Rune kissed my forehead. “It always is.”
After a second, I muttered, “It is pretty stupid staying here, isn’t it?”
“It’s not stupid. Not exactly. It’s merely unwise.”
“Same thing.”
He grunted, not commenting.
I rubbed at my forehead, so weary. “Should we leave now?”
“We’ll be okay tonight. There’s about of twenty of my men roaming the place. And I’m here with you.” He pressed his forehead to mine, and grumbled, “And if you don’t want to live with me, then I’ll buy another place that’s just as secure.”
My black brows rose. “That’s generous.”
“I’m hoping you pick to live with me, though.”
I rubbed my nose against his again. “I’d like sleeping next to you every night. I don’t mind it so much.”
In the silence, he pressed his lush lips to mine. Chaste and sweet.
“One more,” I whispered.
He obliged, his lips caressing my mouth softly.
I smiled against his lips. “Yeah, I could get used to that.”
* * *
I held a palm up, shading my face from the sun. “I should have brought my sunglasses.”
Rune stopped in his tracks, the bustling citizens of New City walking all around us. He tilted his black head of hair to the side, peering into the distance, and asked in a quiet tone, “Alex, do you have a pair of sunglasses on you my mate can use?”
I squinted in the direction he was staring at, but I didn’t see anything abnormal. “Talking to yourself there, stud?”
Rune turned his regard to my eyes, his lips quirking. “No. Just wait a second.”
I waited and wrapped my arms around one of his. It was pretty chilly this morning. I’d have to get a better jacket. “What are we waiting for?”
A man stepped in front us. Tall, muscular, and handsome. He was holding a pair of sunglasses in his right hand, his clothes casual and discreet.
“Thank you, Alex.” Rune took the sunglasses from him. “Charge it to my account.”
“It’s not a problem. They were cheap anyway.” Alex turned his eyes in my direction and dipped his head. “Ma’am.”
Before I could even thank him myself, he turned and jogged away.
I sputtered, “Uh, that was sweet.”
“My men like you.” Rune placed the sunglasses on my face. They were too big, but they blocked the glaring rays of the sun. “They think you’re funny. Apparently, you handle drunks really well.”
“It comes with the job.” I shrugged and started strolling down the busy street again, linked arm and arm with him. We were receiving quite a few looks as people around us recognized Rune. “I see why you have all the security now. You can’t even decide to walk to work and enjoy the fresh air without people rubbernecking.”
He snorted. “You haven’t seen anything yet. The closer we get to King Corporation, it gets a hundred times worse. We have security all around our buildings to keep the real crazies away.”
I shook my head and snickered. “I’m surprised you don’t have women rushing up to see you.”
He peered away, finding something in the distance vastly interesting.
