“Do you smell that?” A sound woke me up in the middle of the night, at least I thought it was the middle of the night but I couldn’t be absolutely certain since time meant nothing once I got naked with Bennett. Why couldn’t I get enough of him, and why was he the man who did it for me? Turned me inside out and kept sex on my mind? And why was it that the first scent to hit my nostrils wasn’t that of Bennett’s masculine odor, or the aroma of sex, but smoke?

“Smell what?” His voice was thick with sleep and I took a moment to appreciate my role in knocking him out so thoroughly.

“Smoke,” I told him impatiently, but his breathing had already returned to a deep and even pattern that signified he’d already fallen back to sleep. With an eye roll I had never used in my life, I grunted as I slid from under his heavy arm and mumbled as my feet hit the cool wood of the floor. “I guess I’ll check it out myself.”

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and though normally I didn’t let instinct guide me, there were other factors contributing to that feeling. For starters, we ordered from a local Chinese restaurant which meant the stove had been off since this morning, and the only candles I kept in the place were in the master bathroom around my tub.

Yet as I crept closer to the stairs the smell grew stronger and my heart rate tripled. At the top of the stairs I heard it, voices. Muffled voices belonging to at least two people. Then the sound of a lamp falling and the loud familiar whoosh of a fire.

I took one step back when a hand gripped my arm, and though logically I knew it had to be Bennett, my body hadn’t caught up to that realization and my elbow went flying back and up into his gut.

“Ooof.”

“Sorry.”

“What the hell are you doing?” His handsome face scowled but all I could think about was kissing that twisted up mouth of his.

“Checking on the smell. You can go back to sleep if you want.” He rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back into the master bedroom.

“And just what were you going to do if you’d found someone downstairs? Or the fire?”

“Come and get you, obviously Sailor.”

He smirked and shook his head as he picked up his jeans and stepped into them. “I’ll go.”

“We’ll both go. I heard at least two voices Bennett.” I found my own jeans and the t-shirt I had on earlier before stepping into my sneakers.

“Laney,” he said in that tone I’d come to recognize as long suffering.

I shook my head, insistent. “This is my problem Bennett, not yours. You are my TA, not my bodyguard and I won’t have you getting hurt trying to protect me.”

“I may be your TA but we both know I’m more than qualified to guard your body, just as we both know I’m not letting you go down there by yourself. Or first.”

I sighed and nodded because he was too alpha to let his protective instincts go. “Whatever. Let’s just go.” By the time we were halfway down the staircase there were flames licking up the whole front wall.

“Bennett,” I grabbed onto his bicep, panic clear in my voice.

“I see it Laney, just stay calm. This is a tactic,” he said as his hand pushed my belly until I took a step backwards and then another as he followed my path.

“What do you mean a tactic?”

“It means that we see a fire and go running wildly out the front door, and who knows who might be waiting for us, to pick us off or kidnap us.” He said ‘us’ but we both knew he meant me. “If they really wanted to burn us and your research both exits would be on fire to make sure we couldn’t get out alive.”

That sounded reasonable, mostly because I trusted Bennett, but also because I don’t think whoever is after me wants to destroy my research. They want it for themselves. “So what do we do Sailor?”

“First we call 911,” he grabbed my phone off the nightstand and tossed it to me. “Then we sneak out through one of the other windows and get out that way.”

“From the second floor!?” He must be out of his mind. “I’ll break a bone Ben. I’m not in the military.”

He laughed and pulled me close. “Honey I’ve carried packs heavier than you, and a lot further than one story down.”

“You’re not carrying me Ben.”

His response was to pick me up and toss me over his shoulder. “This will be a lot easier with you on my back but I can do it like this too sweetheart.”

With a grunt I wrapped my arms and legs around his body from the back and twisted my eyes closed as he moved swiftly down the side of the house from the second guest room. We squatted in the bushes for what felt like forever when finally, the red and blue lights of emergency services flashed. “Thank goodness.”

“Keep quiet Laney, we have to be sure.”

I nodded, letting out a small squeak when a flashlight passed over us. “We live here!” I shouted out before I could stop myself.

