Page 42 of Break a King (Five Kings 3)

Her voice is soft and disbelieving, and I nod. “For some reason, I kind of like having an assassin as a girlfriend. It brings out the protector in me.”

She laughs out loud. “How does that work, surely I’m the one who will protect you?”

“Then who protects you, baby? Who drives away the pain after a hard day at the office? Who makes your world normal when you wipe the blood off your hands? Who loves you no matter what and holds you in their arms to drive the nightmares away? The answer to all those questions and any others you can think of, is me, Lexi. I’m the one you need more than oxygen in your life because you are my woman and the sooner you accept that the better for both of us.”

“Me.” She blinks away the tears and I see a frightened, vulnerable girl inside a sexy woman’s body. I’m guessing nobody has ever stepped inside her mind and reached for her heart before and that fills me with sadness because I’m guessing, like me, Lexi has traveled a difficult road but I’m meeting her along the way and will keep her company for the rest of it.

As she faces her inner struggle, I wait patiently for her to speak because one thing’s certain, nothing is more important to me than her and if it takes me days, weeks, months, or years, I will crack that hard shell she hides behind and make everything better for her.

She sits upright and hugs her knees to her chest and I rub circles on her back and whisper, “Take your time and know that nothing you say will change how I feel about you. If you tell me you’re Satan himself, then I wouldn’t believe you because if anyone claims that title it’s your boss, Ryder.”

She laughs a little and I feel her relax, but her voice is in direct contrast to her usual bravado. “Don’t make me tell you something I’m not ready to face.”

“That surprises me.”

“What does?”

“That you can’t face your past because, baby, it’s that past that has molded you into an amazing woman. Every little knock and chip to your soul has strengthened your beauty within. You are the woman I love because of that past and I’m guessing whatever happened hasn’t destroyed you, just made you stronger.”

“Are you sure about that? That I’m not destroyed.”

She turns and smiles sadly. “I am one hundred percent fucked up inside this head and it’s all because of where I started. Most of the time I disguise it well but it takes a certain kind of madness to agree to the job I do and a certain kind of psychopath. I pass that requirement with flying colors, so be careful what you wish for, Hunter because you may not like what you hear.”

She swings her legs over the edge of the bed and says blankly, “I need a drink.”

I watch her leave the room, naked and proud, and my chest tightens as I sense the distance she is placing between us, both physically and mentally. Sighing heavily, I follow her with a determination to sort this shit out once and for all, and if she thinks it changes anything, she knows shit about me.

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