Page 41 of Protect Me
Realizing it softens me. My temper drains away.
“Duncan.” I step closer, lifting my hand and pressing it to his cheek. “I don’t love him. I never have. And I will not blame you for anything you do to him. I’ll thank you for putting an end to the monster who has tormented me for far too long.”
Chapter10
Duncan
Sway swings on the lyra high above the ground, moving her body to a beat slow enough that her movements are sharp but sexy enough that my entire body is rigid merely watching her. Thankfully, no one else is here.
It’s a purposeful move on my part. After watching her become startled by their applause this morning, I made sure to wait until the others had all quit for the day before bringing her back here to practice. It gave me more time with Sway—insisting we eat alone together in the apartment and dragging it out as long as possible.
Now, there’s no one else to witness her olive skin beaded with sweat, her toned stomach bare, thanks to the low shorts and crop top she wears. No one else to watch me imagine the way those long legs would feel wrapped around my waist.
I clear my throat and lean back against the wall, folding my arms in front of me to hopefully hide the massive bulge in my pants should anyone walk in.
My thoughts drift to the way she’d looked staring up at me in my apartment earlier. To the fear that faded into something I don’t dare imagine was lust. When I’d promised to kill her fiancé, Sway had looked up at me like I had the answer to her nightmares.
As though I am the hero she’s been seeking.
If only she knew I was no fucking hero.
“How’s our girl doing?” Liv steps from the shadows and comes to stand beside me, hand on her swollen belly. It wasn’t long ago that she was abducted by her own past nightmare, and we’d nearly shredded all of No Man’s Land to get her back.
Women.
They drive us to kill like nothing else.
“Good. Seems to be doing well despite her ankle.”
“When you’re up there, it’s easy to forget the pain that waits as soon as your feet touch the ground.”
I can hear what she’s saying between the words, so I wrap an arm around her shoulders, and she leans against me. Liv is the little sister I never got to have. A woman who captured the heart of the hardest man I’ve ever known. I would give my life to protect her.
Something I used to only be able to say for D, Killian, and Bracken.
I look up at Sway. Now, I have another name on that list.
“You find out anything else? D said she has a fiancé looking for her?”
“That’s all we know so far. She won’t give up his name. Too scared of him still.”
Liv shivers.
“You all right?”
“Yeah,” she says with a soft chuckle. “I just know all too well how she must feel.”
“Your nightmare is in the ground now,” I remind her.
“And hers will be soon, too?”
I look down into Liv’s pale gaze. The fact that she doesn’t shy away from doing the hard thing if it means protecting those she cares about is a strength I admire in her. The fact that she already cares that much for Sway speaks volumes. “Absolutely. And I’m going to enjoy putting him there.”
“Just don’t get killed doing it.” She touches her rounded belly. “This little one is going to need his Uncle Duncan around.”
My heart warms, and I smile. “Uncle, huh? You sure know how to make a guy feel important.”
“You are important.Andworthy of what it is you desire most.” Before I can ask what she means, Liv squeezes my arm gently and pulls away. As soon as she leaves the room, both Killian and Bracken come in.