Page 8 of Under Their Protection

“For the love of God, Anika. You had almost ten thousand saved not two years ago. How much?” she asks.

“I have nothing left in savings,” I grimace and she throws her hands up.

“Where did it go?” Rowanasks.

“I paid all of the bills. He spends way too much fucking money so I ended up funding his shit. It caught up to me and it all disappeared,” I admit.

“Does he have access to your money?” Mia asks.

“Yeah, I need to pull my direct deposit so he can’t take it. I already pulled cash out from an ATM last night when I was driving around,” I say.

“I’ll take care of that. I’ll just switch it to paper checks,” Rowan says.

“Thank you,” I say.

“You are still staying with me, Anika. It will give you a chance to save some money again and it keeps you from sleeping in your truck.”

“Don’t argue, Ani. It’s not going to work this time,” Mia says firmly.

“Fine,” I groan dramatically, making Mia and Rowan laugh.

“Go get some work done and I’ll handle your paycheck,” he says as he pats my knee with a sweet smile and stands. “If you go tomorrow, I’m coming with you. I don’t care what you tell them, but you are not going alone.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you,” I say as I gather my things. When Rowan leaves the room I cut Mia off before she has the chance to say anything. “Don’t read into it, Mia.”

“You’ll see. One of these days you’ll text me and say you had the best sex of your life with Rowan,” Mia says.

“It’s not happening,” I frown at her.

God, I wish it could happen though.

Chapter Two

Rowan

Anika admitting that sleepingin the same bed as me will fuck with her head is music to my ears. I should have known that Mia would do something like this. She’s been bugging me for months about telling Anika how I feel about her. She desperately wanted to get Anika away from Isaac. She tried to tell her so many times that he was cheating while she was away on these trips but because she never found proof, Anika would never call him on it. Us coming back a day early was completely intentional but I had no idea that he wasactuallycheating. I figured if Mia was right, someone would be there when she got home.

Her sister though?

I cover Anika with a blanket and she lets out a small sigh that lets me know that she’s content. She looks so peaceful and cute curled up on my couch like this. Although, I’d much rather her be curled up next to me in my bed.

Down, boy.

I’m not a sleaze though. If it happens, it happens. I am not forcing anything in hopes that it’ll stick. I care about Anika entirely too much to rush her into something that she may not be ready for. That does not stop my imagination from running wild.

I get her keys and go out to her 4Runner to start bringing things into the guest room beside mine. I could put her upstairs where she would be further away from me, but I’m going to choose to be selfish and have her close to me.

You can tell that Anika packed in a hurry because half of the stuff isn’t in a bag. She is usually a very organized person. I wish I had pushed for her to let me take her home. I could have at least helped her out. Isaac also wouldn’t have grabbed her like that if I was there.

It takes longer than expected to get everything into the guest room. Anika is sleeping peacefully so I step out onto the porch so I can scroll mindlessly through social media and watch random videos without disturbing her. A while later I look up when I see headlights pull in the driveway.

I forgot that Max was coming by tonight. We are supposed to go to The Cherry. The Cherry is a BDSM-centered nightclub where members can actively participate in scenes. Max’s sister owns it so we have access to the private room when we want it. I haven’t found any subs that I click with lately but it’s still a good time nonetheless.

I know that Anika and Mia go on occasion. Mia told me once that Anika has never actually had sex with anyone at the club so she didn’t feel it was necessary to go into detail with Isaac on what happened. Anika and Isaac have been there to meet others from what I understand, but he doesn’t know she does scenes with anyone. What she doesn’t know is Max has seen Isaac in here numerous times with other women.

I am not very sure how she would react if she knew that I went, let alone that I knew she went. I always make sure that I am not therewhen she is because it would be torturous to see her restrained and not be able to spank her perfect ass. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to see her in that environment. I need to chill out before I get myself worked up.

“Hey, Max. I completely spaced and forgot to call,” I tell him when he comes up onto the porch.

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