Read Online Protecting Summer by Susan Stoker - Free Book Online Page A

              “What is?” Summer was confused. “What are you talking about?”
              “Go on, get in the shower. We’ll talk when I get back.”
    “God, you’re annoying,” Summer huffed, finally showing some backbone, as she tried to pull out of his arms to do as he’d demanded.
    Mozart laughed and whispered, “I’m sure I’ll annoy you more as we get to know each other, but just remember I always have your best interests in mind.”
    “Whatever,” was all Summer could come up with as a comeback. It was lame, but the shower was calling her name and she really was freezing.
    Mozart let go of Summer and watched as she walked into the little bathroom and shut the door behind her. He blew out a breath and put both hands up into his hair and raked his hands over his head. Jesus, all this time she’d been living in a hovel and he’d been making excuses as to why he shouldn’t come back up here. Mozart should’ve thought more about her situation that night when he’d taken her to dinner. All the signs had been there, but he’d ignored them. Some observant Navy SEAL he was. God, he was a fucking idiot.
    He was here now and he’d fix this. Mozart would make sure she wasn’t hungry or cold again. He wasn’t sure she was going to like his solution, but he didn’t give a damn. She was his , dammit. She was vulnerable, yet spicy at the same time. She wasn’t a young naïve woman in her early twenties, she was like him. Seasoned. The combination was intriguing to Mozart. He hadn’t thought twice about her being his. She just was. As soon as he’d seen her trying to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary with her living in a shack and telling him she had no expectation for his return, he’d known.
    Mozart walked out to his truck and grabbed his bag along with a bottle of soda he’d forgotten to drink on his way up to the lake. He re-entered the cabin and remembered to crank up the heat in the room before he did anything else. The overly warm room might make him uncomfortable, but he’d bet Summer would appreciate the added warmth. Mozart smiled at hearing the shower running. He could imagine Summer standing under the spray of water naked as the day she was born. He willed his erection to go down as he pulled a T-shirt out of his bag. Usually he didn’t wear any underwear so he didn’t have a pair of boxers she could wear, not that they’d have fit her anyway.
    He dug some more and came up with a pair of shorts that he usually ran in. He knew they’d be huge on her, but he also didn’t want her to feel vulnerable without something covering her lower half. Mozart went over to the bathroom door and eased it open. Steam rolled out the door and he couldn’t help but smile again. He knew he’d told Summer he’d leave the clothes outside the door, but he couldn’t resist going into the bathroom if his life depended on it.
    “Sunshine? I’m leaving a shirt and stuff on the sink. I brought in a soda as well. Drink it. The sugar will do you good.” When she didn’t immediately answer, he called out, “You okay?”
    He heard a muffled shriek and watched as she stuck her head around the shower curtain. She obviously hadn’t heard him when he’d opened the door to talk to her.
    “Mozart? Get out of here!”
    “Okay, I’m going. I just wanted to make sure you were all right before I headed out. There’s clothes on the sink, and drink the soda I left for you.”
    “All right. Just go!”
    Summer heard Mozart laugh as he shut the bathroom door. She should’ve been more upset at him, but she couldn’t be. She hadn’t been able to take a lazy shower in what seemed like forever, and it felt heavenly. Summer grabbed the cheap little shampoo she’d left in the room earlier that day, and washed her hair twice, using the bubbles from the lather to scrub her skin as best she could. She conditioned her hair and rinsed that out as well.
    Then, cranking the knob so the