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Not going to happen.
They would get Riley quite literally over his dead body. But big power situations ate people like him and Riley right up. He would sacrifice his life to keep her safe, but it was no guarantee at all that she could stop this momentum. And that they wouldn’t somehow engineer a trial for murder, if they didn’t kill her.
It was a shitshow all around, and visions of a dead Riley, a wounded Riley and—since he made a point of being honest with himself—Riley running like a gazelle, Riley climbing up the wall of a building like a beautiful Spiderman, kept him awake.
Every once in a while he did a sensory scan of the environment. Listening for any sounds that shouldn’t be there, checking the security cameras on his cell.
He knew there was a security system in place, but still.
In one of the scans, he heard something and sat up. What the …
Muffled sounds. Not whispers, but groans, like someone in pain. He rose up out of bed, Glock in hand, and opened the bedroom door silently, standing, gun up, beside the wall. The sounds were louder now, muffled moans. Coming from Riley’s room.
He stood outside her door, knuckle out, ready to rap, when he heard a painful moan, thoughtfuck this, and opened her door.
She was having a nightmare.
There was light coming in from the street, and he could see her on the bed, tangled in sheets and light summer comforter, tossing her head back and forth, a whine of pain coming from her compressed lips. She was trying to suppress her terror of the nightmare, as her legs scrabbled under the covers, trying to run away from whatever it was that was terrifying her.
Well, professional soldiers and lawmen all gunning for her—that would do it.
He looked down at her for a moment. A full moon and a street lamp cast white light through the window onto her and turned her skin alabaster. She looked like a marble statue, if it weren’t for her eyes fluttering behind her lids.
So beautiful. So brave. So terrified.
She moaned behind clenched teeth.
He couldn’t stand it a second longer. Putting his Glock on the nightstand, grip towards him, because you never knew, he put a hand on her shoulder. Felt the lean muscle and delicate bone structure under it. A brave, strong woman who could be crushed like a bug by the forces after her.
Not while he drew a breath.
Under his hand, she was trembling lightly. He cupped her shoulder gently, shook her. “Riley,” he said. “Wake up.”
She gasped, eyes flicking back and forth behind the lids.
“Riley.”
Suddenly she thrashed her limbs and emitted a stifled scream, breathing heavily, eyes wide open and terrified
“It’s okay.” Pierce kept his voice low and calm. “It’s okay. It’s just me, Pierce. You’re having a nightmare. Shhh …”
Riley lifted herself up on her elbows, eyes so pale they were almost white in the light of the street lamp. “What—”
She was still shaking.
Fuck this.
Pierce slid onto the bed, on top of the covers, and took her in his arms. He turned until she was on top of him and he held a hand to the back of her head and an arm around her waist. The classic protection hold, protecting the vulnerable parts of the body—the head and the viscera. When she calmed, she would feel his heartbeat, which is the single most reassuring thing a human can do. Share a heartbeat.
It didn’t help, however, that he went fully erect at the feel of her in his arms. But he would rather tear his own throat out than make a move on her in this vulnerable moment.
“You were having a nightmare,” he said, keeping his voice low and calm. “Nightmares are terrifying, particularly when linked to the events of the day or recent events, because there’s a tinge of reality. You had a stressful day. I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a nightmare. But you’re safe. Nothing will happen to you. You can let go.”
Because he could feel her stiffness and vigilance. All of a sudden, she relaxed, her body molding with his. Her hip brushed his groin and felt his erection. She stiffened again.
“Don’t worry about that.” He smiled in the darkness. “It’s like an automatic response to holding a beautiful woman in my arms. I have no intention of doing anything about it. All I want is for you to get a good night’s sleep.”
Riley let out her breath in a whoosh. They lay there, in silence.
