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I sighed, the sound soft, but it was an expression of everything I was uncertain about. “You’re just so…so unexpected.” I didn’t know where to start. Now wasn’t even really the right time to have this conversation, but the words had just come out.
Everything about Patrick brought a fresh question. Even things that should have been simple were suddenly complicated.
“Unexpected? In what way?” He chuckled uneasily again.
“I suppose ever since I asked you to make careless decisions with me at the bar, things have been so much different. Everything has grown in ways I didn’t expect.” I gestured to the SUV. “I didn’t expect anything like this. I didn’t expect to even see you again. You weren’t supposed to keep appearing in my office, demanding to protect me.”
This time, his laugh was one of surprise.
I continued. “You weren’t supposed to be anything more than a one-night stand. You don’t owe me any more than that. But you’re here. You’re present. You’re showing yourself to be an alpha in every sense of the word.”
“It’s what I am.” He held his hands out, almost in apology.
I shook my head. “It’s not a bad thing. It’s just different. It’s not what I’m used to. And it’s a bit scary because…because I like it.” I stopped to rearrange my thoughts.
He probably needed some background to fully understand what I was saying.
“My family has never belonged to a pack. Well, Mom used to, but I’ve never known her pack, or why she left. Everything Dad has done or created, he’s made himself. My parents are proof that shifters don’t need packs to be successful. We’ve relied on no one.” I stopped. “But we’ve alsohadno one. And part of me feels like I might have missed out on a lot because we didn’t live as part of a pack. Maybe they would have been my family.”
He watched me silently, his reserve giving me permission to continue my muddled explanation further.
“This whole thing is different, but it feels nice.” I gestured to the SUV. “I’ve never had people for me before.”
He drew me into an embrace, and I winced as pain bloomed in my limbs and across my chest. I was healing, but I still ached from the car wreck. Everything inside me seemed to have jarred or shifted position. Either that, or I wasn’t as young as I had been, and age led to aches and pains.
Mom certainly complained about those a lot.
He felt my movement and drew back a little. “Are you okay?”
I burrowed closer to him, no wanting to feel his loss just yet. “Only achy,” I said.
“Are you able to tell me about anything that happened?” His words were careful. Gentle, like he didn’t want to traumatize me.
“We hit the water.” It was the first thought in my head. The most horrific part of it. The Novelli had rushed past the windows, and I couldn’t even work out which way was up. “Girard saved us. He was like Superman. He broke his arm battling the current to get the door open. Then water rushed into the car while he yanked us all out to safety.” So much of it was still blurred. “I can only remember bits and pieces.” The shock of the cold water against my skin, the weight of my clothes, the taste of the water on my tongue. “Don’t drink the Novelli,” I warned him, and he chuckled. “But Girard was definitely amazing. He really did save us all.”
“That man needs a pay rise,” Patrick murmured absently, and I choked on a half giggle, half sob.
“The water wasn’t too deep, though.” I shook my head, trying to clear it of the memories of silt between my fingers and in my eyes, hair wet and stringy as we waded the last few yards to the shore. “We didn’t sink too far down or anything, and emergency services were on the scene really quickly and they pulled us out onto the bank. I’m so sorry about your car,” I finished.
He laughed properly this time. “Fuck the car. It’s a metal box that people use to go places. Some things can’t be replaced.” He dropped a kiss in my hair, and I warmed.
“I have to go.” It was a quiet voice. I didn’t want to go anywhere. “I don’t want to.” Those words tumbled out even though I didn’t mean to tell him.
He chuckled again, but now the sound was soft and warm, heating my insides. “I think I understand,” he said. “You have work to do, and I want to figure out who did this to you. I need to know who’s behind it so I can put a stop to it and keep you safe. What good is my offer of protection if I don’t protect you? And if you’re able to work anything out about the situation at Gold Moon from the paperwork you look through later, let me know?”
I looked up at him. “You’re interested in the Gold Moon paperwork?”
He shrugged. “We can’t rule out a connection between whoever is misbehaving at your company and whoever is trying to hurt you.” He shrugged. “Sometimes coincidences are just coincidences…”
“And sometimes your father dies mysteriously after he starts investigating suspicious events in said company,” I said. That probably hadn’t been how he intended to finish his sentence, but the words seem to fit, and he didn’t contradict me.
“Yeah,” he said instead. “Sometimes that also happens.” He refocused on me. “But if you do find anything, seriously, let me know. I’ll have Brody and his team look over it. My interest in Gold Moon is no longer about business. It’s about keeping you safe.” The look in his eyes hardened. “I want you safe, and I always get what I want.”
“My safety? Is that all you want?” My mouth dried as I asked the question. I wanted him to want so much more.
More of me. All of me.
He didn’t answer my question, but his mouth crashed back onto mine as his fingers wove into my river-tangled hair. He held my head still while his lips moved, and his tongue pushed softly into my mouth.
