Safe With Me

by Kristen Proby

  “What?” I ask, my eyes wide, searching his handsome face. “Why?”

  “It was time.” He shakes his head and looks down before backing away from me and looking at Matt. “I’ll stay with her.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “What am I supposed to tell the girls?” I ask, still trying to wrap my head around all of this. Caleb is out of the Navy?

  “Are you not listening, Brynna?” Caleb asks. “You could be in danger. I’m not willing to take that chance. Until we know for sure what’s going on, I’ll be here. Starting today.”

  “Today’s not good for me…” I begin.

  “Starting today.” Caleb’s voice is very controlled and very low as he pushes his face close to mine. “This is what we do in this family, Brynna. We protect our own.”

  “I’m not…”

  “Yes, you are.” Matt responds before I can finish my sentence. “Stop being stubborn, and make the best of it.”

  I look back and forth between the two formidable men looming over me and I know I’ve lost this battle. I feel my shoulders droop and my lower lip quiver before I firm my jaw and blink quickly.

  “What, you don’t want me to cramp your style?” Caleb asks sarcastically, but his face is soft and his eyes are kind as he watches me carefully.

  “No, I just want our lives to go back to normal, and it feels like that’s never going to happen.”

  Before I know what’s happening, Caleb has pulled me into his strong embrace, his hands sweep up and down my back and he murmurs into my ear, “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

  “You’re sleeping on the couch, sailor,” I mumble into his soft gray t-shirt, earning a chuckle from him.

  “Deal.”

  ***

  “So what did you learn today?” I ask the girls as I set the table and walk back to the stove to check on the spaghetti sauce.

  “I learned that Nelson eats his own boogers,” Josie replies with a grimace. “Boys are gross.”

  “Who is Nelson?” I ask with a laugh and empty a package of angel hair pasta into a pot of boiling water.

  “He’s in her class,” Maddie answers as she butters the garlic bread.

  The front door opens and closes and seconds later, Caleb walks into the kitchen with a scowl on his face.

  “Why was the front door unlocked?”

  “Caleb,” I sigh and shake my head, returning to the boiling pasta. “We’re fine.”

  “Lock the damn door, Brynna.”

  “Caleb! You’re not s’posed to swear.” Josie frowns up at Caleb.

  “Why do you have a bag? Are you spending the night?” Maddie asks, looking at the green duffle bag in Caleb’s hand.

  “I’m going to stay with you guys for a while,” he responds and I clench my eyes shut.

  Crap, I haven’t talked to the girls yet!

  “Why?” Josie asks.

  “Because Caleb has some work being done on his place,” I hurry to answer before Caleb can, and earn a look of surprise from him. “So he’s going to stay here for a while.”

  “Okay,” Maddie shrugs and grins widely at the tall man in my kitchen. “Can you sleep in my room?”

  “No, I think I’ll sack out on the couch.”

  “Will you read me bedtime stories?” She asks.

  “I can do that,” he confirms and grins down at her.

  “Cool!”

  “Mom usually reads to us,” Josie cuts in with a scowl on her pretty little face.

  Josie has always been the more guarded of the girls. She’s not quick to trust, even with the Montgomerys, who have been a part of her life for over a year now.

  She’s also the moodier of the two.

  “If you’d rather she do it, that’s fine too.” Caleb shrugs and sets his full bag down in the hallway.

  “I want Caleb!” Maddie yells.

  “I want Mommy!” Josie yells back.

  “Enough!” I yell. “This is not a big deal, girls. Stop arguing and go wash your hands. Dinner is ready.”

  Both girls pout, their bottom lips sticking out and faces long, as they file out of the kitchen and into the small half bath in the hallway to wash their hands.

  “If you keep your face like that for too long, it’ll stick that way!” I call out to them and smile when I hear them giggle.

  Caleb smiles as he approaches me, pulls the lid on the sauce off so he can smell the aromas of tomato and thyme, and then replaces it.

  “Looks like I’m right on time.”

