Page 45 of Saving Stella

Goody-two-shoes, shy preacher’s daughter.

No one ever noticed her.

“Ready?” Cliff’s tall, hulking form practically filled the entire doorway of the hospital.

“Oh, hey. Um, yeah, I’m ready.”

“Car’s right outside.”

Cliff had stayed outside her room for the rest of her stay, though he did check in on her a couple of times when he thought she was sleeping. When the nurses informed her she was going to be discharged, he mumbled something about getting his car and waiting for her outside. She would have protested except she remembered her own car was totaled. A deputy had stopped by this morning to let her know they had found it and they were able retrieve her purse, but the car itself would have to be towed. Hopefully her insurance would pay for it, along with a rental.

She followed him outside toward the pickup truck waiting in the driveway. He opened the door for her, though she brushed away his offer of a hand and got in by herself.

Stella was thankful the radio was already in the middle of a podcast, so there was no need to talk. She didn’t even need to ask him if he wanted her address as he drove in the correct direction when they pulled out into the highway. But then again, he probably already knew everything about her since he was a professional bodyguard.

“Thanks,” she said when they stopped outside her house. “Good night.” She slipped out of the car before he could say anything. She had hoped he would drive away, but to her surprise, she heard the engine switch off, the door open, and footsteps following behind her.

She whirled around to face him. “Can I help you?”

He nodded at her door. “I’m gonna secure your home and the perimeter. Make sure everything’s safe.”

“Safe? This is my house, of course it’s safe.”

“Those guys found you pretty quick,” he pointed out. “You said you went home and were on your way to your parents’ home when they ran you off the road. They probably followed you from here.”

She opened her mouth to protest, then clamped it shut. “Fine.”

“Now, open your door and let me go inside first. I’ll let you know when it’s secure.”

Retrieving her keys from her pocket, she unlocked the door and did as he ordered. She stayed outside, and he emerged fifteen minutes later.

“Everything looks good. You can go in, and I’ll check the perimeter.”

She brushed past him without a word, though she did glare at his retreating back.

Pushy, bossy bully.

As soon as she entered her house, the familiar smell comforted her, though now there were traces of Cliff’s scent in the air. Apparently he’d checked everywhere because the scent lingered even in her bedroom. An ache formed low in her belly and between her thighs, imagining that same scent covering her bedsheets—and her.

Oh Lord.

Maybe God was punishing her—or testing her. Because the things she wanted Cliff to do to her—and her to him—would certainly earn her a place in hell.

Why did she have to want a man who didn’t want her back?

Sighing, she went to her bathroom and took a nice, hot, long shower and got into her pajamas. She’d been dreaming of this since she woke up in the hospital yesterday. Thankfully, Momma had brought her some clothes when she and Papa visited yesterday, but the sponge bath she got last night didn’t compare to the luxurious spray of her rainfall shower. She padded out so she could grab a snack in the kitchen when, to her surprise, she found Cliff sitting on her couch.

“What are you doing here?”

He leaned back. “What does it look like? I’m watching over you.”

“From in here?” The thought of having him inside her house was disconcerting.

“Yeah. Did you want me to stay outside?”

That didn’t quite sit well with her either. “Er, where do you usually stay when you’re working?”

“Depends on the client. Usually, I’d stay outside your door, but with your neighbors so close by?—”