Page 61 of Merciless Protector

“Is everything okay?” I asked before yawning. I was so tired; it was hard to keep my eyes open.

He turned and then lifted a hand in a gesture that matched his words. “Come here.”

I shuffled over, the sheet making soft dragging noises as I made my way over to him. He held out his arm and I sat down, curling myself against him.

“Can’t sleep?” I asked, noticing though he was bare-chested, he wore pants. Something I would think about in the morning.

“Better now that you’re here.” He said nothing more as his hand stroked up and down my arm as he stared forward.

I shifted my attention from his face to the window, where his gaze was fixed. “You love it here, don’t you?”

He wasn’t quick to answer as his hand kept a steady rhythm, sliding up and down my arm with light fingertips. “What’s not to love? Especially now.”

There wasn’t a rush to speak. When I did, I asked, “Why now?” I didn’t know if he was talking about the time or year.

“They say it’s a city that never sleeps. But they are wrong. The city is quietest right now when the night owls finally pass out before the morning birds get up.”

I yawned again. “Yeah,” because I had no idea what time it was other than before dawn, as the sky was still pretty dark.

He’d obviously noticed my yawn because he said, “You should go back to bed.”

It was like a chain reaction as I yawned bigger, feeling sleep pulling me back under. “I sleep better with you.” I couldn’t remember if I’d confessed that before I was so sleepy.

“Same,” he said, giving me a little squeeze.

Just as the jaws of sleep drew me back, I jokingly mumbled, “It’s not always sex between us, is it?”

I wasn’t sure he heard me as he didn’t answer. Vaguely, I felt myself being lifted at some point. Then I felt the soft mattress underneath me. The warmth of him at my back sealed my fate as I relaxed in dreamland, feeling completely safe.

It could have been minutes or hours. I didn’t know. What I did feel was him pulling away. “Don’t go,” I murmured, unsure if I was dreaming or not.

“I have to.”

I blinked, trying to clear my vision. “Why? Stay.”

“I have to keep you safe.”

“You have to stay with me,” I pressed, hearing the whine in my voice but still too groggy to be sure if the conversation was real.

“You are my home. I will always find my way back to you.”

That made me smile, and I drifted off, grateful the dream hadn’t turned into a nightmare.

Hours later, when I awoke to sunlight bathing my skin, his side of the bed was cold. He really had left. I sat up in a lurching movement. I headed for the shower as my emotions got the best of me. I allowed my tears to flow as I made a decision.

I dressed in the pants and top he’d bought me yesterday as I grabbed the bag I’d packed and headed for the kitchen. There, I spotted a black object alone on the counter. When I reached it, I peeled off a sticky note.

T-

I think you’ll need this.

S-

Below, he listed Connor, Lizzy, Griffin, and Kelsey’s numbers. I made a call. When I ended it, a knock came at the door before it opened.

27

TAYLA

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