes and groaned as she chewed the first bite of the omelet. Amazingly, Benny felt himself grow hard. Fuck. He had to control himself. He didn’t want to scare her away. He turned back to the stove.

“Jesus, Kason. This is awesome.”

Benny shrugged. “It’s just an omelet.”

“Uh, no. It’s not. It’s . . . hell, I don’t have the words, but I’m sure if you were on one of those cooking reality shows you’d win hands down.”

“Thanks, I think. Now quit talking and eat.”

Jess just shook her head at him and did as he requested.

Not long after they’d finished breakfast and Jess had done the dishes, at her insistence, there was a knock at the door.

“Stay put, I’ll get it,” Benny said.

Jess knew it was an order, even though he’d used a gentle tone. She stood next to the bar by the kitchen and waited to see who it was. Benny opened the door and one of his military friends came in.

“Hey, Dude, Thanks for coming over. Did you have any issues?”

“Nope, didn’t see anyone. Just got in and grabbed the bag. It was right where you said it would probably be.”

The man turned his piercing eyes onto Jess. She felt completely naked standing in the room in nothing but Kason’s shirt and boxers, but forced herself to come forward and thank the big man for bringing her bag over. “Thank you so much!”