Protector for Hire: A grumpysunshine forced proximity romance with an ex-military hero (Front and Center Book 4) by Tawna Fenske

Author:Tawna Fenske [Fenske, Tawna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

The next morning, Schwartz woke up grumpy.

He heard the cheerful, imaginary echo of his brother’s voice in the back of his head. Don’t you wake up grumpy every morning?

“Shut up, Grant,” he muttered out loud. Rolling over, he punched his pillow as his chest clenched tight.

Dammit, he missed the bastard. He hadn’t realized how much until Grant had shown up in his life and in his kitchen, sharing bad coffee and a plan to drag him into a mission that was a matter of life and death for someone who clearly mattered a whole lot to their family.

And now she mattered to him.

He didn’t need this right now. Schwartz rolled again and stared out the window. The sun was just starting to light up the tamaracks, staining the sky a soft purplish red. A western meadowlark flitted from branch to branch on a fir tree.

Another beautiful morning on this, the twenty-ninth day of September.

He rolled the date around in his mind like someone poking at a bad tooth with the tip of his tongue. Ten years ago today, he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. It was the day he’d ruined everything, disappointed his family, and lost his place in the world. He closed his eyes and smelled the tang of gunpowder again, heard the shrill hiss of the rocket and the screams of dying men.

Your fault. All your fault. You deserve to be alone.

A rustling sound on the other side of the wall made him open his eyes.

He wasn’t alone. Not by a long shot.

Janelle.

He rolled over again and punched the stupid hot dog pillow. What the hell had he been thinking last night? Talking to her that way, urging her to pleasure herself while he followed suit on the other side of the wall. He pictured her touching her body, those small hands caressing soft, luscious breasts as his palms moved down the side of her body and under her waistband until⁠—

Okay, so he hadn’t actually touched her. That was something. His judgment was a little fuzzy, but at least he hadn’t ruined it completely. He could still stay objective here, still keep her safe without the threat of hormones or affection or anything else clouding his thoughts. He could still do this.

He could still prove himself, even if it meant keeping his hands off her for good.

With a sigh, Schwartz threw back the covers and swung his legs out of the bed. It was chilly in the cabin, and he tugged on a pair of worn jeans and an old sweatshirt before lumbering into the living room. He got to work gathering wood and feeding Sherman, throwing himself into mundane tasks so he wouldn’t think about rockets or family or pale blue eyes flashing up at him with laughter.

He got the fire blazing again, and was sitting on the floor in front of it rubbing Sherman’s belly when Janelle walked in. He saw her out of the corner of his eye as she stumbled sleepily into the living room, pulling his old sweatshirt over her head as she moved.

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