When she made it to the living room she slowly opened the door and slipped out. She then released a disgusted sigh when she saw he was sitting in the truck. He had put his seat in a reclining position, but that had to be uncomfortable for him.

As if he’d been sleeping with one eye open and another one closed, he came awake when she rounded the truck and tapped on his window. He slowly tilted his Stetson back from covering his eyes. “Yes, Bella?”

She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. If she thought he was a handsome man before then he was even more now with the shadow covering his jaw. There was just something ultrasexy about a man who hadn’t shaved.

She fought her attention away from his jaw back to his gaze. “What are you doing here? Why did you come back?”

“I never left.”

She blinked. “You never left? You mean to tell me you’ve been out here in the car since I walked you to the door?”

He smiled that sexy smile. “Yes, I’ve been here since you walked me to the door.”

“But why?”

“To protect you.”

That simple statement suddenly took the wind out of her sail for just a moment. Merely a moment. That was all the time she needed to be reminded that no one had tried truly protecting her before. She’d always considered her parents’ antics more in the line of controlling than protecting.

She then recovered and remembered why he couldn’t sit out here protecting her. “But you can’t sit out here, Jason. It’s not proper. What will your family think if any of them see your car parked in front of my house at this hour? What would those policemen think? What would—”

“Honestly, Bella, I really don’t give a royal damn what anyone thinks. I refuse to let you stay here without being close by to make sure you’re okay. You didn’t want me to sleep in the barn so this is where I am and where I will stay.”

She frowned. “You’re being difficult.”

“No, I’m being a man looking out for the woman I want. Now go back inside and lock the door behind you. You interrupted my sleep.”

She stared at him for a long moment and then said, “Fine, you win. Come on inside.”

He stared back at her. “That wasn’t what this was about, Bella. I recognize the fact just as much as you do that we don’t need to be under the same roof alone. I’m fine with being out here tonight.”

“Well, I’m not fine with it.”

“Sorry about that but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

She glared at him and seeing he was determined to be stubborn, she threw up her hands before going back into the house, closing the door behind her.