  “If you like spaghetti, yes you are.” I pour the pasta into a colander and pull the garlic toast out of the oven. “I already set you a place at the table.”

  “Thank you.”

  I nod and turn away, but he grips my arm and pulls me back around to face him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.”

  “Having work done on my house, am I?” The dimples in his cheeks wink at me as he smiles.

  “I didn’t know what else to say. I don’t want to scare them.”

  “My hands are clean!” Maddie announces as she dances back into the room.

  “We’ll talk later,” Caleb whispers down to me and helps me get the rest of the dinner on the table. “This smells great.”

  “It’s my favorite,” Maddie tells him proudly. “I got to pick tonight because I got all the words right on my spelling test.”

  “Good job,” Caleb commends her and holds their chairs out for them.

  “Why are you doing that?” Josie asks with a scrunched up nose.

  “Because that’s what a gentleman does. He holds the chair out for a lady when she sits.”

  “I’m not a lady,” Maddie giggles. “I’m a little girl.”

  “You’re little ladies then.” Caleb winks at them and stands patiently by my chair, waiting for me to set the large bowl of spaghetti on the table and take my seat.

  “Thank you, sir,” I say primly and sit in the chair.

  When was the last time a man sat at our dinner table with us? Besides holidays with the family, never.

  Never.

  Caleb helps the girls dish up and then waits for me to fill my own plate before digging in himself. As he and the girls eat heartily, I sit back and watch the three of them, laughing and talking, and my heart catches.

  Is this what normal is?

  “…right mom?” Josie looks at me expectantly.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “We get ice cream for dessert tonight.”

  “Oh, sure.” I nod and take a sip of my red wine.

  For the rest of the meal, I watch Caleb interact easily with my kids. He is quick to laugh at their antics, and even Josie thaws to him, fighting Maddie to talk about her day.

  God, he’s so damn handsome. Like all of the Montgomery men, he’s tall and broad. His hair is a dark blonde, but his eyes are ice blue and when he pins me in his stare, I swear he can see right into the heart of me.

  He’s in a gray t-shirt, tucked into faded blue jeans and black socks.

  And I can’t help but wonder what he looks like naked. For more than a year now, I’ve wanted to feel him over me, holding me.

  Inside me.

  And there have been moments when I know he felt the same way, but he’s never crossed the line of friendship.

  Damn him.

  “Who’s job is it to clean up?” Caleb asks when we’ve all finished our dinners. I’ve barely touched mine, but who can eat when Caleb “Hot Navy SEAL” Montgomery is sitting next to them?

  Not me.

  “We all help,” Josie tells him. “You can sweep the floor.”

  “That’s your job,” I remind her. “It’s her least favorite thing,” I tell Caleb with a smile.

  “Darn,” she whispers and takes her plate to the sink.

  “We all get KP duty,” Caleb informs the girls.

  “What’s cape duty?” Maddie asks.

  “K.P.” Caleb scrapes the left overs into a plastic bowl. “It means kitche
n patrol.”

  “We have to do it before we get ice cream.” Josie scowls.

  “Sounds fair to me,” I laugh and begin to load the dishwasher as Caleb and the girls clear the table and wipe down the counter tops.

  Before long the kitchen is clean and I’ve scooped everyone ice cream with chocolate sauce and sprinkles for the girls.

  “Can we sit outside on the patio?” Maddie asks.

  “No, Mads, it’s winter,” I remind her.

  “I want summer. When will it be summer?” She asks.

  “A few more months yet,” Caleb answers and kisses her head as we all sit at the dining room table to eat our sweet treat.

  “It’s not raining,” Josie points out.

  “No, but the patio furniture is put away and it’s cold outside.”

  “Dumb winter,” Josie pouts and takes a bite of her ice cream.

  ***

  “Are they in bed?” Caleb asks as I descend the stairs to the living room.

  “Yes.” I sigh and sit heavily on the couch next to him. “I love them, but dear God they’re exhausting.”

