Page 19

My protective instincts roared to life, twice as powerful as before. Not just the need to keep her safe from external threats, but to provide what she desperately needed. Structure without strictness. Rules that freed instead of caged. Someone strong enough to handle her bratty testing while gentle enough to soothe the frightened girl underneath.

Someone like me.

"The windows can wait," Lena said, but uncertainty colored her voice. "Mia made an appointment."

"It's fine!" Mia chirped, already pulling coloring books from her bag.

She spread the books on the counter, and I caught another flash of that desperate want on Lena's face. Her fingers twitched like she wanted to reach out but couldn't let herself.

"These are nice," I said carefully, picking up one of the books. "Good quality paper."

Mia beamed. "Right? I found this little shop that specializes in adult coloring books, but they have some that are just . . . softer, you know? Not so complicated. Sometimes you just want something simple and pretty."

Lena made a small sound. Barely audible. But I heard it. Heard the need in it.

"I should—" She started to move away, but I shifted slightly. Not blocking her. Never that. Just . . . present. Solid.

"They're good for anxiety," I said, flipping through pages of flowers and butterflies. "The repetitive motion. Having something to focus on. My therapist recommended them after my last tour."

Lena's eyes snapped to mine. "You color?"

"Well. No. She suggested them, but I didn’t follow the suggestion.”

“Weird.”

“More of an advice giver than an advice taker.”

“It helps me,” said Mia, simply. “Something about staying inside the lines when everything else feels chaotic. We color together sometimes while watching movies—Duke and me."

Another desperate sound from Lena. Quieter. Sadder.

She wanted it. Wanted someone to color with. Someone to provide that simple, innocent intimacy. Someone to tell her she was doing a good job staying in the lines. Someone to hang her pictures on the fridge and call her their good girl.

Someone to be her Daddy.

And fuck me, but I wanted to be that someone. Wanted it with a ferocity that should have scared me. Instead, it felt like finally finding true north after years of spinning.

"I should get those measurements," I said, moving toward the windows. "You two plan your tattoos. I'll be quiet."

As I pretended to measure windows I'd already assessed, I listened to Mia chatter about tattoo ideas while Lena gave half-hearted responses. But I caught her watching me in the window's reflection. Saw her fingers still twitching toward those coloring books.

Soon, little artist. Soon I'll give you all the coloring books you want. Build you a whole room full of soft things and safety. Show you what it's like to have rules that protect instead of punish.

But first, I had to keep her safe from the Serpents circling outside.

Because now that I knew what she was—what she needed—letting anything happen to her wasn't an option.

Lena Rivera was mine to protect. She just didn't know it yet.

Chapter 4

Lena

Whathadhappenedtome?

I dragged myself through the shop door Wednesday morning, exhausted from three straight nights of touching myself like a desperate teenager.

My wrist actually hurt.