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“That’s too bad,” he remarked. “They’re so fucking cute on you.” He glanced up at her. “Not that you’re not beautiful without them, because you are, baby.”
“Grath…” Mattie wasn’t quite sure what to say…how to handle this situation. “Last night,” she began, “I said some things…shared some things I’ve never shared with anyone else. I was feeling hurt and…and vulnerable.”
His midnight eyes softened.
“I know, baby. We don’t have to go through it all again if you don’t want to.” He brightened. “Unless you changed your mind and you want me to go pound the ever-loving fuck out of that bastard, Hartsford?”
“No, no!” Mattie exclaimed, holding up both her hands to stop him. “No, I just meant that, well…” She cleared her throat. “I may have said or done some things that weren’t strictly…professional.”
Grath raised an eyebrow at her.
“You mean like cuddling up in my arms and sleeping draped across me like you were my own personal blanket?”
Mattie felt her cheeks getting hot but she nodded.
“Er, yes. That.”
Grath shrugged.
“I didn’t mind. Gets fucking cold in this part of your world—for humans, anyway. I don’t see what’s unprofessional in me keeping you warm.”
“Uh, you don’t?” Mattie asked uncertainly.
“Of course not—I’m your Protector. I’m supposed to protect you from all dangers—including freezing to death in your own bed,” he pointed out. “If we have to get close and cross some physical boundaries we might not usually cross on a mission together, well…” He shrugged. “That’s just part of the mission. Right?”
“Well…Iguessso,” Mattie said cautiously. She hadn’t thought of the situation like this before, but itdidseem to make sense.
“And right now our mission is getting your family to believe we’re lovers, right?” he continued.
“Well…yes,” Mattie admitted, though her cheeks were still flaming.
“So we’ve got to do whatever we can to make that happen,” Grath said. “I mean, what if one of your parents had come to check on us this morning? If I’d been sleeping on the floor or we hadn’t been close in the bed, they might have wondered if something was fucking wrong.”
“Iguessso,” Mattie conceded again. Though she was awfully glad none of her family had come knocking on the attic bedroom door when she was all tangled up with Grath. That would have beenincrediblyawkward.
“So we just have to keep playing our parts,” Grath told her. “Doing everything we have to do in order to make people believe we’re together. And in the meantime, I’m also going to be protecting you from anything—or anyone—who threatens you, little girl,” he added, his voice dropping to a low growl. “That’s my fucking job and I’m going to fucking do it.”
“Translation: Luke Hartsford had better steer clear,” Mattie said dryly, but her heart was still pounding in her chest.
“You got that fucking right,” Grath growled. He looked down at her yearbook again and flipped another page. “Who are these females?” he asked, frowning.
Mattie looked where he was pointing and felt her stomach tighten.
“Oh, those are the popular girls,” she said. “Amanda Hutchinson and Lacy Albright and Taylor Morris.”
“So…these were the females who tormented you?” Grath demanded, frowning.
“Yes. Andyes, they all still live in Christmasville andno, you can’t kill them,” Mattie said, half amused/half alarmed at his instant protective response.
His frown deepened.
“I would never hurt a female. But there’s something about these three…” He stared at the picture of the three “queen bees” of Robert G Warren High School in their skimpy cheerleading outfits. “Why can I see their skeletons practically poking through their skin? Is there something wrong with them?” he asked.
Mattie looked where he was pointing and felt a giggle rise in her throat.
“They’re justthin—that’s what human men like,” she told him. “At least in my culture.”
“Your culture is wrong,” Grath said firmly. “Why would a male want to be with a female he might break in half by accident?”
