Page 17 of Guarded By an Alien Hunter

I'm still standing there freaking out in the dark.

And then he's back. He looks at me from head to toe again and inhales deeply. He checks every part of my room, under the bed, in the closet.

“I'll be back,” he says.

And then I can hear that he's outside again for a second time, and then he's back, and he locks absolutely everything, and I hear the beeps. He closes that window again.

“It was not an intruder, it was a branch that fell from a tree. There is no one out there. No one can come close. I have the perimeter protected. I have it protected a mile out.”

And then it rains harder, and I hear another thump. I was born and raised in San Francisco. This isn't the first storm I've been through, and the wind is always very strong, but I don't know. It's getting to me more than usual.

He starts to go for the door, I assume, to return to his bedroom.

“Vander,” I squeak, “don't leave me.”

His brow furrows.

“I'm scared. What if it wasn't just a branch? What if someone threw the branch? What if they sent a projectile from far away?”

“That's not possible.”

“Are you sure?”

He steps closer to me. “This is unlike you. What is wrong?”

I whimper. “I don't know. I guess it's just getting to me. Finally. Could you sleep in here with me?”

He frowns.

“Nothing will happen.” I point. “I do have a king size bed. I don't know, I just bought a big bed originally because I like having all the space. But this comes in handy. Look, I can just lay there on the corner, on my side, really far. You could lay right there. I can sleep better because”—I point at the window—“if something happens to that window, there isn't a wall between us and two doors. You're right there. You know it's true.”

He grunts. “I've been wanting to sleep next to you too, because I also consider it safer.”

“Nothing will happen,” I promise. “I won't touch you. I simply want to be able to fall asleep with you closer.”

“If you touch me, I'm not sure that I can maintain control.”

“I understand.”

“I can't take my mind off the number one objective, which is keeping you safe. My family line is one of honor, soldiers, medics, teachers and this is what I do, and what if I didn't keep you safe? It is the most important of all because I wasn't focused, because I wasn't professional. I refuse to let anything happen to you. I must keep my mind on this.”

“Okay,” I say. “But afterwards…”

“Afterwards,” he growls, “that's different.”

I take a deep breath. “What side of the bed do you want?”

“Well,” he says. “You sleep on that side so I’ll take the other side.”

“You know that?”

“I know everything about you, Katie Ross. Also, there’s a dent on your side.”

“Yes.” Now I skip to the bed because all the upset I felt just earlier is gone. Now that I know that Vander is going to be in here with me, it fixes every bit of anxiety I've been having.

He turns off the lights, and we both climb into bed.

I fantasize that he pulls me into his arms, and we make love, but instead,

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