“What’s happening?” I asked, alarmed. “Are you taking me out back and leaving me for the pigs?”
He didn’t even glance at me as he moved. My shoulder bumped his chest. The arms holding me up, shifted. For one brief moment, I worried about how heavy I was. Then I remembered who was carrying me.
That made my eyes pop open even wider.
“I don’t know where you come up with this shit,” he muttered, flicking a glance down at me, a hint of amusement on his sharp features. “I don’t have pigs. If I was going to do anything, I’d drop you in the middle of the Pacific. I’m putting you to bed.”
If he could fly. I wasn’t about to bring that up though. “Where’s Selene?” I managed to ask.
“In bed,” he answered, sounding distracted.
It was nice being carried. Really, really nice. And I knew I should tell him I could walk, but… who knew when the next time this would happen would be? Much less the next time someone who looked like him would ever hold me? Never, that was when. “What time is it?” I yawned, feeling pretty shameless.
“Late,” he answered, his chest was like a freaking wall against me.
“Want me to walk?” I made myself ask.
His answer was a grunt a split second before he turned into the bedroom that I recognized as the one I’d been given. Holding me up with one arm, pulling me even closer to him, Alexander tugged the comforter back before lowering me onto the mattress.
This was the first time since I’d been itty-bitty that I’d been put to bed.
And here he was.
“Hey.” I grabbed his forearm.
That handsome face stared down at me. He really did look so much better now compared to how he’d been when we’d first met. His skin almost glowed, highlighting all those incredible bones and tissues that made him up. It had to be those “superior genes” he was always bragging about.
Or magic. Since he was apparently out of this world. Literally.
“Did you cut your hair?” I asked him, finally noticing that it wasn’t at his chin anymore. When the hell had he cut it? How long had I been asleep?
He nodded.
It is hard to differentiate between Alexander and The Defender now, my brain thought.
I already knew there was more to him than the suit and the seemingly limitless power, but it really struck home big-time now. Here. In his house. With his mix of kindness and grumpiness. In normal clothes.
Who the hell was this person carrying me to bed, letting me hang out with him so I wouldn’t be alone?
“I know this situation isn’t your first choice, and you know, I wish I could say it wasn’t my first choice either, but”—I blinked up at that gorgeous face—“considering how shitty my circumstances are right now, I’m grateful for it.” I paused. “I hope you know how lucky you are to have people who care about you enough to go back and forth across the country to help you,” I told him quietly, that lonely little ache squeezing my heart. I could only dream about having the same.
Tears popped up in my eyes, and I could tell he was narrowing his in response, but I pushed through.
“I’m not crying, okay! It’s allergies,” I lied.
We both knew I was full of shit.
“I just, I wanted to say thank you.” I stopped talking and wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand. “I’ll try not to bother you too much, but I can’t promise because you’re pretty much all I have left right now. But I’m going to try my best to figure out a way to get my life together so I don’t have to depend on you too much, okay?” I rushed out, looking at him closely as I used my shoulder to brush my eyes too.
Those purple irises lingered on my face.
I tried to smile. “I can’t carry you and run for miles at a time, but if there’s ever anything I can do, anything I can help you with, you can count on me.”
My loyalties were to him. He was the one I’d been through everything with. He was the one who hadn’t left me when he easily could have a thousand times. The one who had split food with me and found water when I was pretty sure he didn’t need it the same way I did. He’d said his kind repaid debts, and maybe I didn’t feel like we were remotely the same, but my kind—me—repaid hers too.
“You? Help me?” he asked, not sarcastically or unkindly.
“Well, it’s not going to be your imaginary friend doing it,” I snickered. “All right?”
