“Which is why I’d be here with you.” My voice comes out rougher than intended. “I’m not leaving you alone until this is over, Anna. Not for hunting trips, not for anything. You’re my responsibility.”
She looks at me for a long moment. “Your responsibility.”
“Yes.” I pause, searching for the right words. “And more than that. But yes, keeping you safe is my priority.”
“What’s the worst case scenario? If they got inside the commune, past security, to this cabin?” She’s asking the hard question. Wants the truth.
I respect that about her. No sugar-coating. “Worst case? They try to take you. Or silence you before the evidence goes public.” I watch her process this. “But that won’t happen. We have trained warriors here. Kelt, Urdan, myself, dozens of others. Any human who tried to harm you would have to go through all of us first.”
“And you’d fight for me.” It’s not a question.
“To the death.” Simple truth.
She swallows hard. “That’s terrifying and comforting at the same time.”
“You’re safe here, Anna. I promise you that.” I stand, needing to do something with my hands. “Kelt is checking in every six hours. Jonus is coordinating with the lawyer. Garlen has extra security on Ellie and Zoe back in Truckee. Everyone knows the stakes.”
“I handed over the only leverage I had.” Her voice is small. “If something goes wrong?—”
“Nothing will go wrong. The evidence is encrypted and secured. Multiple copies in multiple locations. Even if they somehow got to you, it wouldn’t stop the investigation now.” I move closer, crouch in front of where she sits. “You did the right thing. The hard thing. And now we protect you while the system does its job.”
She nods slowly. “Okay. I trust you.”
Those three words hit me harder than they should. “Good. Now, I’m going to make us dinner. You’ve had a long day.”
Anna manages a small smile. “Thank you, Keric. For everything.”
Chapter Twelve
Anna
Iwake up hot and bothered, after an explicit dream wherein Keric was in bed with me, his face between my thighs, licking me to orgasm. The throes of said orgasm leave me gasping for breath. I didn’t even know it was possible to have such a hot dream that it could make me come while asleep, but it did.
I’m gushing with moisture between my thighs and my nipples are two hard points. I look around, realizing its morning and I’m alone with no one beside me. Time to get up.
This is my second morning waking up in his bed, alone.
How am I going to survive this?
I’m not ready to commit fully to Keric forever and instantly becoming pregnant. My mind is filled with the fact that powerful people are pissed as hell at the thought of me handing over evidence to the right authorities who can bring down their ring of fraud and get them jailed for the murder of Jonas Webb. I want them stopped before they can hurt me or anyone else. Andin between that, it’s difficult to think realistically of romance, marriage and babies.
And yet my mind fills with these topics.
How can I not think this way when every waking moment is spent with the fabulously sexy Keric Irontree? Those powerful thighs and the kissable lips. His green skin looks so soft and those tusks add an edgy allure to the powerful package.
He even let me adopt a kitten.
I check the time on the nightstand and see that I slept in and it’s already almost nine o’clock in the morning.
Ugh. I throw back the covers and get out of bed.
I quietly make my way down the hallway and look at myself in the mirror. Luckily, I’d shoved my entire skincare system into my go bag. I always have travel size versions of everything just for an instance like this. My skin looks good, but I certainly need an exfoliant this morning.
I take a shower and force myself to think about the problem at hand, the evidence I gave to the orcs. The lawyer I haven’t met yet who is reviewing the files. This is all good news.
I can focus on that. Survival first. Romance later.
Except I can’t stop thinking about the dream.
