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“Baby,” he murmurs, his voice thick with sleep and his eyes still fully closed. “Go back to sleep.”

“So bossy,” I whisper, leaning in and pressing my lips to his. He groans and pulls me closer.

“Yes. Now, do as you’re told.”

I smirk but don’t say anything and in seconds, his lips go slack and his breathing evens out. There is a part of me that wants to close my eyes and drift back to the sleep in his arms but I do not want to have that dream again so I’m not going to risk it.

Once I’m sure he’s passed out, I gently pull myself from his arms and slip out of bed, grabbing my thin cotton robe from the hook by the door and pulling it on. I glance over at the clock on the wall as I let out a yawn.

Six forty-five.

“Coffee,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I definitely need coffee.”

I quietly pull the bedroom door open and step outside, careful not to make too much noise as I pad over to the living room. Empty popcorn bags and Chinese containers, evidence of our night together, are still strewn all over the coffee table and I make a mental note to pick all of it up after I get some coffee in me. As I walk into the kitchen, I spot the takeout menus on the counter and Dalton’s confessions from yesterday pop into my mind.

Dalton saw me before we ever even met and decided he needed to know more.

Calvin asked Dalton to keep an eye on me.

Dalton wants more.

I smile, shaking my head as I turn on the coffee machine and lean back against the counter. Maybe those things should scare me. Hell, if I’d found them out five days ago, they probably would have but after Club Voodoo and spending the last four days straight with Dalton, all I feel is relieved to know the truth.

I heard the way his brothers talk about him and his temper.

But I see the man underneath that.

The one who truly doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing when it comes to relationships but whose instinct is to protect me with every fiber of his being.

The one who battles parts of himself but has such a warm and tender heart beneath that.

My mind turns to the other pieces of information he dropped on me yesterday, the ones he tried to rush past like they didn’t mean anything.

He ended up in Baton Rouge.

He was homeless, living on the street.

Calvin found him digging through the dumpster for food and gave him a place to live.

He mentioned on our date that he was from Colorado and he just kind of ended up here and I’m desperate to know more. But I won’t push. I try to imagine him - alone, scared, living on the streets and digging through trash for any scrap of food he can find - and my chest aches fiercely. It’s such a contrast to the man he is today and in that, it makes perfect sense.

The way he watches everyone and everything around him. The way he always seems prepared to take on a threat no one else can see. The fierce, unwavering loyalty he has for the men who finally gave him a place he could call home. The way his first instinct is always to protect.

He told me about Raya and Joey, about what the club is trying to do for them, and I saw the determination in his eyes to make sure that they are safe. It’s who he is - a protector.

Maybe when you’ve had no one to protect you, you become the person you always needed. You become the big bad that will stand between the threat and the innocent.

And that’s where Hyde comes in.

Or, at least, partly.

Because Dalton has a temper, too.

And I’m convinced that is all Hyde.

The coffee maker dings, yanking me out of my thoughts and I sigh as I grab the mug of steaming coffee, bringing it to my lips. It’s still too hot to drink but I take a tiny sip and sigh.

Oh, yeah.