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“Nothing now,” he said, dropping his chin so I had to look at the top of his head. “‘Cause you’re here.”
My hands tightened on his elbows as a stricken sound ripped out of me. “Can I hug you right now?”
“Yeah.”
Desperate to get my arms around him, I anchored one around his waist and used the other to press his head into my chest. Settling into my stance, I stretched to my fullest height, making sure every inch of me was used to tuck him in.
He didn’t wrap his arms around me, but the give in his body was undeniable, as was the small sound he let out while burrowing closer.
The scent of chlorine wafted beneath my nose, mingling with soap and my cologne. Home.
“How was it?” I asked, consumed with the way he made me feel. I worried then that he was late coming outside not because of extra laps but for another reason. Grabbing his arms, I pulled him back so I could study his face. “Were they nice to you? Did anyone give you a hard time?”
A sly grin graced his handsome face. “And what are you gonna do if they did?”
My brain recognized he was teasing, but the rest of me didn’t seem to get the memo. My vision condensed into narrow slits, adrenaline already beginning to pool in my limbs. “I got that asshole cop fired for touching you. What do you think I’d do to someone worse?”
His mouth fell agape. “You got him fired?”
“Didn’t see him the other morning when we went back, did you?” I asked, smug.
His eyes were wide saucers, disbelief swirling in their depths. “You didn’t,” he whispered.
“I warned him. He made the choice not to listen,” I said, shrugging one shoulder.
“H-how?”
“I’m waiting for an answer, princess.”
“So am I,” he smarted off, pulling out of my arms.
“No you don’t,” I mused, tucking him back into my chest. “It doesn’t matter the how. Just that I kept my word.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“You don’t have to ask me to take care of you. I want to.”
“Getting someone fired is not taking care of me.”
Well, I disagreed. So I said nothing.
“Bear.” The nickname came out part frustrated and part soft.
I laughed under my breath. “Don’t argue with yourself, baby. It’s okay to be comforted that I would go that far to protect you. And if it makes you feel any better, he just got transferred somewhere else. He didn’t get completely fired.” It was something I wasn’t too happy about, but having him out of Westbrook would have to do.
“Really?” Matthew asked, the relief in his voice palpable. I guess not fired was good enough after all.
“Mm,” I hummed. Nudging him gently, I reminded him about the real topic at hand. “Now tell me about this morning.”
“I’d been scared to tell them. To tell anyone. Acceptance hasn’t exactly been abundant in my life.”
His words were well-aimed arrows right into the deepest part of my heart. It hurt to know something that should be available to everyone wasn’t. Even worse, it evaded the man who deserved it most. How anyone could be anything but taken with him boggled my mind. How anyone could look at him and not instantly know he was good seemed completely absurd.
Even back when the only interaction I had was staring. Even when I didn’t see the softness beneath his masculine exterior, I was still affected by him. Hell, he drew my eyes again and again.
Kruger shifted from the sidewalk, not bothering to hide his stare. It was hard to be as pissed at any of Matthew’s friends when he confided things like this to me. I knew Kruger was worried. I could tell by the look on his face. I motioned with my chin, and he returned the gesture but stayed where he was.
Look at him, learning boundaries.
