Page 54 of Her Tempting Protector

She searched his eyes, begging him to continue.

“When was the last time you slept with a man, Carys?”

“So long. It’s been so long. But I’m not scared with you.” She swallowed. “To sleep together.” She swallowed again. “I mean to sleep in the truck together.” Her hand gripped him harder. “I mean—”

His thumb brushed over her lip.

“Honey, I know what you meant. It’s all good. Nothing’s going to happen tonight but us eating dinner and getting some shut-eye. I’m honored that you feel safe with me.”

Her entire body relaxed.

“Thanks for understanding.”

He gave her his crooked grin. “Now let me show you what Mohammed wrangled up for us.”

Carys was happy to change subjects. She sat down cross-legged on the blanket as he started pulling out things from the duffel. She was happy not to see a protein bar or MRE in the bunch. The warm can of orange Fanta was almost obligatory. Her mouth watered. How many of these had she drank over the years? Two large bottles of water, that were properly sealed and not glued shut. Another can of warm Fanta.

“Pineapple,” she eeped. “Mine!”

“We have a fan,” he grinned as he handed over the bright yellow can. She held it close to her breast.

“I love pineapple. I don’t care what else you have in there. This wins the day.”

“Well, we have some flatbread,” he said as he pulled out something that looked like tortillas or naan in waxed paper. “Here’s some gheema, which is spiced potatoes. He kept trying to offer me his mother’s spicy meat. I couldn’t pass on it otherwise I would have seemed rude, but I left it out in the desert for one of the critters to eat. The last thing we need is something that’s not going to agree with our intestinal tract.”

“Been there, done that,” Carys agreed. “The last time was goat in Pakistan.”

“Yeah, and he never would tell me what type of meat it was. So, this is an all-vegetable and starch dinner.”

“And Fanta,” she said as she petted her yellow can of soda.

“Oh, and we have dessert.” He pulled out a piece of cake that was also wrapped in waxed paper. “His mom served it with some excellent cinnamon tea. I tried to get out of there as quickly as I could, but I was stuck.”

“I understand.” And she did, you had to be gracious. Especially when someone was helping you as much as the child had been.

“This is lemon cake. It’s awesome. So, this piece is for you.”

She looked at it longingly. She loved sweets. Even more than chocolate, something fruity like this was her downfall.

“I don’t want to take this from you,” she demurred.

“Well, now I know the way to your heart,” he smiled warmly.

He might make her feel safe, but he also made her feel wanted. She looked down and slowly popped open her can of soda, glad that she had when it started to fizz. Boy, wasn’t that a metaphor for her feelings.

“Careful,” he whispered.

“I’m not sure I can be,” she admitted.

“That’s true, you were ogling that drink like it was Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one.”

Sure, I’ll stick with that answer.

She closed her eyes and took a sip of the pineapple goodness and thanked God it took her mind off Cullen’s blue eyes and wide shoulders for a moment.