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“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Wiping away whatever it is that you’re staring at on my face.”
“You can’t wipe away your beauty.”
She paused and gaped at him. Whoa.
Raid Malone. Super smooth talker. Sexy as heck cowboy.
And hers.
For the moment, anyway.
He knows the truth, and hasn’t run away.
“And why the fuck wouldn’t I want to take you?” he demanded, returning to gruff, blunt Raid. “If I wasn’t there with you, I’d be here with you. Or anywhere. With. You.”
Holy. Heck.
Even when he sounded kind of irritated, he was still sweet.
“You want to be with me?”
“I want to be with you, darlin’. I don’t want to be anywhere else but with you. I’m your guardian. I’m your man. I’m your fucking everything.”
Trust him to tell her that he was her everything rather than wait for her to tell him that.
“I’m not going anywhere, Hannah.”
“I want to be normal,” she blurted out.
He frowned and opened his mouth.
“I want to be able to give you everything that you deserve. Someone who doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night, unable to breathe and clawing at her neck. Someone you don’t have to protect all the time. Someone who you can touch without worrying that they’ll freak out. I want to give you all of that.”
“Baby, you already give me everything. Just by trusting me. Wanting me. Everything else can wait.”
But she didn’t know if she wanted to wait. She wanted him in her bed and not just to stop her from having a nightmare.
She wanted to play with him. To see what he liked. To have him finally take her over his knee and spank her. Perhaps order her to her knees so she could suck him off.
She wanted to tell Raid she loved him and that she wanted to spend her life with him.
However, she didn’t know how to say that. Any of it.
And now wasn’t exactly the time.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“You haven’t eaten anything,” he pointed to her still full plate.
Shoot.
“I don’t think I can,” she said. “My stomach is all in knots. I might be sick.”
She knew he’d make her, though. Maybe she could convince him that coffee was a good substitute for actual food.
“All right, darlin’,” he said, shocking her.
That wasn’t like Raid. He was always trying to get her to eat more.
But maybe it was because of what she was about to do.
That had to be it.
An hour later, she finished telling Jake everything and silence fell through the room.
She squeezed Raid’s hand as she waited for Jake to speak. He got up, his face calm. But there was something there . . . something that was leaking out into the room.
Something dark.
“Excuse me a moment.” He walked out the door, and she turned to look at Raid, who appeared grim.
Then she heard a shout and the sound of a bang. She jumped and got to her feet. But Raid tugged on her hand, not letting her go.
“Raid! That had to be Jake. Do you think he’s all right?”
“He’s fine.”
“I should go find him and check. What if he tripped up over something?”
“He didn’t trip. He’s just getting rid of some feelings.”
“Huh? Feelings?”
“About what you just told him,” he explained gently. “Sit down, baby.”
She sat, feeling stunned. “But Jake doesn’t get upset about things. He’s always so calm.”
“Hmm. Most of the time, I guess.”
“He sees a lot in his job. What I told him . . . that wouldn’t upset him.”
“Why wouldn’t it upset him? It happened to you, Hannah. Someone he’s known a long time. Who he admires. Who he was in charge of.”
Shit. “This isn’t his fault.”
“I know, darlin’,” he reassured her. “Jake might not feel the same way.”
“Jake doesn’t feel the same way.”
She turned in her chair as Jake strode back in, looking angry. Grim. Instead of going to sit behind the desk, he stood in front of her, leaning back on the edge of his desk.
“You should have told me, Hannah.”
“Jake,” Raid said warningly, stiffening beside her.
Jake held up his hand. “No. I should have known. What if this asshole had come back? What if he’s not finished with you? I know you thought if you told me that he’d hurt you, but Hannah, I would’ve taken care of you.”
There was a note of brokenness in his voice she’d never heard before.
“I’m all right, Jake.”
He shook his head. “You’re not. You’re not you. You’ve been pushing everyone away, keeping yourself safe behind a wall of ice. I knew something had happened. I should have pressed you.”
“Jake, I wouldn’t have told you,” she said gently. “I couldn’t. I didn’t feel safe. Not until . . . not until Raid helped me feel secure enough.”
Raid squeezed her hand while Jake nodded. “We need to find out if that guy who was arrested is Steven London. I’ll need a description of him. I’ll start looking into this other guy, get as much information as I can.”