“No Laney, don’t look before giving our location away,” he whispered, sarcasm thick in his voice.

I nudged his side with my elbow. “Quiet.”

The flashlight shone right on the bushes we hid behind. “Come out. Slowly with your hands where I can see them.”

We did as he instructed with Bennett going first because he was just that kind of guy. He stood just ahead of me, a protective stance if I ever saw one, until he felt sure the officer meant me no harm. He kept his arm on my back the entire time. It shouldn’t have felt as good as it did, but it was nice having someone care so much about me. Especially a man like Bennett.

The cops had plenty of questions for us as the firefighters worked to put the fire out, but Bennett had already warned me not to give them too much information. He was sure they wouldn’t believe me because they wouldn’t understand the ramifications of my research, but also because it sounded too fantastical. So we stuck with the basics without mentioning that people were out to get me.

“Why didn’t you just go through the back door?” The officer who found us in the bushes didn’t seem to be impressed with our story if his bored look was any indication.

Bennett wrapped an arm around me. “She was panicked and worried because she heard voices and this was the only way to get her out safely. And quietly.”

Oh I saw what he was doing. “He’s in the Navy,” I added with an eye roll, “so he likes to show off by carrying me. Any excuse.”

The cop nodded, but his eyes said he didn’t care all that much. “Either of you need medical attention?”

Bennett shook his head, his tough take-charge attitude back in place as his hand settled, once again, on my back. “I’m good.”

“Me too, but I would like to get back inside. I’m a scientist and a professor and I have to get some things I need.” I gave the officer my best pouty look and he groaned.

The cop wasn’t happy but he agreed. “Go in through the back door. You have five minutes so tread carefully.”

I squeaked out my gratitude and wrapped my arms around him. “Sorry. Thank you. Sorry again,” I said as Bennett pulled me away.

“Be quick, I’ll keep an eye out while you go down to the basement.”

I frowned. “It’s not in the basement, that’s just where I do my work,” I told him and darted upstairs to grab what I needed. Three minutes later I came down with a large suitcase and my briefcase.

“What the hell did you pack in there?”

I grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

***

“It really wasn’t necessary for you to pay for the room Bennett. I have my own money you know.” As soon as we arrived at the motel he’d insisted on, the highhanded man had pulled out a wad of cash and paid for our room.

“I am well aware of that Laney, but I’m guessing you don’t have that much cash on you, do you?”

“Well, no but-,”

“No buts,” he pushed a finger against my lips to stop me. “These guys would have tracked your credit card in five minutes and we’d be on the run yet again.”

My shoulders slumped in resignation at his words. “In that case, thank you.” I dropped down on the bed and fell back, fatigue taking over as the adrenaline wore off.

“Why is this happening?” I felt the dip of the bed under his weight beside me, his big hand rested on my thigh.

“Because your research is brilliant and will very likely change the world Laney. That scares people, makes them greedy and ruthless.”

“It isn’t even complete yet. Do you think I should stop the project?”

He leaned over me so our faces were just inches apart, blue-green eyes as deep as the ocean, as steady as the sky. “Hell no. It wouldn’t stop them anyway Laney, and I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

I believed him but I also knew that the longer Bennett hung around me, the more likely he would end up hurt. Because of me.

“I want you to leave.”

“Excuse me?”

I sighed and sat up, hand to his chest so he would understand. “Bennett I would love for you stick around, for a long time, but that’s why you have to leave. I know you’re some big bad SEAL, but normally there’s a team with you, right?”

“Yes but-,”

“No buts,” I told him with a grin. “I like you Bennett, more than I should and I couldn’t bear it if you were hurt because of me.” That was probably more than he needed to know about my feelings, but I needed him to understand. I hadn’t had anyone in my life that I cared about like this for a long time, which meant I had to protect him. “So I would like you to leave. Go back to your Navy base and get far away from here.”

“Laney, I can’t do that.”

“Yes, I know that you have that whole protector thing going on and believe me I find it incredibly attractive, but I need you to do this. For me.”

