Page 20

Chapter

Nineteen

D ANNY

My fingers trembled as I inserted the spare key into the lock. They were shaking so badly that I slipped and the key clattered onto the front porch.

Knox bent and picked it up. “Shh, baby. Let me.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Want me to go in first?”

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

I hated to admit it, but George’s abduction had terrified me. If he wasn’t safe at the Children’s Home in the center of town, then how could I possibly be safe alone in my house on the edge of the woods?

Knox stepped inside, waited for me to enter, closed the door quietly and snicked the lock back into place. Then he gestured for me to keep close behind him while he led the way through the house, moving from room to room. We made as little noise as possible, and I strained my ears, but all was silent.

Thank gods. No one was here.

Once we’d checked the whole house, Knox went to the thermostat and turned it up higher. He switched on the kitchen lights and grabbed a mug from the cupboard.

“Want a snack and a hot chocolate?” he asked.

I fell for him a little then. Who wouldn’t, when a man offered to care for someone so instinctively?

“Yes, please,” I whispered, my heart so warm that I hardly noticed the chill in my fingers and toes.

He busied himself in the cabinets. “I’ll get that for you. You just sit down and I’ll be there in a moment.”

My stomach fluttered. I could get used to this. I made my way to the sofa and pulled on the sweatpants hanging over the back of it, then sat.

Knox came over a short time after, carrying a blanket. He laid it over me and disappeared back into the kitchen again. My pulse raced, and adrenaline spiked as soon as he was out of sight.

You’re safe, I reminded myself. The door is locked, and you’re safe.

He emerged holding a mug topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles and a small plate containing several pastries that he must have heated in the microwave. He set them on the coffee table and left again. Fear coursed through me. I wished he’d stop disappearing. My inner omega needed its alpha present in order to feel secure.

When he returned, he was carrying a second mug of hot chocolate, although this one smelled faintly of coffee too and didn’t have any whipped cream or sprinkles on top. I scrunched my nose. It was the hot chocolate equivalent of a sludgy espresso.

“Sit beside me?” I asked, hating the note of pleading in my voice.

He did, but before he made himself comfortable, he grabbed my hot chocolate off the coffee table and offered it to me, along with a blackberry and honey pastry. I sipped the hot chocolate, ignoring the cream mustache that stuck to my upper lip, and took a bite of the pastry.

Yum. A delicious blend of sweetness and tartness, with a hint of spice.

“Want to talk about what just happened?” he asked, gazing at me steadily as he blew across the surface of his drink.

My cheeks heated. Suddenly, I wished he hadn’t turned the lights on. “What do you mean?”

“Only a few seconds ago, you were so afraid that you were pumping out enough pheromones to affect me in the kitchen.”

I pressed my lips together, shame spiraling through me. No, I didn’t want to talk about it. Unfortunately, I got the impression that he wouldn’t let this go easily.

“When you’re near, I feel safe.” I kept my eyes on my drink so I didn’t have to see his reaction. “It terrifies me knowing that random alphas could decide to kidnap me at any moment. I can’t fight one alpha, let alone several.”

The admission shamed me further. I was a bear shifter. I was supposed to be strong.

Knox touched my knee, and when I didn’t resist, he rested his hand there gently. “Keep in mind that they let George go because he put up a fight. He’s human. I know you’re more capable at defending yourself than he is.”

My gut twisted. I wasn’t sure that he was right. Perhaps, technically, I had the potential to be a stronger opponent than George, but not if I seized up, too scared to do anything to save myself.

“Drink,” Knox prompted. “You need warmth and fuel.”

I gulped down the hot chocolate, ignoring the sting in the back of my eyes.

“Even if you freeze, they won’t have a chance to hurt you.” His raspy voice wrapped around me, as cozy as the blanket. “I won’t let them. Just consider me your personal bodyguard.”

But I don’t want you to get hurt either .

I didn’t say the words. I knew he’d take them as an affront to his strength.

“Thank you.” I finished the drink and wiped the cream off my lip, sucking it from my finger. Knox’s eyes darkened. “Can we watch a movie? Something sweet and fluffy.”

He handed me the remote. “Whatever you like.”

I searched through our streaming service until I found an adorable miniseries about two schoolboys falling in love. As I started it, I stuffed the rest of the pastry into my mouth and snuggled against Knox.

One of his arms came around my shoulders. I stiffened, expecting the constraint to make me nervous, but it didn’t. Closing my eyes, I breathed in leather and pine, with traces of earth and the faint metallic bite of George’s blood.

Even that didn’t bother me, because Knox had protected George. Just like he’d protect me, if it came to it.

I tried to focus on the show’s plotline, but more than once I became distracted by the play of shadows across Knox’s face and the plushness of his lower lip.

I wanted to suck that lip into my mouth.

I wanted to taste him.

So I did.

Slowly—so he could stop me at any time—I stretched toward him until our lips touched. His short intake of breath rocked me to my core. I firmed the kiss, pressing myself against him, aligning the lengths of our bodies.

Knox tasted of chocolate, coffee, and comfort. I darted my tongue out, deepening the kiss, driven by an instinctive need to be close to him.

He groaned, and his palm curved around the side of my neck, his grip tightening on the nape. He wasn’t holding me hard, but his possessive grasp made me feel as though he was controlling every second of the exchange.

I loved it… until he pulled away.

“Danny.” He nuzzled the crook of my neck, scenting me. “We can’t do this now.”

My stomach lurched. “B-but…”

I wanted him so badly. How could he be turning me away? Didn’t he want me too?

“Hey. No. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.” He gripped my jaw and angled my face toward him. “I want nothing more than to kiss you all night long, but I don’t want you to wake up in the morning and regret it. You’re feeling vulnerable right now. When we make things physical between us, it needs to be without any other emotions clouding the situation.”

I gritted my back teeth together. I understood where he was coming from, but didn’t he know that being close to him was the only way I felt safe? Or that my cock was hard as hell, which was a fucking miracle?

I hadn’t been this turned on for months. Not since before Rex beat the crap out of me and was exiled from town. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever been this turned on.

He dropped a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose. “How about we go to bed and snuggle?”

Bed? But hadn’t he said…?

“Just to sleep.” He loosened his grip on me. “I want to hold you. Nothing more, I promise.”

I relaxed. Of course that was all he wanted. I considered the suggestion for a long moment. It was scary. It would mean making myself more vulnerable with him than I’d been with anyone for a long time. Sleeping beside someone required a lot of trust .

But he’d saved George.

He was trying to protect me from my own impulsive behavior.

Surely, I could trust him enough for this.

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”