Page 28 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

River woke with a start, sat up in bed and looked around in a panic.

It took her a moment to realize where she was.

For a split second, she was sure she was dreaming.

But then, she felt Cade’s hand slide over her waist and pull her in close to his side, and she let out a sigh of relief.

No, this was real, she was really here—she was safely back at the lodge with Cade. She had nothing to worry about anymore.

She sank back against the pillow and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

It was nearly two in the morning. She could hardly remember getting back to the cabin at all.

She must have fallen asleep in the truck.

There was a distant memory of feeling his arms scoop her up as he carried her out into the cold again, but that was it.

She’d been so exhausted she could probably have slept for a full day and still been a little out of it.

The only thing she remembered about getting home was Hannah being so relieved to see her—crying and hugging her over and over.

River should be sleeping now, but she couldn’t.

She found herself looking at Cade, staring at him as he slept.

She couldn’t believe she was really back with him.

When Ryker had managed to grab her, she had been so certain there was no way she could get away from him.

She had already escaped once, and it seemed impossible she’d be able to do it a second time.

She was afraid Cade would be lost to her for good.

And then, she remembered. Ryker was dead.

She expected to feel guilty when she thought about what happened, but she didn’t.

Instead, when she pictured his body lying in the snow, she felt…

free. Not like before, when she had first escaped, and she had been certain they were on her trail.

She knew he would never come after her again.

She was free, and so was the rest of her family.

Her chest tightened when she thought of how much her father would have loved to see this day.

She wished he could have, but she knew he would have been proud of her if he were still alive.

She had taken out Ryker for good, and there was no way he would be able to come after her again. He was gone. Forever.

She hadn’t felt this way in so long, like the weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she could finally just…

be. All the fear, all the doubt, all the worry that she was going to bring some kind of chaos to the lodge because of who she was and the life she’d lived before, it was over.

She got to look forward to the rest of her life, whatever she wanted that to be.

And right now, all she wanted was to be with Cade.

She wanted to lie there in his arms and focus on the joy of knowing she could be totally honest with him.

She didn’t have to pretend to be anyone she wasn’t.

She could never have imagined that this was where she would end up, when she’d accepted the ride from him all those weeks ago.

She was so glad things had turned out the way they did.

He had come for her. When he had told her he would protect her, he’d meant it.

He’d come out into that frigid forest to search for her, even though he knew how dangerous it was and had no idea what he was up against. If it hadn’t been for him, God only knew what would have happened with her and Ryker.

His sudden appearance was the distraction she’d needed to muster the courage to swing that rock that had saved her life.

If it hadn’t been for him, she probably still would have been in Ryker’s clutches right now.

He’d given her the strength to do what she needed to do to survive, and she was more grateful than she would ever be able to put into words. She supposed she would just have to show him.

She reached out to touch his cheek as he slept, and he stirred, his eyes opening as he looked at her.

“You okay?” he asked, pulling her in closer. Even though the snow was still falling outside, the warmth under these covers, pressed up close to him, was everything she needed.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied.

And she meant it. When she was with him, the enormity of everything that had happened fell away, and she knew she didn’t have anything to worry about.

She could survive anything this crazy world threw at her, because he was there.

He would always be there. No matter how bad things got, she knew he wasn’t going anywhere, and she loved him for that.

She loved him.

“I’m just…really happy to be here with you,” she continued, running her fingers through his hair.

He smiled that gorgeous smile that lit up his whole face, and she felt her stomach twist into a knot.

He was so handsome. She had been so fearful before, it had been hard to let go and just focus on how happy he made her.

It felt good to be able to focus on him—on them .

“Me too,” he murmured, and he moved to kiss her on the cheek—just the softest kiss, as though he was still being careful with her.

But she didn’t want him to be careful with her, not now.

She wanted him to treat her like she was his, because she was—she belonged to him, utterly and completely. She wanted to show him that.

She turned her head to kiss him properly, and he didn’t need to be told twice.

He pulled her closer to him, their bodies pressed together, and he wrapped his arms around her tight.

She smiled into the embrace, the covers still tucked around them as he held her.

It was like they were in a little bubble, cut off from the rest of the world—as though this was the only thing that mattered right now.

And it was. She knew there was a lot of stuff for them to work through—emotions, where they were headed moving forward, plans for the future—a whole lot more for them to talk about and deal with.

But in that moment, all she could think about was him.

And how much she wanted this moment to last forever.