“Laney…”

“No Bennett, don’t argue with me. Please.” I cupped his face, my heart squeezing at the thought that I wouldn’t see this incredible man again. He would leave here and go off to save the world again and again, and he would forget about me. The awkward scientist he’d met a lifetime ago.

He gripped my shoulders and pushed me back on the bed, settling between my legs with a fierce expression on his face. “You really think I could walk away from you now? If so, you don’t know me all that well.” His voice was deep and intense as he pressed his denim covered erection to the spot that ached and dripped with need.

“I do know you Bennett, and I know you’ll put yourself between me and harm, don’t you see how I can’t live with that?”

In response, his mouth crashed down on mine, hot and intense and never-ending as our tongues and teeth clashed. My body responded immediately, melting into the bed as my legs wrapped around his waist. His hands skimmed along my sides, pulling my clothes off while my hands yanked clumsily at his.

“Delaney.”

“Yes,” I moaned and tossed my head back, crying in distress as he pulled back. “Please Ben.”

He quickly removed the rest of his clothes and pulled mine the rest of the way off, staring down at me with heat and hunger in his eyes.

“Please what?”

I reached for him, stroking his erection and enjoying the way he hissed out in pleasure and clenched in his jaw tight. “Please,” I said and swiped my tongue up the length of him, “take me.”

He let out a delicious growl and lowered himself over me, brushing his cock against my swollen folds, slowly until I squirmed. Then he thrust inside, hard and fast, sending me close to orgasm just that quickly.

“Laney,” he growled absently, his hips moving of their own accord like he had no control over his body. It was a heady experience knowing I could make a man like him, a real man, feel so lost.

“You feel so good Bennett. Harder,” I demanded as his hips slowed and stopped altogether as he slid from my body. “What’s wrong?”

He flipped me onto my stomach, grabbing my waist so my backside was raised high in the air. “Such a great ass,” he grunted and slapped my cheek hard enough to make it sting.

I cried out in delight, smiling that he was finally giving me the spanking I’d asked for previously. He smacked it again and again, rubbing it gently to soothe the sting. “I’m so wet Bennett.” He thrust a finger deep into me and I cried out again, clamping down on his finger as it hooked deeper. “Bennett,” I moaned and moved my hips.

“Fuck Laney, I love the way you say my name. Say it again,” he commanded.

“Ben-,” I didn’t get further than the first syllable before he slid deep inside me in this new position, filling me deliciously. “Oh, goodness!” I felt so full and he was so thick and buried so deep I could hardly breathe. “Bennett!”

“Yeah,” he grunted and even then I could hear the pride in his voice as he thrust in and pulled out. Thrust in and pulled out, over and over, letting one hand glide up my back and grip the back of neck while the other squeezed my ass. The sensations he caused were unlike any I’d ever felt, like heat and fireworks were shooting off inside my skin.

Each time his cock entered me I felt a spark of something deep inside me and when his big hand gripped my hair and pulled me back, I tightened around him. His tongue licked up the side of my neck while he deepened his strokes, slid faster and harder until I exploded around him, shattering into a million pieces. “Oooh, yessss!”

His hips kept moving and I continued to shatter, to melt until he stilled and filled me with his hot warm liquid. His legs gave out, sending us both crashing to the bed. “Sweet, sexy Laney.” His lips brushed my neck, my earlobes. Still buried deep his hips moved slowly and I arched my back, as eager to continue feeling this connection as he was. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I wanted to argue, I really did, but how could any woman with half a brain push away this man? Especially when he whispered sexy words in my ear and his body made me feel like I’d been shot into the heavens. “You can stay right here. Forever.”

“As much as I would love that, I need to go find some clothes.”

My body tightened around his, keeping him right where he was. Where I needed him to stay. “No, you don’t.”

“Really Laney.”

I looked over my shoulder into those blue-green eyes and grinned. “You think all those clothes are mine? Now who doesn’t know whom very well?”

His deep laugh reverberated through me, heightening my desire as I drenched his cock with my juices. “All the more reason for me to stick around.”