Page 35 of Deadly Oath

“Are you going to stay the night?”

The question startles me, although I suppose it shouldn’t, really. I just took her virginity—it shouldn’t be surprising that she might want me to stay afterward. “Do you want me to?” I ask, and Sabrina hesitates, clearly unsure of what she’s supposed to do here.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” she says quickly, but there’s something odd in her face. A hint of fear that I don’t believe has anything to do with me, or the situation, or what’s happened between us tonight, and I frown, stepping towards her.

“Is there something you’re not telling me, Sabrina?”

“I—”

In one quick movement, I move in on her, backing her against the tile wall of the shower, caging her in with my hands on either side of her head. My cock instantly stiffens at her proximity, the tip slapping against my taut abdomen as it eagerly pulses for her, but I ignore it. I’m more concerned about what’s causing the fear lurking behind her eyes right now, what’s frightening her enough that she doesn’t want to be alone.

“I saw a footprint,” she says in a small voice, low enough that I almost don’t hear her over the slap of the water against the shower floor. “Outside. A boot print that looked big enough to be a man’s.”

An ember of hot, jealous anger burns to life in my gut, fanning outwards as I stare down into her wide blue eyes. “When?” I demand, and she flinches a little at the steel in my voice.

“Two days ago,” she says softly. “I took a picture of it, but?—”

“And you didn’t tell me?” That anger flares, and I stare down at her, my jaw clenching. “What were you thinking, Sabrina?”

“That you keep having to save me!” An answering anger sparks inhers. “I can’t get used to you taking care of me, Kian. Not when you’re the kind of man who wasn’t even going to stay the night after you fucked me for the first time, not until you thought I might want you to.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You’re the one who said you wanted to go slow, princess. I thought maybe you’d want some space, afterward.”

She snorts inelegantly. “We barreled way pastslowwhen you put me on my knees and called me a slut while you pushed your cock down my throat.”

A jolt ripples through me at the sound of her sayingcock, the filthy words on her delicate mouth making my head swim with arousal. “Don’t distract me,” I growl. “You saw a footprint outside? Two days ago? Anything since?”

Sabrina shakes her head. “No. I figured maybe—” She swallows hard. “Maybe it was just a coincidence. Someone cutting through my yard, or ending up at the wrong house drunk or something before they realized their mistake. And therehasn’tbeen anything since then. I haven’t heard any noises, or seen anything—” She trails off, and I grit my teeth.

“I’ll stay until you fall asleep,” I say firmly, shutting off the water as we switch again, and I rinse off. “Then I’m going to go scout around the house.”

“You don’t have to?—”

“I’m going to.” I cut her off firmly. “Sabrina, even without all of this—” I gesture between the two of us, “this is my job. I’m the sheriff here, so if there’s someone creeping around and looking into people’s windows, then I should know about it. I’ll wait until you fall asleep, and then I’m heading out.”

“What if I can’t fall asleep?” she asks softly, and I give her a narrow look as I step out, my cock still half-hard from being so close to her.

“Then I clearly didn’t wear you out enough, princess.”

I follow her back to her bedroom, reluctantly putting on the clothes I wore here and wishing for something clean. Sabrina slipsinto a pair of small cotton sleep shorts and a tank top, and my fingers itch to strip it all right back off of her. Once wasn’t enough. It’s been barely an hour, and already I want to fuck her again.

But I have other priorities, right now.

I crawl into bed next to her, atop the covers, as she slides beneath them. She doesn’t snuggle against me, as if she’s unsure of what exactly the protocols here are, and she draws in a sharp breath when I slide my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer as I lean back against the pillows and stare up at the ceiling.

She lets out a small, satisfied hum as her body curls around mine, and I try not to think about how good it actually feels to have her warm, slender shape pressed up against me. I’ve never been the type to cuddle after, and the feeling of having someone so close to me in bed is strange. It feels better than it should.

Despite her protest that she might not be able to sleep, her breathing turns soft and even almost immediately. A smirk curls at the edge of my mouth as I look down at her, brushing a lock of hair away from her face with my thumb.

“Wore you out, didn’t I, princess?” I murmur, and then I carefully detach myself from her, slipping out of bed and getting my shoes to head outside.

As I get up, I hear a sound. Not necessarily a person, but I can see why it would alarm Sabrina. It sounds like leaves being shuffled around, moving along the side of the house, and while it could easily be a raccoon or a possum, to someone not used to living out here, it sounds very much like footsteps.

But then again, considering what she said she saw, it could alsobefootsteps.

I shove my feet into my sneakers and slip out of the house, staying in the shadows as much as I can. I slip along the side of the house, staying quiet as I move towards Sabrina’s bedroom, when I hear the sound again.

It sounds too heavy to be a small animal. My jaw tightens, and I glance over to where my truck is parked, where my gun is. I could go and get it, but there’s no guarantee that what—or who—ever issneaking around the side of Sabrina’s house wouldn’t slip away into the night before then, or that they wouldn’t hear me, and make a run for it. I’m not exactly practiced in being stealthy.

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