Page 32 of When He Fights (Protector & Defender #3)

Chapter Eighteen

Love has nothing to do with this!

Well, sure, he could have just ripped her heart right out of her chest. Or Kane could have practically yelled those devastating words—which he’d done. Both had the same effect.

He shattered me. Because, for her, love had everything to do with her relationship with Kane.

Ana unbelted her robe. Blinked rapidly and tried to act as if her very soul didn’t ache.

The bedroom door flew open and banged against the wall. “We have to talk.”

Kane. Sure, he would have followed her. Right. Check. She turned away from him and finished stripping. Bonus, her hands only trembled a bit as she took her clothes from her go bag.

She pulled on new panties. A bra. Hauled on her jeans and a flowing, tunic-style shirt. Then her feet slid into a pair of ballet flats.

Done.

Her hair was still wet. She wore zero makeup. She should go find a blow dryer, and she should finish getting herself ready for the day. After all, who knew what exciting delights waited for her? Maybe another attempted murder? Or two?

“Ana.” Kane touched her shoulder.

She jumped. “You are way too big to move so soundlessly. Don’t make me put a bell on you.” She spun toward him. “Let me get the blow dryer out of the bathroom.” It was probably in there, somewhere. The blow dryers were always hidden in hotel bathrooms. “And then you can shower.”

“ Ana.” A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Let me explain.”

“Explain what?” Too bright. Too fake.

“What you heard. ”

“Oh, you mean when you said love had nothing to do with us? That bit?” She waved the words away. “Not like it’s anything I didn’t know already. I am quite aware that you don’t love me.” She’d been quite aware when she gave him the words as they’d been making love, and he hadn’t said anything back.

It was making love to me.

It was fucking to him.

“I have no regrets.” Ana stared straight into his eyes as she delivered this news. “Zero. I knew what I was doing, and I expected nothing in return from you.” Having no regrets didn’t mean that she felt no pain. She felt plenty of pain.

“Ana?” His hand lifted, as if he’d touch her, but he didn’t. His big hand sort of just hung in the air.

“You didn’t love me two years ago. You’ve barely been back in my life for a few days, and I get that you didn’t magically fall in love with me this fast. You want me.

I want you. The sex is incredible between us.

But I knew it wouldn’t last. I knew there was going to be no future relationship between us.

This—this moment in time, it’s all we have.

” Because when the threat was over, he’d go back to his life.

“I don’t even know where you live,” she suddenly blurted.

The words were the absolute truth. “I don’t know what you do when you aren’t protecting me.

What makes you happy. How you spend your days and your nights. I don’t know .”

His eyes seemed to see straight through her. “You’re right. You don’t know.”

Okay, that hurt even more. What was she, a glutton for punishment? “The bathroom is yours.” Forget drying her hair. She’d go out and take her tattered pride with her.

“No, you’re mine.”

Uh, say again?

He stalked ever closer to her. The look in his eyes and on his face was just so predatory and possessive and dark that she found herself backing up. A quick retreat even though Ana knew that—physically—Kane would never hurt her. Emotionally? Oh, yes, he’d wreck her emotionally.

Been there, done that.

But you couldn’t make someone love you so?—

“You are mine,” he said again.

Her back hit the wall.

His hands rose and caged her, palms pressing into the wall on either side of her. “And you don’t know.”

Uh, hadn’t she covered that part already? She didn’t know what his life was really like when he wasn’t protecting her.

“You don’t know that I have spent the last two years thinking about you.”

Her eyes widened.

“How do I spend my nights? I spend them dreaming about you.”

No, he had not said that to her. No way. This was an auditory hallucination. Must be.

“My days? I do protection gigs. I’m strictly freelance because I have a freaking ton of cash that I’ve amassed over the years.

Cash I got from taking some of the most dangerous jobs out there.

I only work by referrals now, and those referrals typically come from Gray or Tyler.

You see, we all served together years ago. Semper Fi.” A growl.

She wet her lips.

His gaze fell to her mouth. He sucked in a breath. Slowly, very, very slowly, his gaze rose to catch her stare once again. “Always faithful,” he murmured.

Yes, yes, she knew what Semper Fi meant.

“That’s what I’ve been since the first time I met you.”

Ana shook her head, not understanding.

“I’m a damn liar, sweetheart.”

She wanted to retreat more, but he’d trapped her. Maybe she could duck under one of his arms and run past him.

