Alex stared at the computer screen, wishing again someone would come along and do this for him. He went through a day of wishing the same thing over and over, every month. This month it might be two days if he couldn’t push the lush curves of his bride out of his head and concentrate. As if conjured by his thoughts, he caught a whiff of her light floral scent and looked up to find her standing in the doorway, leaning against the jam, watching him.

“Is something wrong?”

“I got lonely and wondered where you were.” She looked vulnerable and shy.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell her to leave him alone. “I’m working on the monthly records for this place. You can stay if you want.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you.”

“You aren’t bothering me.”

She sat on the dark leather sofa on the wall across from the windows and watched him. He tried to focus on the sheets of names, numbers and supplies, but he felt her eyes on him. Not the hairs standing on the back of his neck he’d felt so many times while he’d been in the field, but something else. His skin was hot and tight. His dick stood at attention and throbbed, letting him know what he should really be doing. Taking his bride up to their bedroom, spreading her out on the bed and learning every inch of her body, first with his hands, then his tongue, then more.

Something about the woman made all his protective instincts, and all his desires, rise to the surface, and he didn’t know why. The not knowing why like to drove him nuts. He’d sworn off women more than a year ago. He just couldn’t take the looks the pity, the horror in their eyes when they looked at him. And not just at his face, but his chest, his arm, his hand, it all got the same reaction. Until Janie. He closed his eyes a moment and Janie’s face when she’d first seen his flashed in front of his eyes. There had been no horror or pity. Instead there’d been something different. Kindness, understanding, kinship. Did she possibly have scars of her own?

The mere idea that someone had harmed her made him want to hit something. He glanced at the clock. They still had a little over an hour until the hands showed up for dinner. Plenty of time for a workout. He locked the computer so no one could wander in and mess with things, then pushed back from the desk and stood.

“I need a workout, want to come up to the gym with me?”

She frowned a moment then nodded. He wondered when she’d open up to him, if she would. He knew better than to push. He had things he didn’t want to talk about either. Alex led her to the back stairs that weren’t far from his office, and up to what had been a back bedroom that he’d filled with gym equipment and a heavy bag.

“Sit anywhere, I’m gonna grab some tape and have a go at the bag.” He didn’t wait to see what she did, instead he peeled off his shirt on his way to the bathroom and unbuckled his belt. He had to change first.

Alex stepped out of the bathroom, wearing comfortable shorts and no shirt, carrying a roll of tape. He ignored Janie’s wide eyes as he approached her.

“Can you help me with this, I can manage on my own, but it’s easier with extra hands.” He handed her the roll of tape, then talked her through how to tape his hands so he wouldn’t tear them up while beating out the aggression he didn’t completely understand.