Chapter 16

––––––––

Covered up to her neck with the blanket, Heidi stared into the darkness listening for the roar of Glen's motorcycle to return home. It'd taken her cleaning the kitchen, a long bath until the water cooled, and a serious chat with Jewel—yes, she'd named the cat, for her to decide that Glen owning a pistol had nothing to do with her or her safety.

Glen was not Evan.

More importantly, if she could trust Glen, he was everything she'd hoped for since the first time Evan hurt her. How many times had she dreamed of someone, anyone, she could tell everything to?

Unable to risk her parents and Stewart's safety, she'd kept everything to herself and ran. But, there'd been times that she was tempted to tell her story. Occasionally, there were volunteers at the shelters who came across concerned and willing to help. The other homeless people who shared their horror stories or their sad stories and always wanted to know why she was living on the streets. Even Pauly with his quiet acceptance while hiring her and not asking the questions most people would've had if they figured out she wore the same clothes for one full week had tempted her to confide in him.

But, she never talked.

Her gaze fell on her backpack beside her bed. There was no room inside for her new clothes she'd tried on earlier. She'd hung them all in the closet instead, and that's what made her feel good. She'd accepted Glen's help, not because he made life easier for her, but because he never asked for anything in return.

"I like him, Jewel," she whispered. "And, I'm the wrong woman for him."

The cat stretched against her back. The hardest part of the whole situation was she understood how Glen felt about her. She wanted him, too. But, did she have a right to explore those feelings in her situation?

It was unfair of her to believe she could get closer to Glen. She'd be using his feelings and not giving him everything in return.

The rumble of a motorcycle grabbed her attention. Her body flashed cold, then hot, and she moved her arm out from underneath the blanket.

Meow.

Even the cat recognized the sound and looked forward to Glen coming home. Though she suspected, only her stomach fluttered in arousal at knowing Glen was near. Jewel had been fed, petted, and put to bed, needing nothing else than a safe place to lay her head.

Heidi wanted more. No amount of overthinking seemed to douse her desire to have more with Glen.

The door opened and closed downstairs. She'd left the hallway light on for him.

Glen's heavy boots thunked up the stairs, and she partially closed her eyes until she could only see through the slits when his shadow paused outside her unlatched door. She'd left it open one inch and had placed her shoes behind the door in case the cat got out of bed and tried to escape. She couldn't let Jewel wander the house and ruin Heidi's chance of sleeping inside.

Several minutes later, the shower in the bathroom started. Her nipples peaked, and she closed her eyes on a silent groan. It'd been a long time since she'd felt desire and lately, even the signs were different.

With Evan, her excitement came from the romance he'd given her. That thrill of dating and receiving attention for the first time from the opposite sex, something she'd desperately craved, had blinded her to the obvious. She'd been in love with the idea of love. Something she had never experienced until him, and now she recognized the emotion as a mistake.

The nerves in her tightly wound body crawled. She stretched her legs trying to soothe the need to touch herself. The movement only aroused her more. Glen was naked, wet, and twenty feet away.

She had nothing to offer him, but sex. Maybe that's all he wanted, and she was overthinking the situation. She owed him. For the shelter, the food, the support. Not to mention, the clothes, and getting her job back.

God, she was expected to be at Pauly's Peddler's tomorrow at nine o'clock. Glen was due in at his work at six o'clock. There was no clock in the bedroom, but it had to be after three in the morning, and here she was trying to rationalize her life.

The water shut off. She held her breath. Calling herself all kinds of ridiculous, she let the air out of her lungs and laid perfectly still trying to hear the rustle of Glen's mattress compressing under his weight. A doorway in the hallway clicked open. Unable to hear his bare feet pad down the hallway, her heart raced.

The spare bedroom door creaked. She sat up in bed. Silhouetted in the doorway with the light at his back, Glen peeked his head inside, and his exhale palpitated the room. And, her.

"Did you find the missing man?" she whispered.

He swung the door open and leaned against the frame. She couldn't tell if he was dressed or naked. Only the outline of his body filled the doorway.

"Yeah, Thad spotted him wandering outside Safeway, three blocks from the nursing home. The police gave him a ride back," he whispered. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

She shrugged, and then realizing he probably couldn't see her either, she said, "I was waiting for you to come home."

"It's quarter to three. I'll wake you up when I leave for work, and you can get ready to go to Pauly's." He straightened, and the door swung, erasing his silhouette.

Her pulse throbbed. "Glen?"

He returned to her view. "Yeah?"

"Can you...?" She swallowed, her face burning with warmth. "Will you...?"

"Blue, just say what you want," he said.

Heidi went up on her knees atop the bed. "Will you let me be with you?"

"You're going to have to explain what that means to you because I'm hearing one thing and thinking another." His low voice rolled over her leaving goosebumps when only a minute before, she'd been hot.

"Can you just sleep with me?" She panted, sinking down onto the mattress. "I don't want to be alone."

Her heartbeat filled her ears waiting for his rejection. She shook her head. None of what she asked came out right.

"I want to sleep beside you. Only you," she said, breathless.

"Come here."

She scrambled out of bed and approached him. "If you don't want—"

"Not in here. I want my own bed." He took her hand and walked her across the hall to his room.

The bedside lamp was on. Glen pulled back the covers of a king-size bed. "Hop in."

Still wearing her clean pair of old sweat pants and T-shirt, she crawled across the mattress and slipped between the sheets. She looked back at Glen right before he turned off the light and caught a glimpse of a hard, male body. His skintight black boxers showcased how big Glen was with his clothes stripped away.

The mattress dipped. On her back, she stared up into the darkness. She'd expected to relax knowing he was near and instead she was coiled inside, reading to spring.

Glen whistled, stopped, and said, "Did you imagine yourself sleeping clear over there?"

"No." She closed her eyes even though the room was dark.

"Come here." His hand touched her belly through the blanket, then her leg, then her breast before patting the mattress beside him. "I can't see a damn thing in here."

She smiled behind the safety of the darkness and grabbed his hand. He turned, scooped her by the hip, and turned her, pulling her against her body. His front against her back, he wrapped his arm around her, snuggling his hand between her breasts. The heat of his palm, flat against her chest, warmed her. The hardness of him pressed against her butt a reminder of how close he was to her.

There was no one who could hurt or sneak up on her with him shielding her.

With that comfort, she fell asleep listening to Glen breathe, and eventually, his soft snores tickled the short hair on the top of her head.