Page 64 of Hunter

We stayed there and watched until there was nothing but ashes, and then I turned to Micah.

“Thanks,” I said.

In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, he grasped my shoulder in his hand and pulled me close.

“You know I would do anything for you, right?”

I smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I know.”

He had proven that time and time again.

In a world where it killed to have a weakness, I knew I was Micah’s.

He would give up anything, kill anyone, and destroy everything just to ensure I was safe.

I realized in the same breath that Ryleigh had become that for me.

But unlike Ryleigh, I could take care of myself.

Micah’s weakness was a fucking predator, while mine was a…

Sweet girl currently sleeping in my bed, unaware of all the monsters that roamed this godforsaken earth.

I wasn’t sure if I would ever have to go against my brother to protect her.

But if that was the case, I knew who I would choose and how the thought made my gut churn.

14

RYLEIGH

I woke up with a start,and for a moment, I couldn’t remember anything from the night before or where the hell I was, but I knew for certain, I was not waking up in my own bed.

I looked around the room.

It was similar to mine, but the furniture was all wrong.

The bed didn’t feel like mine.

My heart raced as fear took hold, and I nearly jumped out of my own skin when I felt arms squeezed around me.

I turned and found a sleeping Xavier beside me.

I blinked, the memory slowly penetrating, and I remembered all of it up until I fell asleep in his arms.

That explained why I was in his bed, but it didn’t explain why he was sleeping beside me.

A gentleman would have taken the couch, or hell, left me on the couch.

Not sleep in the same bed as me, hugging me close as if he was afraid I might disappear sometime in the night.

My lips twisted a little, and I didn’t know if it was amusement or something else, when I thought there was nothing gentlemanly about Xavier.

He was a force to be reckoned with, and he had the kind of confidence that told me he was used to doing whatever the hell he wanted, and apparently, what he wanted last night was to sleep in the same bed as me.

I shook away the thought.

That sounded way too arrogant on my part.

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