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She stared at him. She knew she should tell him to go again. It wasn’t that simple though. There was no way she could just go to sleep because he was here.
But the truth is, she was tired. Every part of her wanted to curl up in that bed and sleep.
Raid’s face softened as he took her in. Almost as though he could read her mind. “You’re exhausted, darlin’. You need some sleep or you will end up in the hospital. Get ready, climb into bed, and I’ll be back in ten minutes to tuck you in.”
Seriously.
What the heck was happening to her life?
13
Raid peered through the open door to check on Hannah. Just as he’d thought, she was asleep within minutes. Hannah might believe that she didn’t trust him, but the proof was there. She knew he’d keep her safe, so she was able to rest.
And fuck . . . if he didn’t feel damn good about that. He liked the fact that he gave her that.
That he could help her.
What he didn’t like was not knowing the reason that she felt unsafe in the first place.
Patience.
It wasn’t his strongest attribute. But he’d try.
For her.
Moving to the front door, he opened it and stepped out, leaving it open so he could hear her if she woke up. He was going to call the brother he knew would be the most help.
The one who’d always been there for him. Who was more like a dad than an older brother. Although he fucking hated when Raid said that.
Said it made him feel old.
Before he could call Alec, though, he saw a dark-haired man walk up the stairs. Joel Saxon paused, looked up at him, then over to the open door.
“Hannah’s taking a nap,” he told him.
Saxon’s eyebrows rose. “Good. How is she doing?”
Raid eyed him for a moment. He knew Saxon was protective. Especially of the subs who belonged to his club. Like Hannah. So this wasn’t an unexpected visit.
“Jenna’s been by. She’s going to run some tests. At the moment, it seems that it could have been her blood pressure.”
Saxon frowned. “She’s not herself.”
“No.”
“Did she tell you what happened? With that guy?” he asked.
“Not yet. But she will.”
Saxon looked him up and down with a nod. “When I heard you’d taken responsibility for her, I was surprised.”
“Yeah?” Raid said warningly.
“You and your brothers are a bit wild. But one by one and sometimes by two, I’ve watched you all settle down. Nothing like a good woman to put things into perspective.”
Raid remained quiet, sensing Saxon had more to say on the matter.
“I wanted to check on her myself. However, the fact that she hasn’t once been by the club since she got back, plus the fact that she runs whenever she sees me, tells me that she might not actually be ready to see me.”
That wasn’t what he’d expected the other man to say. He’d been anticipating Saxon warning him to treat Hannah right.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but whatever it was, it was enough for Hannah to try to keep everyone at a distance. Mostly through avoiding them. She might have outwardly changed, but I know the real Hannah is still in there. She needs to feel safe. That’s what will help break down those shields she has up.”
Saxon stared at him for a long moment. “And you think she feels safe with you?”
“I know she does.”
“I suspect you’re right since you’re the only one she’s let close.” He paused for a moment. “Hannah’s a sub. Perhaps she doesn’t feel like playing at the moment, but in the future . . .”
“I’m prepared to give Hannah whatever she needs.”
“She’ll know if it’s faked,” Saxon warned. “And that will make her feel bad. If the scene isn’t for you, then you would be better off allowing her to play with another Dominant who has no sexual interest in her. We have a number of married Dominants who help with our single subs.”
“Yeah, that won’t be happening,” he said coldly. “Hannah is mine.”
Saxon’s mouth curved into a satisfied grin. “Interesting.”
Was it?
“Once she tells you what happened, I want to know. I want to help find this fucker who hurt her.”
“You’ll need to get in line.”
Instead of getting angry, Saxon just smiled again.
So weird.
“Aspen and I will have to have the two of you around for dinner one night.”
What the fuck was happening right now?
The other man turned and started walking away while Raid stared after him. Saxon paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him. “It’s rather cliché, but you need to know that if you hurt her, I will make your life a living hell.”
Ahh. Good. There it was. He was actually relieved. It might be predictable, but that’s what he’d been expecting Saxon to say. All of that other shit he’d been spouting about dinner just weirded Raid out.
