Page 49 of King of Wrath

My gaze jerks to his. “What?”

“I won’t stop you.”

I shake my head. “You won’t?”

“But I will follow.”

My shoulders curl at the words, my head dropping down. “Because I’m your prisoner?”

“No.”

The single word rings through me, snapping my chin back up. “What is that supposed to mean?”

He steps close again, the door still open but his body blocks the wind, the rain. And then he leans down, lightly grasping my chin as he kisses my lips again. “Because. You’re mine to protect.”

I stare up at him.

I made a choice. Without thinking, I chose him. Would he choose me too? Is he choosing me now?

I’ve never wanted to trust a man, I’ve always been afraid.

What if I can’t choose a man who is good for me? What if I’m too broken?

But with Jake…for the first time in my life, I want to try.

He’s probably the man I should trust least of all, which is why alarm bells are ringing in my head. Am I picking the one man destined to be as bad for me as Toni?

Maybe.

But I shake my head, knowing that I’m going to stay. “Close the door.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jake

My head aches all day,ibuprofen only dulling the pain. After Nia checks my injury, we go back to avoiding each other. Something has shifted and I know we’re both grappling with what that means.

I’ve made promises to my family, to my dead brother, and I’m going to see them through. Besides, my brother Frank was my protector as a child and it’s my turn to give back to him.

Frank should have never gotten married. My nephews are a huge part of my life, but their parents, my brother, that was some crazy shit. If I ever thought I’d make a relationship work, Frank taught me we’re too fucked up for happily ever after.

But when I look at Nia, I want to be a different man…

At nine, she just goes to bed.

I lay there listening to her breathing slowly, it grows deep and even.

I wish her head was on my chest.

I pull out my phone, setting an alarm for vibrate and then lay it onmy chest, but I never fall asleep. My head still aches and I feel torn in ways I never expected.

I wait for what feels like an eternity and then get up, pulling my laptop out from under my mattress where it’s been tucked.

Mason was alerted that the systems in the house went down, and I know he’s going to have even more questions.

I don’t bother with a shirt as I make my way into the gym and softly close the door.

Firing up the computer, I open my email where I find a link to start our chat. I’m fifteen minutes early but I open it anyway and then start browsing Vegas news.

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