Page 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

The first night with Vera sleeping just down the short hall felt weird. He thought it was just having someone new in his space. He’d lived alone for so long that having someone sleeping down the hall from him was just odd.

On Saturday morning, after six days of living with Vera, he woke with an insane hard-on and jerked off before he even left his room for coffee. It wasn’t her, it was him. Though he thought she was attractive, the hard-on wasn’t tied to her, it couldn’t be.

Too many weeks had passed since he’d been with a woman, and he needed to do something about it. His body wasn’t responding to her being close. It was just simple biology. Maybe he would go out tonight and pick up someone. That should help.

After his run, he stepped inside, and the scent of bacon and other breakfast foods hit hard. He groaned as hunger took over.

“I made extra. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Heck no. That smells amazing. Let me hit the shower real fast.”

“Sure. I can start the eggs when I hear the water stop.”

“Thanks.”

The mention of her being able to hear the water stop made him think about jerking off. Had she heard him doing that? She was very quiet. He wasn’t sure, but he thought she showered while he was at work. When he came home in the afternoon, she was usually still working. He thought about asking her about her work but didn’t want to get too close. If he started asking her about her life, she might think they would become more than friends. She wasn’t here to date him, and he didn’t want her getting the impression he liked her.

When he’d heard that she’d taken a shared ride to buy a computer and then ended up at Thario’s place in the middle of the afternoon, he’d felt weird, disturbed. He convinced himself it wasn’t jealousy. He’d just wanted to see Thario. That was all.

That Thario used to be a total flirt had nothing to do with his reaction to thinking about Vera alone with the man. No, he’d felt that pang because he had missed seeing Frog. It had nothing at all to do with the way his heart sped up when she walked into the room. His reaction to her coming into a room was because he was surprised to have someone living with him. There was absolutely nothing to his feelings at all.

At least she was independent enough he didn’t have to drive her around. Though, he hoped to spend some time with her today since it was Saturday. He just wanted to get to know her, nothing more. He wasn’t interested in dating her because he wasn’t interested in dating anyone.

No question, Ben was hot. He worked out, went for runs, and stayed physically fit. When she looked at him, attraction fired hot. But she wouldn’t go there. He was Frizz’s brother and totally off-limits.

There was a knock on the door before the shower stopped and she flipped off the burner on the bacon before stepping away from the stove. She opened the door and three men with beards or scruff stared down at her.

“Hey, Vera, is Hop here?”

“Hop—oh, you mean Ben. I forget people call him that. Um?—”

She heard the door open behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing Ben in shorts but no shirt. Heat raced up her chest to her neck and face as she stared at the expanse of his muscled pecs and evident six-pack.

Ben smiled and waved them in. “Come on in, guys. I’m running late.”

“Holy shit, that smells good. Can we help?”

Vera had made enough for the two of them but hadn’t made extra. She was about to say something when the guys moved to the kitchen and took over.

“Sit down, Vera, and rest. Let us finish cooking. I’m Q, just the letter, nothing more.”

“Oh, you all cook?”

They all looked at her like she had a screw loose. “Of course, we cook. I’m Zip.” The man was tall, with thick hair and a beard. He would be the type of guy she would shy away from based on the men she’d grown up around in Texas.

“Q and Zip,” she said as she looked at them and raised her eyebrows.

“And I’m Bud.” Bud wasn’t as tall as the other two, but he had a nice smile and less facial hair.

“I can help with breakfast.” She didn’t want Ben to regret having her live with him.

Zip waved her off. “Rest. I know the last few weeks have been stressful for you. I talked to Thario the other day. He says you’re taking his advice and staying well hidden.”

She was a little surprised they’d all talked about her. “How much do you all know about my situation?”

Ben took a seat next to her. “These guys are on my team. I trust them with my life. They know because I asked their advice. They are good guys and won’t let anyone know you’re here.”

His words made sense, but they were unexpected. “Oh.”

Ben’s soulful brown eyes met hers and held. “We deal with a lot of crap in our jobs. We’ve seen much worse.”

Anger rose, and she said the words before thinking. “Worse than him chaining me to a tree and then chopping off my hair?”

Ben took her hand and squeezed. “What he did was fucked up. No question, you’re very strong. We’ve seen people just give up, though they only had like two miles left. They could have walked to safety, and they didn’t. None of us believe what you went through wasn’t terrible, but we aren’t going to judge you. You’re a survivor and that’s amazing.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be angry. I’m just still dealing with some emotions from it all.”

Zip pointed the fork he was holding at her. “Totally understandable. The one time I was captured and held it pissed me off. When I got free, I set fire to their compound. I was so pissed.”

His words threw her off. What did he mean captured? “Oh, wow.”

Q chuckled. “I remember hearing about that. The place exploded, and that’s how the helicopters found you. Vera, what you went through was awful. Don’t let anyone discount that.”

Bud nodded as he flipped the pancake on the griddle. “We’ve seen bad shit. It sucks when stuff like that happens.”

Zip turned off the burner under the bacon and plated the final pieces. “Do you think he would have come back out to get you?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. It had been around twenty-four hours. I was so thirsty. Luckily it started raining. I was cold, but the rain meant water.”

“Fuck, that’s awful. And the cops did nothing?” Q asked.

She shrugged as anger built. “Nothing. They decided I was the problem.”

“Well, you’re safe here with us.” Zip set the bacon on the table. “It’s time to eat.”

She hadn’t expected Ben’s friends, but she felt better after talking to them. They had seen a lot. A part of her felt bad about having to stay at Ben’s place. She’d had thoughts that maybe she was blowing everything out of proportion, so she’d reacted to their words.

They ate and talked but they were talking about work and she didn’t understand everything because they were using acronyms and it sounded like they were talking in code.

After they finished, she got up to clean, but the guys took care of cleaning, and she only had to wash her own plate.

Ben turned to her. “We’re planning on going to the beach for a few hours. Do you want to join us?”

Her lips screwed up to the side. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“You could wear shorts. It’s not too hot, and Ellis will have an umbrella.”

Confusion filled her. “Ellis?”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, she’s with Trip. She’s really nice.”

She had no reason to say no, and honestly, getting out of the house would be nice. “Okay. I’ll go.” She could read something on her phone or maybe take a nap. “Do we need to pack any food or drinks?”

Q shook his head. “We’ve got you covered.”

Ben flashed a smile. “Go change into shorts and come on. We’ll have fun. We can stop and pick up some flip-flops for you. There’s a store on the way. It will be fast.”

She shrugged. “You’ve sold me on it.” Excitement built as she changed clothes. They were on the road in minutes, her sitting in the back of Q’s car between Ben and Bud. The guys seemed to have accepted her. They weren’t flirting with her, which she appreciated. They weren’t trying to treat her like one of the guys, but the tension wasn’t there either, except with Ben. But he wasn’t flirting with her either. Just sometimes, she swore she caught him looking at her, though it wasn’t too awkward now.

Maybe there was something there, or maybe not. She wasn’t sure, but if he made a move, she wouldn’t have a problem with it. No, she would welcome his interest, which honestly shocked her.