Page 9 of Under Their Protection

“Who’s here? Everything okay?” he asks.

“Anika. I’ll let her tell you why,” I say as I lead us inside. “She’s asleep on the couch right now. She hadn’t slept in nearly two days.”

“Is she okay? She’s not hurt?” Max asks.

“Uh… She can explain,” I say as we walk in. “She’s been sleeping for a few hours now. I don’t suspect she will want to sleep for eighteen hours. I’m sure our talking will wake her eventually,” I say.

“You know the moment she sees me she’s going to know that you are aware that she goes to Cherry, right?” Max asks.

“Yeah. She’s bound to find out eventually. She is taking over the guest room for a while,” I say.

“That will be fun for you,” Max laughs.

“Why is that?” I ask with a smirk.

“Because…” he abruptly stops talking when Anika’s eyes snap open.

Anika

It sounds like a distant voice. It’s muffled but the more I focus on it, the more I can make out. My brain is nudging me back into consciousness as a voice that absolutely does not belong in Rowan’s house fills my ears.

Max Rivers. Aka, the Dom from Cherry I want to fuck so badly that it’s painful to be around him when he’s in his dominant… zone. I have been his submanytimes and I wish I was immoral because I would have let him do so much more to me. Because I was with Isaac, I always drew my line at anything sexual. I remained as clothed as possible but I would enjoy everything else as an outlet.

“You know the moment she sees me she’s going to know that you are aware that she goes to The Cherry, right?” Max questions.

“Yeah. She’s bound to find out eventually. She is taking over the guest room for a while,” Rowan says.

Oh fuck! Please please, God. Don’t let Rowan be a Dom. I’m begging you. I will fucking melt into an Anika puddle for this man if he is a Dom.

My eyes fly open and Max stops talking mid-sentence. “For the love of God, please tell me you met in church,” I frown at the pair as I sit up.

“Uh, technically. We were five though,” Max says with a grin. I draw my knees up to my chest. I suddenly feel exposed to both of these beautiful men staring at me. Rowan is sitting at the other end of the couch. He is leaned back and relaxed as he watches me freak out internally.

“How long have you known?” I ask Rowan with a heavy sigh.

“Four years,” he says with a smirk. “I saw Mia there once when you two first started going. She said you’d probably implode if you knew that I was aware that you went. I made sure you guys weren’t there before I'd go.”

“So, you were never there when I went?” I ask.

“No,” he says softly. I believe him, but based on how Max is looking at me, he runs his mouth.

“You ran your mouth didn’t you?” I ask Max.

“I didn’t butyoujust did,” Max laughs.

“Wait,” Rowan says with a giddy smile and sits up. “You two have done a scene together?”

“Many,” Max says vaguely. I dramatically groan and drop my head to rest on my arms that are perched on top of my knees.

“Mia wasn’t super thrilled that I knew she was going, either. Mostly because I actually saw her scene,” Rowan says. “Well, part of it anyway.”

“What part?” I ask.

“The beginning. I know you two well enough to know you’d hyperventilate and die if someone you knew saw you there and you weren’t expecting it,” Rowan says. I pick up my phone and text Mia.

Me

I should kick you in the toe, Mia LynnWilliams.

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