  “They’re beautiful,” Caleb murmurs as he hands me a beer.

  “We’re drinking?” I ask with raised eyebrows.

  “We’re sharing this one.”

  “Okay.” I take a pull on the brown bottle and then hand it back to him. “You know, you don’t have to stay, Caleb. The girls and I are safe.”

  “Brynna, do you understand why I’m here?”

  “Because someone asked a bunch of questions that weren’t even about me. Caleb, we don’t even know that anyone is looking for me.”

  “Look.” Caleb scoots closer to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “I know we have the police keeping an eye out in Chicago, and we don’t know for sure that anyone is looking for you, but Brynna, if there is even the slightest chance that you could be in danger, I need to be here.” He kisses my temple, inhaling deeply. “If Matt’s gut tells him something is off, then something is off.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to.” He takes my chin in his fingers and pulls my gaze to meet his own. “Keep telling the girls I need a place to stay. I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible. Just keep the damn doors locked and your eyes open.”

  “I don’t want our routine to be interrupted.”

  “Jesus, you’re stubborn.”

  “You already know this about me,” I remind him with a smile.

  “You work for Isaac three days a week, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Okay, you should be safe when you’re there, with Isaac there, and all the other guys always coming in and out. I’ll cut my work week down to three days a week so I’m here when you are.”

  “You’re working already?” I ask, surprised.

  “Yeah, I’m training civilian mercenaries just outside of Seattle.” He shifts, as though he’s uncomfortable talking about his new job, but I want to know more.

  “What kind of training?” I ask.

  “Weapons, mostly. Weapons were my specialty.”

  “What kind of weapons?” I ask, settling closer to him, leaning against his hard torso, enjoying the sound of his voice.

  “You name it, I know about it.”

  “Hmm.”

  “In fact, I think I’ll take you to learn to shoot tomorrow.”

  “Me?” I ask, and sit up straight. “Why?”

  “Because you need to know how to protect yourself. You’ll need a concealed weapons permit too.”

  “I already…”

  “Stop.” He pushes his fingers over my mouth, earning a vehement glare from me. “Let me teach you this, Bryn.”

  His arm is still around me, pulling me against his side, and his other hand is over my mouth, and all I can think about is the fact that his lips are inches away from my own.

  Inches.

  I drop my gaze to them and take a deep breath.

  “No,” he whispers and gently pulls his fingers away.

  “What?” I whisper back, still looking at his lips, and my stomach flutters when he licks them.

  “Don’t look at me like that.”

  My eyes rise to his. “Like what?”

  “Like you want me to kiss you.”

  “I do want you to kiss me.”

  There, I said it.

  He sighs deeply, runs his thumb across my bottom lip and then gently wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly.

  “I can’t do that. Go to bed, Brynna.”

  “But…”

  He abruptly stands, pulls the beer bottle from my hand and walks away from me. “Go to bed.”

  Chapter Two

  ~Caleb~

  What the fuck am I doing here?

  The look on Brynna’s gorgeous face as I told her I couldn’t kiss her replays over and over in my head. It’s two in the morning, and sleep is still far away. If it comes at all.

  I don’t sleep much these days.

  The woman sleeping upstairs has been in my mind more than not for the better part of the last year. She and her two amazing daughters have me wrapped around their little fingers. Brynna is perhaps the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, with her long dark hair and deep brown eyes, and those lips of hers were made for kissing. Her legs go on for days, and her ass is round and would be perfect for my hands.

  Incredible.

  And her girls are just as beautiful with their long dark hair and their mother’s brown eyes.

  I rise from the couch and work my way around the inside of the house, for the third time tonight, making a sweep to make sure that everything is as it should be. Both the front and back doors are locked tight, along with all of the windows. The house is still, aside from the occasional creek or groan of normal house settling noises.

  A single lamp is burning low in the living room, next to the couch. A red blanket and white sheet are folded neatly on one end, where Brynna left them earlier.

