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“That’s interesting. Is there anything you can think of that would land you in this position?” I dropped my hand to rest in my lap. For all intents and purposes, I knew I appeared bored with this line of questioning, uninterested in his answers. I was anything but. There was a reason I’d brought him here, and I wasn’t quite through with him yet.
“No!” his voice cracked on that one syllable word. “I’m a doctor! I don’t deserve to be here.” Interestingly, he repeated the word I’d just used.
“I know. I know you’re a doctor. But that still didn’t answer my question. There’s nothing in your past or present that would give someone the motivation to take you? Away from your friends, family, life…” I trailed off, waiting for him to supply answers.
The man said nothing, lips clamped shut. I stood and dusted off my pristine sleep pants that I’d slipped on before leaving my bedroom. Dr. Salinas needed a little more convincing before he bared his soul and his deeds.
“Very well, I’ll leave you here. Hopefully, next time I stop by, you’ll be more inclined to chat.” I closed the door, adjusted the lights to dim, and headed back upstairs.
The door had just slid shut behind me when a voice caught me off guard.
“There you are! I heard you come downstairs and couldn’t find you,” Merrick panted as he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in for a tight hug. His breathing was harsh against the crown of my head and his heart beat a wild, erratic rhythm against my chest.
All I could do was bring my hands up to hold his waist as he damn near squeezed the life out of me.
“Merrick,” I croaked. “I can’t breathe.”
Immediately, his hold loosened. He pressed a kiss to my temple and breathed me in like he was afraid I would simply vanish if he didn’t keep a hold on me.
“Are you okay?” I kept my voice low so I didn’t startle him. Right now, it seemed like any small thing could set him off, and as much as I liked Merrick, I didn’t know everything about him. The one thing I did know, was that he could beat a man to death and not be bothered at all.
Not that I was judging.
“Come sit with me?” he asked, pulling back only far enough to glimpse my face.
“Of course—” I didn’t even finish the words before he swept me up against his chest. “Oof.”
He took us past the living room and up the stairs, climbing two at a time. I craned my neck toward the couch that I thought he had meant. I jolted against his chest as he came to a quick stop at the beginning of the hallway.
When I looked up, his face was scrunched up into an adorable look of confusion, that I might have appreciated if I wasn’t trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. I got a pretty good idea as his gaze snapped between my door and his.
“Your room or mine?”
“Merrick. What are you doing?” I started to lightly push against his chest, but he didn’t budge. I could remove myself from his hold, but I could hurt him. With as strange as he was acting, I didn’t want to do that. Nor did I fear that he was going to try and hurt me.
That wasn’t who he was. He was one of the good guys.
“You said you’d sit with me, and it’s the middle of the night. I’d rather sit with you in a bed. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t try to force myself on you. I would kill myself before I’d ever hurt you. My job is to protect you,” he said emphatically with a final nod, as if that cleared everything up.
And damn it, despite myself, I grinned.
“Mine,” I answered. Then frowned. I should have said his so I could slip out as soon as he fell asleep. By the time I finished the thought, he had already shut my door and settled me in the middle of the bed against the pillows and was climbing in next to me.
Then I noticed what he was wearing, or wasn’t wearing. He apparently liked to sleep in boxer briefs, and the light of a halfmoon did more than enough to highlight every line and dip of his muscles.
Merrick was working out while I ran errands. He had to be to keep up this level of toned physique.
Warmth unfurled low in my stomach as he gathered me against the hard planes of his chest. Still in shock of Merrick finding me as I came out of the basement, I allowed him to cuddle up to me. I even placed a hand over the taut skin of his stomach. His muscles flexed under my touch, but otherwise, he didn’t move.
“I thought you’d left, I didn’t know where you went. I searched all over the house for you, and even called your name a few times.” His words started fast, but by the end he had already calmed down some. The man acted as if holding me was setting everything back to rights.
“How did you know I left my bedroom?” I asked, at first curious, then an unwelcome thought snaked through my mind. How closely was he watching me?
“I had just gone to the bathroom and I heard your door shut,” he mumbled against my hair. “You always tell me when you’re leaving and when you think you’ll be back. I expect it. But I thought you had left and I was…” He didn’t finish his sentence, instead scooting closer.
"Merrick," I began but it was impossible to ignore the way he wrapped around me, arms flexing as he cuddled me closer. There weren't even millimeters between me and his hot skin. In fact, his skin was almost too warm after the chilly basement.
"You're cold," he murmured against my hair as he began to rub my arms.
