Page 85 of King of Malice

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Ava, that’s my friend, she’s not a fighter, which makes her vulnerable.”

“And so, you do the fighting for both of you,” he rumbles, his brow slashing into an angry line.

He’s not wrong. But I don’t want to get into Ava, because it’s another topic that makes me look bad. While shedoes rely on me to be the fighter, she’s the everything else. Stable. Reliable. Kind. She’s bailed me out of more scrapes than I can count.

I’m the shitty friend who didn’t tell her I was coming here because I knew she’d try and talk me out of it. And because she needs a jolt to realize I’m not worth all her good.

I find a glass and turn on the faucet, filling it with water and then I take a long swallow.

“What time is it?” I ask, after I’ve taken several swallows.

“Four.”

“In the morning?” Of course it’s the morning. I dump the rest of the water back down the sink and then place the glass in the dishwasher. “We should probably go back to bed.”

He picks up the towel of ice and steps up next to me, still completely naked, as he opens the towel and drops the ice in the sink.

My eyes drift down, the sight of his twig and berries making me ache all over again.

“We should,” he answers, setting the towel on the counter as he hooks my waist. “Need help falling back to sleep?” The look in his eyes leaves no question to what he’s referring. Thank goodness the talking portion of this wake up is over and we can get back to the good stuff.

I nip at my lip. “I thought you’d never ask.”

He chuckles, bending low to wrap his hand under my ass and lifts me in the air. I let out a breathless little giggle as I grasp the back of his head. “I can walk.”

“Why bother?” he responds with a devilish glint in his eyes. “I like carrying you.”

I like it too. And that could be a problem.

CHAPTER FIVE

Zane

My girl is spooked.

She played off that dream like it wasn’t a big deal, but I know trauma when I see it.

She’s faced more than her fair share and she’s developed a hard outer shell to protect her wounds.

So many soldiers do the same. During the day, they wear their strength like a bulletproof vest, but at night…

I went to medical school, paid for by the federal government, in exchange for my service. My skill took me to Special Ops, where I provided medical care on covert missions.

But now, I’ve left the forces and I’m ready to start on my civilian life. I’d been delaying settling down until after I retired.

Absent husbands don’t make for good partners, in my opinion. And I stand by that statement.

The problem, I realized after I left, was that I’m a different man now. I’ve seen some of the worst of life, been through hell, and every woman I’ve tried to date, just wasn’t…deep enough.

It’s not that I want my woman to have suffered. But I also can’t spend Friday nights getting drunk at Applebee’s and then get up on Saturday morning to pick out curtains at Bed Bath and Beyond.

I need more.

And after a year and a half of trying and failing to meet a woman with strength and character, and an understanding of what a life spent in pursuits other than just fun might look like, I decided to flip the script and try this.

There are no guarantees beyond the next few weeks. Cadence could decide I’m not for her. I could decide there is only more pain on this path, not more merit, and we could go our separate ways.

But while I’m here, I will be fully present for Cadence. And no matter how this goes, I want her to be better for knowing me.