Page 44 of My Knight

Before the clubhouse.

Before Pirate.

“You good?” Dani asked and raised an eyebrow as she poured herself a cup.

I blinked out of it and grabbed the two mugs I’d filled. “Uh, just thinking about things going back to the way they were.”

“Sounds great to me,” she laughed.

I forced a smile and turned toward the hallway. It didn’t sound great to me at all. Because the way things were before didn’t include me and Pirate being together.

And now that I’d had him—really had him—I wasn’t sure I could go back to a life without him in it.

I didn’t get far before the door to Pirate’s room opened in front of me.

Pirate stood there—shirtless, barefoot, hair still wet and curling around his face. The top button of his jeans wasn’t even done, and for a moment, I just stared at him dumbly.

“What are you doing?” I laughed. “You haven’t even dried your hair.”

He stepped forward with a look in his eyes that stopped me cold. “I called for you, and you didn’t answer.”

I held up the mugs. “I was just getting us some caffeine.”

He didn’t look satisfied with that answer. His jaw was tight, and his brows were drawn low.

“Whoa, easy there,” I said with a nervous laugh as he reached for me, slid an arm around my waist, and tugged me into the room.

The door shut behind us with a soft click.

“Is there something wr—?”

He took the mugs from my hands, set them down on the dresser with more control than I expected, and then pulled me against him.

Tight.

His arms wrapped around me like he thought I might disappear. His body was still warm from the shower, bare chest against my cheek, and strong arms caged me in like I was something fragile.

“Are you okay?” I asked, slightly muffled by his skin.

“I thought you left.”

I blinked. “I mean, I did leave… but I came back. I can’t live without my morning coffee, Pirate. You know this.”

“No,” he said, his voice low and rough. “I mean gone, Saylor. I thought something happened to you. Again.”

Oh.

That hit different.

The knot of emotion in my chest twisted tighter. I was still dealing with what had happened to me, but Pirate—he was dealing with it in his own way, too. This wasn’t just about fear. It was about us. About him not wanting to lose something he finally had. I didn’t want that either.

“I’m okay,” I whispered and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m right here.”

He pulled back just enough to look down at me, his blue eyes stormy with something deeper than fear. “You can’t leave me, Saylor.”

I opened my mouth, but the words tangled in my throat.

This—this—was what I’d been thinking about in the kitchen. What I’d been worrying over when Dani reminded me that everything was about to go back to normal. I had a job. A lifebefore all this. And as much as I didn’t want that life anymore, I wasn’t sure what Pirate wanted when the threat was gone.

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