Page 23 of Purple Protector
Something told Aaron that even though Killian had told Birch to keep an eye on him, he hadn’t suggested that Birch asked him to move in with him. He didn’t ask. He didn’t want to risk Birch changing his mind.
“I just hope I won’t mess up your life and your job,” Aaron said. “I mean, I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re not. I want to keep you safe as much as Killian does. You’re a guest here, and you shouldn’t have been attacked.”
“Am I a guest? I mean, Killian and Hedley offered me to stay with the clan permanently.”
“You’re right. You’re not a guest, but that doesn’t mean you should be attacked.”
Aaron’s cheeks flushed. “That’s not what I was saying.”
“I know.” Birch hesitated. “Will you be staying permanently even after what happened?”
Aaron couldn’t imagine going back to his old life now that he had a taste of a new one. Was he scared? Of course he was. He’d never thought he would be attacked, and he understood how lucky he was to have made it out in one piece with nothing more than a headache and a couple of bruises.
That wouldn’t stop him from staying. As soon as Killian had found out that he’d been attacked, he’d acted to protect him and had assigned Birch to him. Why would Aaron want to leave that?
He wouldn’t be a problem for anyone in the clan if he went back to the city, so they probably wouldn’t attack him a second time, but it wasn’t enough to send him running. For once, he would stand his ground and pray for the best.
“I will,” he told Birch. “I won’t let anyone ruin this for me, no matter how scared I am.”
Birch nodded and reached over to quickly squeeze Aaron’s shoulder. “I’ll protect you with my life. As long as I’m alive, you’ll be safe.”
Aaron felt safe. He knew that Birch was telling the truth and that he’d do everything in his power to protect him. That would help him sleep better at night.
Thinking of sleeping made him wonder how many nest rooms Birch had. Would they have to share? His cheeks heated at the thought of it. His crush wouldn’t help him deal with whatever happened next. If anything, it would make a complicated situation even more complicated.
The next few days were going to be a mess, weren’t they?
Chapter Eight
AARON WASN’T USED TO having anyone take care of him. He’d been living on his own for years, and even when he’d been at home, his parents hadn’t been particularly caring. He’d gotten used to doing everything on his own, even when he was sick.
It was a stark contrast with the way Birch was behaving. As soon as Palmer had said it was safe to do so, Birch had led Aaron out of the infirmary. He’d offered to carry him, but even though Aaron would pay to be carried by Birch, he’d told Birch that he could walk. People had already seen him being carried around the hallways by Marlin. He didn’t want to have to go through that a second time. No one knew what had happened beyond their small group, and Aaron was pretty sure that Killian and Hedley wanted to keep things that way. He doubted it would work for long because when so many people lived together, information had a way to find its way out, but at least for today, they should be able to keep things quiet.
Aaron yearned for a bed—or a nest in this case. He didn’t really care which as long as he could stretch out on a soft surface and close his eyes. The bump on his forehead pulsed with pain, and he had a headache building.
He’d thought that Birch would show him where he would be staying when they got to his rooms and then leave, maybe to report to Killian, but that wasn’t what happened. Birch did show Aaron where he would be staying, but he hovered there as if he expected Aaron to say something.
Aaron eyed the nest in the center of the room and shuffled his feet. “Thank you.”
Birch was still staring. “Do you need anything? I can have some food brought up, or I have water. I also have some snacks in the kitchen.”
“I’m fine for now, thank you.” It was awkward, so Aaron looked around, trying to distract himself. His gaze stopped on personal objects on a dresser. He frowned, then realized what he was seeing. “This is your room.”
Birch rubbed the back of his neck. “It is. I don’t have a guest room.”
“I can’t kick you out of your nest.”
“You’re not. I offered for you to take it, and I’m fine with it. You need a nest more than I do right now.”
“What about tonight? Where are you going to sleep?”
“I’ll shift and sleep on the floor.”
“No.”
Birch stared. “What do you mean, no?”
