Page 8 of Defender (Omega Sector: Under Siege #1)

Summer could make a list of all the ways she’d been an idiot tonight, but it would probably take too long.

But Ashton offering to sleep here and her turning him down? That would be at the top of said list.

She’d been fascinated with the man for months, hoping he would ask her out. Finally he’d done something that could be categorized as romantically encouraging—or at least protective—and she shut him down.

Not to mention they still didn’t have power and she was pretty nervous. It was past midnight already. She wondered if she’d be able to get any sleep.

Even though she’d already double-checked them all, Summer went around to make sure she’d locked the windows. When she got to the bay window, she saw Ashton’s truck still parked out front.

Why was he still here?

She moved the curtain more to the side so she could get a better look. Maybe he was on the phone or something and just hadn’t left yet.

It didn’t take long to realize Ashton was watching out for them in his truck.

Warmth bloomed in her chest and tears actually welled in her eyes.

Ashton Fitzgerald may be too shy to ask her out, but he cared enough about her and Chloe to stay out in his vehicle and make sure they were safe.

Summer opened the front door. She’d been an idiot enough tonight. Now was her chance to rectify that.

Her eyes met his as she crossed from the side to around the front of his truck. His didn’t widen, his expression didn’t change. He just watched her as she came around to stand next to the driver’s side door.

They stared at each other through the glass for a moment. There was more than just protectiveness in his eyes. The warmth she’d felt at his concern now grew hotter. A heat pooled inside her.

She opened the door to his truck. “Hi.”

“I just wanted to make sure you and Chloe were safe.”

She nodded. “It means a lot to me that you would do that. But come inside. It’s silly for you to be out here.”

He studied her for a moment and she thought he might refuse. But then he straightened the seat and got out, groaning a little as he did so.

Summer stepped closer. “Are you hurt? Did something happen when you were chasing that guy in the woods and you didn’t tell me?

“No.” Ashton closed the door behind him. “There was an accident while I was...working today.”

She noticed the slight pause but didn’t press it. “What sort of accident?”

They walked back to her house.

“Electrical.”

She opened the door and they went inside. “Great. I’ll bet the last thing you wanted to do was come here and deal with more power-company-related problems.”

“I never mind coming over here to help with anything. Truly.”

Now that she had him back in her house, she wasn’t sure exactly what to do with him. When she gestured toward the couch, he eased himself onto it as if standing was too much of an effort.

“Let me get you a pillow and blanket.”

He bobbed his head. “Thanks for coming out there to get me.”

She smiled, wishing she had the guts to lead him into her bedroom.

When she came back out with the bedding items, Ashton had slipped off his shoes and was lying all the way across the sofa.

He was too big for it—one leg hung off the arm of the couch and the other was bent with his foot on the ground.

He’d thrown one arm up over his face which had caused his T-shirt to slide up, exposing a brief measure of sexy abs and some sort of bandage.

“Ashton, how hurt are you?”

He slid his arm down slightly so she could see his eyes.

“I have a couple of electrical burns, one on my side, one on my shoulder. And I generally feel like somebody decided to use me as a punching bag.”

He sat back up as she crossed the room.

“You shouldn’t have gone off sprinting after my Peeping Tom.”

“Catching someone in the process of committing a crime like this is almost always easier than trying to determine the culprit from any evidence they leave at the scene.”

She sat down next to him. She couldn’t help it. He was conversing—even if the subject matter was a little strange—not stuttering and looking away from her like he normally did. On the contrary, he was looking at her the way a man looks at a woman he’s interested in.

God, how she’d missed this feeling.

She scooted just a little closer. “Oh yeah, do a lot of crime fighting on the side, do you?”

His brows pulled together quickly. “Um. Ha. Ha. Well, actually I—”

Now he was back to looking away and stuttering. Summer reached over, hooked an arm around his neck and kissed him.

He paused for just a moment and she was afraid he would pull away. But then he groaned and scooped her up and placed her on his lap so her legs straddled his hips.

He kissed her with shattering absorption, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. Whatever timidity had possessed him each time they’d spoken over the past few months was gone now.

Her hands slid up his shoulder and she felt the edge of another bandage. Not wanting to hurt him in any way, she slid her fingers up around his neck and into his thick brown hair.

His arms wrapped around her hips, pulling her more tightly against him. She barely restrained a gasp at the feel of her breasts crushed against his chest.

How long had it been? She’d forgotten how good it felt to have strong arms wrapped tightly around her.

His tongue traced her bottom lip before slipping into her mouth. Summer sank deeper into him, her fingers clutching him to her.

The kiss went on and on until she couldn’t think straight for the need pulsing through her. But vaguely she became aware that Ashton was slowing the kiss down. Drawing it out.

Easing back.

She pulled away from him so she could look into his soft brown eyes.

“Want to take this into my bedroom?” She could hardly recognize the husky voice as her own.

He put his forehead against hers. “I do. More than I want to take my next breath, I want to move this into the bedroom. I want to keep you in there for about the next month.”

“There’s a huge but in here, and it’s not mine.” She began to pull away.

He grabbed her buttocks and pulled her back against him. Both of them gasped slightly at the contact. He thrust his hips gently against hers.

“You cannot doubt that I want you right now. Because I do. And yes there is another but in here that is not nearly as fine as yours.”

“What is it?”

“We haven’t even been on a date yet, Summer.”

She began kissing along his jaw. “Will you have dinner with me, Ashton?”

He groaned as she made her way down to his ear. “Yes. I most definitely will. And we’ll talk. And after that, if your bedroom is still an invitation, I will most definitely take you up on it.”

She sat back so she could see his eyes. “Do you have something bad to tell me?”

He sighed. “Not bad. Just...complicated. Right now isn’t the time to go into it all. It’s late and it’s been a long day for both of us, filled with all sorts of crazy. Let me take you out on Friday night. We’ll have a nice meal, just the two of us, and talk.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You say it’s not bad, but I feel like it is. Like you’re trying to get out of being intimate with me right now.”

He sighed. “I’m not. I promise. Trust me, I’m calling myself all sorts of a fool.

But if you still want me after we talk on Friday night, I promise you—” now he leaned forward and began to kiss her jaw the way she’d been kissing his, working his way down to her throat “—I will take you back to that bedroom or this couch or hell, the kitchen counter—maybe all three—and make love to you until neither of us can move.”

She moaned as his lips nipped gently at her throat.

“Ashton, are you involved with someone else? Is that what you have to tell me?”

“No.”

“Are you a criminal?”

“No.”

“Then fine.” She leaned back so she could look at him more clearly.

She didn’t understand why he wanted to wait, but she would respect his reasoning.

Plus, it would give her a chance to be prepared with some underthings that were a little more sexy.

She hadn’t been expecting this—him, them —tonight.

“Friday it is. But I fully expect to take you up on your promise to not be able to move Saturday morning.”

He already had part of her heart. She was ready to give him more.