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He was the only person she liked touching her, wanted touching her, and she buried her face in his neck, needing closer.
“Shh, I’ve got you, little doe. I won’t ever let him hurt you again,” he whispered into her ear, his fingers gliding along her neck, making her tingle, but his body relaxed after a moment, his arms tightening around her further. “He didn’t manage to force his claim on you.”
“No,” she said, realizing why he’d touched her neck now. His relief filled her with more hope, and she wrapped her hand around his arm, wanting to touch him in return.
Heath’s large hand covered most of her back and she let out a soft gasp when it pressed into her further, sending pain straight through her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, moving before she could stop him. He unwrapped his sweater from around her, his hands pushing up her shirt until the bottom whelps were noticeable. “I’m going to fucking kill him,” he snarled, his hands falling away from her, tightening into fists.
He stormed towards the door and her breath caught in her throat, fear flooding her at the thought of him leaving. It was worse though at the thought of him going up against her alpha, because it wasn’t only him that he would be up against. The rest of the pack would immediately jump into the fight to protect the man, even if he didn’t deserve it, they would do so because it was their job. She couldn’t lose Heath, not because of her, not like this.
“Don’t…please. You’re outnumbered right now,” she added bringing his attention back over to her. “Please Heath…”
He let out a deep breath, moving back to her, gathering her up tight. This time he kept his hands away from her back, turning her to lay over his lap, her chest pressed against his, one of his hands cradling her head and neck, the other resting on her hips. She felt safe for the first time in forever, on top of a million other sensations she didn’t know was possible. Every time she breathed, her body pressed against his, sending them through her. Every time he breathed, he shifted their bodies, making his hold tighten on her, and it woke them further.
“Shh, I’m not going to do anything that will leave you vulnerable, I swear, little doe,” he said his lips pressing into her forehead as he rocked her gently.
Her eyes closed and she reveled in the feelings washing through her, over her. She didn’t want to ever lose this, lose him.
“I need you to tell me what happened, sweetheart,” Heath said gently, his hands still holding her close keeping her calm. “I understand if you can’t tell me who he is, if you’ve been ordered not to by your scummy alpha, but I need to know if he hurt you beyond the marks on your back. If he forced himself on you today or in the past.”
“He’s tried but never succeeded,” she admitted, thankful that wasn’t going against the commands, keeping her from feeling that awful angry pain throughout her being. “Someone usually stopped him, interrupted before he could do worse than grope my breasts.”
“Even that’s too much, little doe. You should only ever have hands you want touching you,” he grunted, making her fight a smile. She liked his grumbly side, his protectiveness. She’d never had something quite like this before, not even her father made her feel this protected and safe and she’d loved him entirely.
“It’s always been over my clothes, never skin on skin, but today…” She shuddered thinking of what could have happened if Luke hadn’t been close at hand, if the summit wasn’t going on this week, forcing Alpha Josh to watch himself.
“What? Today what, little doe?” he asked, loosening his hold on her enough to see her face. “Did he touch you more today?”
“No, he had his pants unzipped, was pushing me into the wall and when his nasty lips tried to kiss me, I couldn’t bear to have his touch any part of me. I put my hands up, fobbing the kiss off onto them, and that made him madder. He was furious and took his belt off, was hitting me with it…then it stopped when someone came in, and I ran. I didn’t want to go to my room, even knowing he wouldn’t go there searching for me. I came here instead.” She got the words out but her body shook with each syllable, the disgust, anxiety washing back through her recalling it all.
“I want you to stay in my room until the summit is over,” Heath said, making her eyes widen in surprise, but it sent all the dread away, keeping her stomach from rebelling. “I know I can’t keep you with me overnight, much as I’d like to, but during the days, I want you to stay in here. I’m going to leave one of my men in the hallway to keep an eye on the room, he’ll ensure no one enters while you’re in here. My guard pack is already on the way here, they’ll be in place the day before the summit ends to ensure no one stops us from leaving. Tries to stop you from coming with me. You are coming with me, aren’t you, little doe?”
“Please,” she cried, tears filling her eyes, wanting nothing more than that, except for him to claim her as his. If she could somehow disobey Alpha Josh’s orders to go to his office on her birthday, stay in Heath’s room, with him the entire night, she might just get out of here without the man putting his mark on her.
“Shh, don’t cry, sweetness,” Heath said, his lips pressing against her eyes, shutting them as he kissed away the tears. “I have you now and from here on, no one else will touch you. Not ever.”
Aubree’s fingers gripped his shirt tightly, wishing it were his chest, but for now, this was nearly as good. It kept her connected to him, kept the terror away, and she wanted to stay next to him forever.
Heath continued to hold her, his hands gentle on her, one stroking her side, staying away from the whelps on her back, until it was nearly dinnertime. She started to move off his lap, knowing if she didn’t meet Ellen, the woman would come down here, even if she didn’t want to, and find them like this.
“Where are you going, little doe?” he asked, catching her before her feet even slid off the sofa.
“I have to meet Ellen. If she finds us like this, she’ll have to tell him. I don’t want him coming here…”
“Straight down to the nook and straight back until it’s time for bed,” Heath said, letting her go. The second she was alone, the worry began to creep back in and by the time she got back to his door, she was shaking.
He took the tray from her immediately, setting it onto the table, before lifting her into his arms, carrying her to it, settling her onto his lap. “I’m sorry…it all just…”
“Shh, I know, sweetness,” he said, pressing soft kisses to her temple as he rocked her against his chest. “You’re still processing it all, but you’re safe in here. Safe with me. Let me feed you, little doe, that will settle your stomach, and then I’ll settle your mind before you go to bed.”
She was certain she wouldn’t be able to stomach a single bite, but Heath kept her on his lap, feeding her little morsels that tasted far better than anytime in the last week. She didn’t know how because it smelled the same, but she ate every bite he offered, soothing her twisting stomach.
Heath took them back to the sofa, stretching out as much as his huge length could manage, and brought her down beside him. His arm curled around her, her back pressed against his hard chest. Her head rested on his free arm, and it came up, until his hand rested on her shoulder, making her heart settle into a slightly faster pace, but nothing close to the way it’d raced when she was in that office.
His head dipped down towards her, and she let out a soft sigh, her fingers curling around his forearm, holding him in return. Tears prickled against her lids, but they weren’t from fear or pain. This felt too right to be anything but heaven.
“You can rest, little doe. Nothing will get to you through me,” he whispered into her ear, making her sigh again, snuggling further into his hold.
