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“I don’t think you need to worry much. From what I saw tonight you have enough spunk to handle all four of us and definitely more spirit than I’ve seen in any woman in a long damn time. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
He pulled her in until her forehead rested on his. “There’s a lot you don’t know about my world, and you’ll need to learn fast or the bad guys win.”
“Who are the bad guys?”
“Touché.”
“Or’”
“Or what?
“What’s my other option?”
“We’re not letting you go. Period. You’re not leaving our side. Get used to it.”
“What if I don’t want to.”
He peered at her with a blank stare. Ultimatums weren’t his thing. Besides, he wasn’t giving her options between staying or going anyway.
“A battle for another day,” he husked softly, stroking her arms.
She peered up at him through thick lashes. “This is all so much. Too much, really. I’m just so tired, Sevastyan. Tired of losing people I love and tired of being scared, tired of not knowing. My ignorance got Maya almost killed tonight and before that, I lied to her.”
He hated to break it to his sweet bird but Maya would not survive her injuries. Lucian didn’t have the heart to tell her, nor did he. He knew his brother would do everything possible. He knew the doctor called in would too. But Sevastyan had seen wounds like that. Inflicted them. No one survived a punctured lung for long.
Through a tender smile, tears fell against her soft cheeks.
He wrapped her in his arms and held her against his chest, soft sobs rocking her tiny, delicate body. Never in his life had he felt so fucking helpless. He placed his lips against her forehead in the hopes any comfort he offered helped. “Don’t think about that. Let me care for you. Somehow I’ll make all this right for you.”
With her cradled close to his chest, he eased them from the car. He punched in a code and reset the alarm system once inside. Lights flickered on matching his progression, bathing them in a warm glow.
The open floor layout gave him a view of the entire house except for the bedrooms in one glance. A quick check and he confirmed they were alone.
He settled her on the couch, pulling a chip of cement from her hair, and wiped at a smudge of dirt across her cheek. “Sit here. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and before she could refuse his help, he was back with a warm cup of tea his mother used to drink. He’d grown fond of the light flowery taste over the years and kept a good supply of it on hand. Lately though, hard liquor seemed to work better, but they both needed to keep their heads on straight.
“Thanks.” Her fingers lingered on his as he passed over the steamy mug. God, his gut hit the fucking floor the second those big, beautiful eyes looked to him, their depths filled with so much pain it nearly killed him. It took a Herculean amount of control to bury his anger and just be here with her when seeking blood for crimes against his name would have been his normal reaction to tonight’s events.
What kind of man would he be if he left her alone to go kill?
Even with pieces of cement clinging to her hair and dirty smudges against her pale cheeks she was the most beautiful woman in his eyes. With every gentle breath, he could see the feminine swell of her breasts press against her shirt, hardening his dick.
Sitting next to her he hauled her back onto his lap until there was no space between them. Her soft curves molding into his larger, muscular form. She filled his empty spaces perfectly.
She took a couple of sips of her tea. “I guess you want to know why I lied for so long?