“I’ve lied to you before. And I just lied my ass off to Tyler two minutes ago. Because love has everything to do with the current situation. At least, where you are concerned.”

There was no way Ana was hearing him correctly. No. Way. She went back to her auditory hallucination theory.

“I met you two years ago. You were scared and brave and funny and so vulnerable at the same time. I wanted to take you away. I wanted to eliminate every threat to you. But I knew it was the wrong time. You were living on nerves and terror, and the last thing you needed was me telling you that I’d live and die for you. ”

Ana blinked.

“But here’s the truth.” He leaned in closer. “I would live and die for you.”

Ana could not breathe.

“My nights are spent dreaming of you. My days? When I’m not fighting, hunting, protecting and serving, and doing the whole life-or-death drama bit—hell, even when I am on missions and working cases, I still think of you.

I wonder if you’re happy. I wonder if you’re playing music.

I wonder if you’re smiling. Because, you see, Ana, I’ve been faithful to you since we met.

It’s why I snuck around to see you. It’s why I’m here right now, telling you…

You will always be safe. Because you are my main mission in this world.

Your safety is what matters most to me.”

She had no words.

He stared into her eyes. Gazed at her with stark possession and need and savage hunger and…love? Was he staring at her with love? Had he always been doing it and she hadn’t seen the truth?

“It’s because you matter so much, sweetheart, that I have to say…

” Kane shoved away from the wall. “Repack that go bag. Your sweet ass is leaving town with Tyler. You will not be threatened. I will put Logan Catalano in the ground for you.” Then he turned, marched into the bathroom, and shut the door behind him.

Her mouth was still hanging open when she heard the thunder of the shower turning on.

“I thought you were starving.” Tyler frowned at her. “You’ve barely poked at your club sandwich.”

She’d poked. Taken some bites. Managed to choke them down. They felt like lead in her stomach.

Meanwhile, Tyler and Kane had both gobbled up three sandwiches already. Three. Each.

She was busy staring at Kane when she should have been eating.

Her hair was dry. She’d applied some makeup—makeup made her look less terrorized and sleep deprived and a little more in control. She’d repacked her go bag.

Except Ana didn’t actually intend to go anywhere.

Tyler checked his watch. His wedding ring caught the light, and the gold band gleamed. “Why don’t you try to eat a little more, Ana? Then you and I will go meet our ride.” He sent her a reassuring smile. “Before the sun sets tonight, you are going to be safe.”

Uh, huh. “Safe in a new life. With a new name. In a new place.”

“It’s a good place,” he hurried to note.

Was it? How wonderful. She took a sip of her water and carefully put the glass back on the table. Her hands then dipped beneath the table. “I’m assuming that Kane is not accompanying me to this, ah, good place?”

“No.” From Tyler.

“No.” From Kane. Spoken in near perfect sync with Tyler. “I’m not even going to know where you’re going.”

Well, why the hell not? Her fingers fisted beneath the table. Enough of this bullshit. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Kane. “So you basically tell me that you love me one moment. Then you tell me to get my sweet ass out of your life in the next second.”

Tyler had raised his glass of water to his lips. At her words, he choked. Sputtered.

Kane reached out a hand and slapped him on the back.

“Thanks,” a gasp from Tyler. “Went down the wrong way.”

Ana didn’t look at Tyler. Her focus remained on the man who seemed determined to drive her to the brink of sanity. “That’s called giving mixed messages, Kane, and in case no one has ever told you before, it’s extremely uncool.”

His lips parted.

“You don’t tell a woman you would live and die for her and then announce that she has to get lost. Super rude. Super confusing.”

“This feels like a really personal conversation,” Tyler mumbled.

“As personal as picking panties up off the floor?” Ana returned sweetly. “Sorry, Tyler, but you’re part of the discussion. Especially seeing as how you’re the man who is going to whisk me away.”

“Yeah, that whisking is supposed to happen in the next five minutes.” He cleared his throat. “Tick, tock.”

Ana exhaled. “It’s not happening.”

Kane leapt to his feet. His hands gripped the table. They’d been sitting at the tall, square table in the suite. He gripped the edges and leaned toward her. “Oh, it is happening.”

“I don’t think that Tyler is the type to kidnap a woman. To tie her up, toss her over his shoulder, and make off with her in the middle of the day.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Tyler retorted. “You have no idea how my wife tests me.”

What? But Ana just waved him away, for now. “Kane, though? Badass Kane Harte who uses his motorcycle to block a fleeing woman? He’d do it. ”