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13
AARON
Aaron shot up in bed. His blurry eyes blinking as he tried to make sense of what had woken him. He turned to the clock. It was three-thirty in the morning.
A strangled cry came from the next room and he was on his feet and to the door as fast as he could make it. Had someone broken in?
Aaron stepped into the hallway, his body on alert.
“No, please don’t!” Brynn shouted from her room.
Aaron gripped the knob and whipped the door open, switching on the light.
He blinked at the brightness as he scanned the room for an intruder. Brynn was tangled in the sheets, her face wet with tears as she cried out.
He debated what to do: if she woke and found him here, she might freak the fuck out, but leaving her so traumatized seemed heartless.
“Please stop, you’re hurting me!” Brynn’s pleading tore a hole straight through his heart. He wanted to comfort her—needed to. But how?
He kneeled on the bed to reach out to her shoulder and gently shake her. “Brynn? Sweetheart? You’re dreaming.”
Brynn’s eyes flashed open.
Aaron held up his hands in surrender. “You were having a bad dream. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Brynn sat up, eyes wildly searching the room. She inched towards him as she swung her head to the dark window.
“You’re safe here. Nothing is gonna hurt you on my watch,” he assured her.
He hesitated, unsure if he should stay or go. What did she need?
Brynn turned to him, her body trembling and her attention darting wildly around the room as if searching for an intruder. She reached out to him. Stunned, he opened his arms right before she fell into them. She sobbed against his chest, clinging to him, as if her life depended on it.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating, over and over.
“Shh. It’s alright. There isn’t anything to be sorry about.” Aaron moved to sit against her padded headboard, cradling her against him. He leaned his mouth down to her sweaty forehead and pressed a tender kiss to her crown. “I’ve got you, sunshine. You’re safe with me.”
Her sobs quieted, but she remained in his arms. A few minutes later, her tearstained face slackened, and her breathing evened out. Ropes of affection mingled with protective instincts and weaved around his chest, cinching tight. Peering down at her angelic face, he cursed the son of a bitch who made this beautiful creature afraid in her dreams. It was killing him that he couldn’t fix this. Invisible dragons were harder to slay than flesh and blood—but not impossible. He had to believe that. He would do everything in his power to protect Brynn and Danielle from their past.
Aaron brushed a stray strand of hair from her face with his finger. Her skin was silky soft, so delicate like the woman in his arms. This was the first time he had the opportunity to study her so close for so long. And it was the first time he noticed the roots of her hair had begun to grow out. It seemed Brynn was a natural blonde. Was her hair one more thing she’d had to change to escape her ex?
She wouldn’t have to give anything else up for anyone; Aaron would make sure of it. It was time someone gave to her instead of taking. And he was just the man for the job.
Aaron gently slid her onto the bed, then reached over her to pull the covers up. When he tried to pull away, Brynn clung tighter to his chest. He’d stay for a little while longer. Hopefully, she wouldn’t regret this in the morning and freak out that he was in her bed. Only one way to find out.
