Page 28 of Purple Protector

“He’s brave, and he knows what he wants. Why would he leave when what he wants is here? When you’re here?”

Birch wasn’t usually one to feel unsure in relationships. He could generally tell when people wanted him, which was how he managed to stay away from them. It was easier.

But he hadn’t seen Aaron coming, and Aaron had burrowed his way under his skin. Now that he was there, he wasn’t going anywhere, and Birch had accepted that Aaron was it for him. Their relationship would be the last one both of them had.

If he wanted it to be a long one, he needed to find Aaron’s attacker.

“We need to find the attacker,” he said with a growl.

“We will.”

Marlin sounded sure of himself, and it helped. Birch wouldn’t find the attacker by growling at guards and punching walls. He was angry and scared, and he needed to use those feelings instead of allowing them to control him.

One way or another, Aaron would be safe. Birch had promised that he would protect him, and he always kept his promises.

Chapter Ten

IT WASN’T THE FIRST time Birch and Aaron shared a meal. In fact, they’d been sharing meals since Aaron had moved into Birch’s rooms. Birch hadn’t initially wanted Aaron to go to the dining hall in case he was attacked, and Aaron couldn’t say he’d minded. He liked spending time alone with Birch, and he could never have enough of it.

So he enjoyed spending time with Birch in Birch’s rooms and sharing meals with him there. Birch always had more than enough food brought up, almost as if he was afraid that Aaron wasn’t eating enough. He was taking care of Aaron, and Aaron loved it.

He glanced at Birch, who was frowning at his plate. These days, that expression was often on Birch’s face. He was worried because he still hadn’t found Aaron’s attacker. Aaron was worried, too, but only because he wished he could go back to a normal life. The only thing he enjoyed about this one was that he was spending a lot of time with Birch, and he hoped that even after the attacker was caught, he could continue doing so. He hadn’t mentioned it to Birch, but he thought that he was being pretty obvious about it. Birch was trained to notice things, so he’d probably noticed Aaron’s feelings.

Or maybe not. So far, he’d been nothing but friendly. That could mean he didn’t know how Aaron felt about him, but also, more simply, that he wasn’t interested.

The thought made him want to cry. If Birch just wanted them to be friends, Aaron would take it, but he really hoped there would be more to their relationship than that.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything else?” Birch asked, leaning into Aaron’s space.

Aaron quickly swallowed the bite of chicken he’d just put into his mouth and shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Because I can get someone to bring more food or go myself.”

“I haven’t been exercising a lot, so I don’t need a lot of food.”

Birch grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. It’s not safe for you to leave these rooms until we know who’s after you. If you feel that you need to, though, I can organize something. Maybe you could take a walk with me and Marlin?”

Birch gently touched Aaron’s hand as he spoke. He’d been doing that more often lately, and Aaron couldn’t help but wonder what it meant. Birch hadn’t been like this before, not even when Aaron had first moved into his rooms. It had been just over a week since then, and unless Aaron was mistaken, Birch was taking every opportunity to touch him in some way. More often than not, it was their legs pressed together under the table, a squeeze of the shoulder, things like that. They woke up tangled around each other every morning, and Birch never seemed to mind. Aaron was a cuddler, and he couldn’t stop himself. As long as he and Birch shared a nest, he would wake up plastered against Birch.

There were also small touches like a stroke of Birch’s finger on Aaron’s cheek to say hello in the morning, a touch to Aaron’s hand like now. Aaron wanted more, but he didn’t know how to ask. He was afraid that he was reading too much into it and that Birch was like this with everyone, even though he knew that wasn’t true. He’d seen Birch with Marlin, Killian, and Hedley. He cared about them, but he never touched them like this—easily and carefully, as if he was afraid to break them. No, that was reserved for Aaron, and even though it was hard to believe that Birch would want him like that, Aaron wanted to. He wanted what Birch was offering without words.

He just wasn’t sure he would be brave enough to take it.

SOMETHING WAS UP WITH Aaron, and Birch didn’t know what it was. Poor Aaron had been stuck in these rooms for more than a week now. He hadn’t said anything about it, hadn’t complained, but Birch was starting to realize that was just how Aaron was. He didn’t want to bother people. He knew that Birch and the others were doing everything they could to protect him, and he wouldn’t make their job any harder. He’d probably be willing to stay in these rooms for months if that was what Birch asked him to do.

It was hard to understand what Aaron wanted. He always said yes when Birch suggested things, and Birch never knew if it was because he truly was fine with it or because he just didn’t want to be a bother. Birch also wasn’t sure how to find out. Should he just ask? He didn’t want to fluster Aaron or make him think that something was wrong, but maybe it would be for the best.

Birch had been flirting with Aaron since he’d realized how important Aaron was to him, but Aaron hadn’t responded. He didn’t seem to hate it, either, and he leaned into every touch Birch offered, but that wasn’t enough. Birch needed to know for sure.

He cleared his throat. “Would you like that, then?”

Aaron blinked as if he’d been distracted and hadn’t heard Birch’s question. “Like what?”

“To go for a walk with Marlin and I? We’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

“I’m not worried about anything happening to me. You promised to protect me.”

He said it simply, as if Birch’s promise was enough for him to feel safe. Maybe it was. Knowing that shouldn’t make Birch want to kiss him even more, but he had to resist the urge to reach over the table and pull Aaron into his lap.

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