Page 18 of The Erion Triad

She’d been grateful. Without that steady paycheck and someplace to stay, she was out in the cold. At eighteen and newly kicked out of foster home, she had needed all the help she could get.

She’d had state education, but nothing spectacular. She had no money to go to university, so she’d had to work at whatever she could get, but those jobs had fallen through. When she turned eighteen, award wages jumped and her employers didn’t give her shifts, offering them to those younger and cheaper. She’d been out on her own. No savings. Fresh out of school and the foster system and nowhere to go.

However, all this reminiscing wasn’t going to get her home, and bed was the only thing she wanted at the moment.

“May we assist you getting to your place of residence?” a voice asked from behind her.

“Huh?” She spun around, her gaze coming to rest on a wall of three, muscle-bound chests. “Oh. No. That’s all right. I can get home myself.”

Kyel narrowed his eyes and she became entangled in his gaze. He had the uncanny ability to make her feel stripped bare with just a glance. “It is late and you are alone. You should never have to walk by yourself.”

She was suddenly aware of just howaloneshe actually was. Janie had already left. The car park was empty, as were the streets. Luke was still inside, doing his last minute checks. If she had to, she could possibly run back inside. Then she remembered that the door was locked.

She clutched her handbag to her chest and took a step back. What did she really know about these guys anyway? They’d only turned up tonight, seemingly out of thin air, and helped out during rush hour. They might have worked hard, but that didn’t mean they were trustworthy.

They could overpower her so easily it was laughable. She didn’t think they would, but life had taught her that looks were different to what was on the inside. Expect the worse, and then you weren’t disappointed.

“That’s all right. I’ll be fine. I’ve walked home this time of night a hundred times before,” she said.

Kyel uncrossed his arms, frowning. “This isn’t the first time you’ve walked to your residence alone in the night?”

She swallowed an abrupt laugh that threatened to spill. “I’ve been walking home in the dark since I was a kid. I know how to look after myself.”

Juliran blinked at her, incomprehension evident on his handsome face. “As a child? Where were your parents? That is no way to look after a youngling.”

Youngling? These guys definitely weren’t from around here. “No parents to talk of. I was lucky. Lots of foster parents.” It seemed sarcasm was lost on them going by the confused looks on their faces.

She really needed to get home. Her feet were killing her and the longer it took, the less hours she’d get to sleep, which was what she really needed at the moment. Maybe the best thing to do was just walk away. “Well, nice to meet you and everything. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She turned and resolutely turned from them. It would actually be nice to see them again tomorrow. She couldn’t put her finger exactly on why, but there was just something about them. Even their overbearing attitudes were endearing in a way. They didn’t do it to intimidate, but just to make her feel… safe.

She’d hadn’t had that in a long time. Ever. It was nice, but she didn’t really know what to do with that. Sure as hell, it was something she wasn’t used to.

Even with Grant, she knew she wouldn’t have that. From the beginning, there was an understanding that he needed space with his friends and she’d been taking up so much of his time, what with working on her career and everything. If he could just secure her a well-paying regular gig, things would get better. She’d earn more money and be able to give up her jobs. Then they’d have more time to spend together.

Footfalls behind her had her looking over her shoulder. The three of them were following her. She’d been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she hadn’t even heard them. Her heart stuttered.

“Look. I’m fine,” she called back to them. “I’m sure you have a place to go to.”

Girlfriends to keep warm at night.

Funny how that sounded wrong. And who was she to feel jealous? Even a twinge. She had a boyfriend.

“We will escort you to your residence to make sure you are safe.” Zaen looked more serious than normal. Even collecting dishes, he held an aura of intensity about him. An image of him walking next to her down a hallway made of white marble slipped into her mind. They’d stopped and he’d kissed her so gently, soirreverently, she’d been momentarily stunned.

She shook her head, the white mist helping to dislodge the image. She had no idea where that had come from. Not that she wouldn’t like to dream about something like that happening, but that wasn’t reality. Besides, kissing like that couldonlyhappen in her dreams. Her very, very happy dreams. Dreams that would never come true.

“I’m never going to get rid of them,” she muttered to herself, but obviously not quietly enough.

“Not while your safety is not ensured,” Kyel, the bossy one, said.

She pressed her lips together, her cheeks heating. They were being nice. Nicer than rapists usually were. If they wanted to mug her, there were far richer people to target. The twenty in her purse wouldn’t get them very far anyway. So, if they weren’t going to rape or mug her, they probably were just doing the chivalrous thing and wanted to see her safely home. She just didn’t recognize it, because things like that only happened in movies. Or the romance novels she used to ravenously read like manna before she only had time and energy for sleeping.

Kyel stepped close and it took her a frazzled moment to realized he clasped her chin with a knuckle and tilted her head back so that she looked right up into his face. He trailed his thumb along her bottom lip, and a tingle broke over her skin in its wake. “Do you know you always walk with your head down? Look up. You have a beautiful face. Show the world.”

Thatwas not was she was expecting. Her mouth opened and closed, words simply drying up along with her thoughts. He lifted his other hand to smooth a strand of hair that had fallen from the tight bun at her nape and tucked it behind her ear.

“Do I?” She internally winced. She sounded breathless. Needy. All the things she didn’t want to feel.

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