Page 37 of Protective Pucking Orc

We were safe here.

For how long?

I wanted to stay—Dios, I wanted to stay!—but I couldn’t risk repaying Dakvaar with danger, right? Not when I wanted to repay him in some other way.

I found Dakvaar in the living room, sprawled in his armchair, a book open on his lap. The fire crackled low in the hearth, casting flickering shadows across his face. He looked up as I entered, his expression unreadable as always.

I hesitated, then sat on the couch across from him.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice quiet. “For the gifts. But you didn’t have to do that.”

His claws tapped against the book’s spine. “Yes, I did.”

I shook my head. “You don’t even know us.”

He set the book aside, his movements deliberate. Then he stood, crossing the space between us in three long strides. He crouched in front of me, his knees brushing mine, and took my hands in his.

His palms were warm. Rough. Safe.

“And yet,” he said, his voice low, “I know you take your coffee with one sugar, no cream—except on Fridays, when you get a mocha instead.”

My breath caught.

“I know you watch the door every time it opens at the café, but you relax when it’s a regular.”

My fingers twitched in his grip.

“I know you always check on Rosa before you check on anything else.”

My throat tightened.

“I know you sometimes mouth the words when she talks, like you’re memorizing them.”

Tears burned behind my eyes.

“I know you tip out the other servers even on your slow days.”

My vision blurred.

“I know you hum when you’re in the weeds and stressed, not when you’re calm.”

A tear slipped free, rolling down my cheek.

“I know you’ve been in Bramblewood longer than anywhere else since you left Texas. And I know you slow down a little more each month, like you’re daring yourself to stay.”

I swallowed hard, my pulse roaring in my ears.

He knew me.

Really knew me.

And on some level, that terrified me more than Anthony ever had.

Because no one had ever seen me like this…not even myself.

I pulled my hands free, wiping at my eyes. “How?” My voice was rough. “How do you know all that?”

His claws flexed, like he was fighting the urge to reach for me again. “I watch you.”