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“You should stay with me,” he replied firmly.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of protecting her by keeping her close. Perhaps he would catch a glimpse of her in the morning, curly hair, pouty lips. All soft skin and doe eyes and ready for her lover to ravish her. It all flashed through his mind until he shook his head.
He swallowed with difficulty. His sole reason for wanting her in his house was to see her alive and well, and for no other reason, he assured himself—though even he didn’t believe that. He scrubbed his hand through his waxed beard, grimacing at the oily residue left on his fingers.
Attempting to erase the images from his mind, he focused on her hand. The other hand tightened around the glass.
“Do you want me to stay here with you?” Harper looked as if she couldn’t believe she had heard him. He couldn’t believe he had blurted it out without any finesse. She blinked once, twice, before returning her attention to him.
“Yes,” he replied too quickly, before he could think, then clamped his lips shut to keep from speaking further.
“But…” her voice trailed off as she looked around wildly.
He cursed himself for moving too fast. It was obvious he had spooked her; uneasy thoughts darted behind her eyes as she looked up at him. He didn’t know what those thoughts were, but he felt a sliver of nervous energy zigzag down his spine like electricity.
“Don’t worry about it. I spoke without thinking.” He shrugged, his chest tight. “You’ll probably want to stay with Drey.” She might think Nick couldn’t protect her. After all, he brought a traitor into her home.
“Nick…I don’t intend to stay with Drey. I haven’t even talked to him.” She exhaled heavily. “I just…if I stay here,” she trailed off, biting her lip and looking down.
“It doesn’t mean I’m expecting anything,” he responded quickly.
He wouldn’t pretend he hadn’t entertained the thought, but he didn’t want her to think he would ever pressure her. Her safety was important to him, and he could make sure she was if she stayed with him.
If he didn’t know if she was okay, he thought he might go crazy. He was attached to her in an almost obsessive manner, so he had to cool things down when he was around her, though maybe he hadn’t been successful.
“It’s not like that. It’s only what everyone else will say that keeps me from staying here.” She bit her lip, flicking her tongue over it nervously.
His body relaxed. The fact that she trusted him meant more than her answer. “They still treat you like you are fragile and made of glass?” he asked.
“Yes, they do. I don’t think they mean harm.” She twisted her hand.
“No, they’re sheltering you.” He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, conjuring up times he’d supported his niece. “I used to feel the same way about Karen for a long time,” Nick confessed.
That had almost become an obsession for him.
“How did you handle it? How did she handle it?” she questioned rapidly.
“At first, we didn’t. It was a stilted, stumbling process while we developed new rules together. Then, at one point, I couldn’t get her to be on her own. She needed to feel safe, and she did feel safe around me and my team.” He cleared his throat as he heard the aged pain in his voice. “When she started emerging from her shell, it was me who was the problem.”
When she drank, her head tilted, her throat worked, and he rubbed her eyes as he waited for her response. Would she judge him harshly for not allowing Karen more freedom?
“In what way?” she asked.
“I didn’t want to let her go. Fearing she would get hurt again made me hold her too tightly.”
“How did you both resolve it?”
His face lit up when he heard that question, and a laugh tumbled out of him. “She tore into me one day, and although I was bruised at the time, I needed it badly. It was made clear to me that my overbearing behaviour was stifling her.
“Trusting her judgment and trusting others with her was necessary, but it was a huge step for us both. She fell victim to someone who did not deserve her.” He gritted his teeth. “Anyone could have done the same. It doesn’t mean she was weak.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she replied. No one could understand that better than Harper. “So, basically,” she began with amusement. “I have to yell at Drey then?” she asked with amusement.
He choked, then laughed, “Uh…maybe do it without the explosion Karen had.”
“You did a wonderful job with her,” she told him.
Nick remembered their conversation about her scars and how everything could change in the blink of an eye. Harper was still a frightened, curled up thing back then, but it was evident that she was slowly finding her strength.