  Satisfied that the house is safe for the night, I pull my shirt over my head and stuff it in my bag, unfasten the top button of my jeans and pull the 9 mm pistol from the waistband at the small of my back and set it on the table beside the couch.

  Just as I reach for a clean tee and basketball shorts, someone lets out a soft cry upstairs.

  Grabbing the pistol, I move quickly to the stairs, climb them swiftly, my back against the wall, and head for the girl’s room, assuming the soft noise came from either Maddie or Josie, but as I cross by Brynna’s bedroom, she lets out a louder, more urgent cry of distress.

  I’ll fucking kill who ever is hurting her.

  Her door is partially ajar. I push it open carefully, my eyes quickly adjust to the dark, and I make a hasty sweep of the room, trying not to focus on the beautiful woman tossing and turning on the bed.

  The room is empty.

  “Don’t you touch her!” Brynna cries out and flops onto her stomach.

  I shove my pistol into the drawer of her bedside table and immediately climb onto the bed, leaning over her. I pull her damp, sweat-soaked hair off her forehead and cheek as she tosses herself onto her back once more and my heart stutters at the look of absolute anguish on her gorgeous face.

  “Bryn,” I call out to her softly, not wanting to scare the shit out of her.

  “I won’t let you get them,” she shakes her head back and forth and tears leak out of the sides of her eyes and disappear into her hairline.

  “Sweetheart, you’re dreaming.” I continue to caress her face gently. “Brynna, wake up.”

  Her eyes open wide and her gaze immediately finds mine. “Oh, my god.”

  She tries to pull away, but I ease her into my arms and pull her against me, tucking her sweet-smelling head under my chin and rock her back and forth as she softly cries.

  “You’re okay,” I whisper and glide my hands up and down her back. I can feel her warmth through the light material of her little white tank top, and I want to rip it off her luscious body and feel her s
mooth skin. Her heart is hammering against my chest.

  “I fucking hate nightmares,” she whispers against my chest, her breath tickling my skin.

  “You and me both,” I agree. So much so that I don’t even sleep anymore. “Wanna talk about it?”

  “I haven’t had it in a while,” she murmurs and sniffles. The tears have stopped, thank God, because seeing Brynna cry is like having my heart ripped from my chest. I can’t stand it.

  “What is it about?” I ask and brush my fingers through her long, dark hair. The strands are soft and straight and fall all the way to the small of her back. I love it when she wears it down, whether she leaves it straight or puts those wavy curls in it, it doesn’t matter.

  “My girls,” she whispers and buries her face in my chest once more and holds onto my sides with both hands as though the thought of what was tormenting her moments ago is too much to bear. “They were trying to hurt my girls.”

  “Baby,” I whisper and tilt her head back until she’s looking me in the face. “No one will ever hurt the girls. Ever.”

  Tears well in her big brown eyes again and it’s my undoing.

  “Don’t cry, Bryn.” I brush my thumbs over her cheeks, wiping the tears away. “You’re all safe.”

  “I’m so tired of being scared, Caleb.”

  “Hey,” I whisper and run my knuckles down her smooth cheeks. “No need to be scared, baby. I’ve got you.”

  Her eyes fall to my lips, the same way they did earlier on her couch and my gut clenches just as my cock springs to life.

  Get the fuck out of here, Montgomery.

  “Caleb?” She asks softly.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why won’t you kiss me?”

  I can’t answer her. The truth fucking sucks, and I won’t lie to her. Ever. Instead I brush my thumb over her lower lip, loving the way it feels against the pad of my thumb and wish with all my heart that things were different.

  As my thumb reaches the center of that pouty lower lip, the tip of her tongue peeks out and brushes my skin and I lose it.

  I cradle her cheek in my hand and sweep my lips over hers and then sink into her as she moans in happiness, wrapping those strong arms around me and pulling me closer to her.

  Her mouth is pure fucking bliss. My other hand glides up her side, over the outside of her breast and up to cradle the other side of her face and I hold her to me as I feast on her mouth.