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“Because you’re here.”

“No, Alta.” At the earnestness in his voice, I shifted back to look up into his face. “Because you can.” Mulling over his words, I tucked my head back against his chest. A light rumble from his chuckle tickled my cheek. “I’m hoping you’re the one who catches this guy. With what he did to those animals, I have a feeling you’d put a world of hurt on him before he ever saw the inside of a jail cell.”

My cheek slid against his shirt as my smile grew. “I do know a thing or two.”

“And you can pack a punch, don’t forget that. You’ve caught me off guard twice with the power in those tiny arms.”

“Do you think it’ll come to that?” I asked as I gnawed on the edge of my thumb. “You think I’ll be the one confronting him?”

His chest rose high, taking my head with it before lowering slowly on a controlled exhale. “I don’t know, but it’s best to be prepared. One thing is for certain—I’m not going anywhere until the bastard is behind bars or six feet under. I finally found someone to… someone I want to… I’m not letting you go without a fight is what I’m trying to say.”

With the steady beat of his pounding heart in my ear and the heat radiating off him, the pull of sleep came fast, dragging my eyelids down. He shifted, scooting to the other side of the bed slowly and slipping my head off him.

“Stay with me,” I asked in my sleepy state. “Don’t go. I don’t want Chandler. I want you here when I wake up.”

“Alta—”

Fighting with my lids to stay open, I pressed up on an elbow. “Cas, I trust you. It’ll be fine. You won’t hurt me.”

“You don’t know me,” he said in a sad tone that hurt my heart.

“I do, and I might know you better than you know yourself. Why do you think you’re a villain in this life? Because I don’t see it.”

“I’m a killer, Lady. I don’t mind it either. Where you have this light of hope and forgiveness deep in you, I have this dark, hollow hole. Nothing good comes from knowing me.” He sighed and leaned his head against the headboard. “I came into this world alone, and I’m prepared to leave it the same way. Well, I was.”

“I don’t want you to be alone. You don’t deserve this self-imposed exile.”

In the dark, I watched his lips pull up in a sad smile. “Funny, that’s exactly what I feel about you. You don’t deserve the solitary life you’ve given yourself. You deserve to live.”

“Ditto, Cas Mathews. Hey, I have an idea.”

“This doesn’t sound good.” He barked a laugh when I smacked his thigh. “Watch it. Any higher and you’ll bruise the part of me you’ve come to love today.”

My face heated. It was true, I was quite fond of that part of his anatomy.

“What’s this idea of yours, Lady?”

“I think I need to be alone to be safe, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you feel likeyouneed to be alone to keep others safe.”

“Exactly.”

“We should be alone together!”

The bed vibrated with his silent laugh. “I don’t think it works that way.”

“Says who? We make our own rules, right? We can strike a deal. You keep me safe, and I’ll keep you from slipping into the supervillain you believe you are. It’s a win-win.”

“Sounds dangerous for you.”

“There will be lots of sex,” I said seductively while skimming my fingers up his inner thigh.

“Sold.”

I yelped as he shoved me back against the bed and climbed on top, settling his weight over my hips.