Page 30 of Protector

“I’m not a kid! And you were the one who teased me about it before anyway.” I hold my ground.

“You were doing a hell of a lot more than she is at fourteen,” Puck butts in again, and King pushes him up against the wall.

“Keep your fucking mouth shut and keep away from my sister.”

“King!” I exclaim, but he keeps his focus on Puck.

“You know I'm not gonna hurt her.”

My stomach flips with Puck’s words, and I take another step closer, looking at Dax, pleading with him to do something.

“Come on, King,” he finally pipes up. “You know he won’t hurt her. This is Puck we’re talking about.”

King seems to think about his words for a beat, and then lets go of Puck’s shirt, turning to face me.

“Are you okay?” he asks softly, guilt lining his features. I nod and wrap my arms around his waist, crushing my cheek into his chest. “I’m sorry Daddy hurt you because of me.”

King pulls me back so he can look at me closely.

“One, I’ll take more than a punch for you, Bonnie. And two, I think it’s about time you stop referring to him as Daddy. Carlo never will be.”

His words weren’t meant to be mean, but it was a clear dose of harsh reality that I needed.

Kissing me on the head, he nods at Puck and walks away, Dax in tow, throwing me a wink before he goes.

I turn to face Puck, tears falling down my face instantly, and he wraps his huge arms around me.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, and instead a little laugh leaves Puck’s lips.

“I’m not.”

I push back so I can look up at him.

“I’ll never be sorry for protecting you, Bon. I told you I’m not going anywhere. This is just day one.”

I smile and nod, clinging onto him because I never want to see him in front of the barrel of a gun again.

After a few moments of silence, Puck walks us back to my room, and it’s only then, I ask the other questions that’s been playing on my mind, no matter how irrelevant it is now.

“Why did you guys take so long to come home?”

Puck smiles, and then starts to lift up his shirt, taking it off and revealing his chest to me.

My face tints pink for the thirtieth time today as I scan my eyes over his naked torso.

I’ve seen him shirtless before, but this time it feels different.

It feels intimate and personal and, all of a sudden, my talk with Maria floods my brain as I hear her words feeling new feelings.

I avert my gaze, and that’s when I notice it, some more cling film wrapped around the whole top of his left arm.

“You went and got another tattoo?” I question, and my eyes light up.

He nods, and I gently start to unwrap the clingfilm, trying not to let my fingertips graze his skin because I’m sure he feels just as hot as I am.

Unravelling it, I reveal a huge broken clock with shattered pieces falling away from it.

I look up at Puck, and he smiles down at me, holding my chin in his right hand.

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