Page 44 of Protective Pucking Orc

I stood there, my skin burning where she’d touched me, my Kteer howling in my chest.

Mine.

Chapter Nine

Sofia

Dakvaar was hiding something.

I’m not sure how I knew it, but I did.

But to be fair, I was hiding shit too—like the whole fucking Anthony thing—so I guess fair’s fair. Dakvaar had stood in the doorway this morning and asked me to tell him the truth, and I’d deflected. I hadn’t wanted to explain the shame, the fear, the pain…hadn’t wanted to see this beautiful male get all rage-filled again.

On my behalf.

Today was our eighth day in his home, my eighth day of not working, of being able to rest and recover with my daughter. Rosa was already recognizing letters and sounding out simple words, just because she’d had so much attention from two adults this week.

She was happy and healthy and thriving, because Dakvaar had given her something I hadn’t been able to: safety. Safety to be a kid, to learn, to play whenever she wanted to. With all the practical gifts he’d given us, that was the most precious of all.

And this house felt more like home now.

Which is why I just knew it was going to be ripped away from us sooner rather than later.

But for now…

Friday was spent much like the previous days, with Rosa making up elaborate scenarios for her new dragon best friend, and me playing in the snow with her in my new boots, and making healthy foods from scratch—a luxury I didn’t often have.

And when Dakvaar came home from the ice rink, he watched me intently with that weird green glow in his eyes, as if there was something he was desperate to tell me, but couldn’t.

Finally, as we stood together in the kitchen, washing dishes, I blurted, “What? What are you thinking about?”

I saw him blink, saw him look away, and knew he wasn’t going to tell me the truth. Just like I hadn’t told him the truth.

“We have an away game Sunday evening. It’s against the Amber Avengers in Denver, so we’re going to just head out on the team bus in the morning, and get back that night.”

I was already nodding. “Okay, that’s no big deal. I can just⁠—”

“You’re coming with us.” He didn’t look up from the pan he was methodically scrubbing. “I already cleared it with Lila and Coach. You and Rosa are going to ride on the bus with us, and can stay with Lila in the owner’s suite during the game. You’ll be safe there.”

Surely that pan was clean by now? “Dakvaar, you don’t have to⁠—”

He began to scrub the handle. “I won’t be more than 400 feet from you two. You’ll be safe.”

I sighed, a little frustrated. “We’ll be safe here if⁠—”

The pan clattered in the sink as he swung around, the look in his eyes almost…pleading. “I can’t let you out of my protection, Sofia. I have to know.”

Oh.

I clutched the drying towel in front of me, wringing it between my two hands. Oh.

Suddenly I understood; he wasn’t doing this for me—or rather, just for me and my daughter. There was something going on here I didn’t understand, something that meant Dakvaar was, on some level, doing it for himself.

When he said he couldn’t allow us away from his protection, he meant he couldn’t do it.

And I couldn’t deny that I didn’t want to be.

I remembered that day in the street, the surprise and fear of running into another solid mass of male, only to realize it was Dakvaar, and the relief I’d felt then.