“I’m fine with just watching you.”
Her head turns toward me, confusion on her face, before her lips turn up into a smile.
“You’re very cute.”
“You should stop with the compliments,” I say.
“Or what?”
“I may fall in love.”
She huffs a laugh, her attention going back to the TV. After a long moment, I pull my attention from her and bring it to the TV. She’s browsing movies on a streaming service.
“That’s a good one.”
“This?” she questions, stopping on Men In Black.
“Hell yeah.”
She shrugs, then clicks on it. “I guess the classics don’t get old. I can’t remember the last time I saw this movie.”
And for some reason, that makes something click in my head.
“This movie… or any movie?” I ask carefully.
Her head turns toward me again; this time there’s a frown on her face. She doesn’t answer, and she doesn’t have to. I see the fear written all over her face.
“You don’t have to answer that. I can imagine what you’ve been through, and I bet it’s not even close to the real thing.” She swallows hard. “Just know that you’re safe here. With Snapper, and with me.”
She nods, but my words don’t make the fear go away. So I shift on the couch and lift my arm, gesturing for her to come to me. She does. It takes her a few moments to get comfortable, and I fix the blanket to make sure she’s covered. She smells like vanilla and sunshine. It’s the best thing I’ve ever smelled in all my life. I have the strongest urge to lean down and kiss her head when she settles it on my chest.
Fuck it.
I hold her a little tighter and press a kiss to the top of her head just as the movie starts to play.
“I’ll keep you and your baby safe, if it’s the last thing I do,” I whisper.
Her body shakes as she takes a slow, deep breath.
I don’t know what I did to get into this woman’s orbit, but what I do know is she’s mine to protect now. I feel it in my bones, in the way my chest tightens and flutters when she looks at me. Maybe she is my purpose in life—the reason I’ll no longer be alone.
I’ve never believed in fate before, but something brought me here tonight. Every action I took today led me here, into Snapper’s house. And I know deep in my gut that nothing will ever be the same.
Chapter Four
Anastacia
The room is dark; the TV dim when I wake.
I’m so warm that there is a layer of sweat on my skin. I never sweat this much in my sleep, but when I shift, I realize it isn’t me who’s turned into a furnace.
I blink a few times, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dark, to the man allowing me to use him as a pillow.
Grizz. One of the Hell’s Mayhem members. Snapper’s friend, and club brother.
Another man in a club. A man I should stay far away from. That’s what my brain is telling me. But everything else… Everything else in me is sayinggo to him.
There’s this feeling deep in my soul telling me that he will protect me, that he’s a guardian sent to keep me and my baby safe. To take care of us. Like kindred spirits, or perhaps soulmates. I can’t quite put into words how it feels, but it’s more than just attraction.
