Page 62 of Protect Me
“What’s going on in your mind?”
I shift my gaze to Bracken, who has just shut my door behind us. “I’m worried,” I reply honestly. No sense in hiding anything now.
“We’ll keep you safe. As long as you let us.” He narrows his gaze on me.
“You’re worried I’m going to run.”
“You didn’t exactly put our minds at ease with your talk about leaving.”
“Knee-jerk reaction,” I assure him.
“You’ve changed your mind?”
“I’m saying it might not matter. I won’t survive if I run. Shit. I might not survive if I stay here, but at least, here—”
Bracken is across the room in the blink of an eye. He towers over me, staring down. “Youwillsurvive here. We won’t let anything happen to you, Sway.”
“You sure there’s aweanymore?” I ask. “Duncan seemed pretty pissed at me.”
“Duncan just wants you to trust us,” he assures me. “He’ll cool off, just give him some time.”
“Look, I know you’ll protect me,” I reply. “But who’s going to protect you? The man hunting me is dangerous, Bracken. He has contacts and hunters deep in his pockets. Any one of them could—”
Bracken cups the side of my face and pulls me toward him. “We’re resilient,” he says softly. “There’s not a man alive that I fear.”
“Just because you don’t fear something doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.” I can’t help the slight tremble at the memory of just how true my words are.
“What did he do to you, Sway?” he questions softly as he runs the pad of his thumb over my cheek.
I close my eyes against the onslaught of imagery I wish I could forget. “Too much,” I manage.
“Tell me.”
I pull away from him and put a few steps between us. “He beat me. But you already knew that.”
Bracken lets loose a low growl.
“He used and manipulated me. Pressured and forced me into doing things I didn’t want to...” I trail off then take a deep breath. “But as much as he tried, he didn’t break me.”
“No,” he agrees. “He didn’t.”
All the mental and physical abuse. Being gaslit and told I wasn’t worthy of love but he was going to give it to me anyway. I dealt with all of it, and he came close to breaking me. Hell, maybe he would have succeeded if I hadn’t found myself here.
These three men. These powerful shifters.
They believe I’m worth something.
They want me.
I meet Bracken’s gaze. “Bracken, I—”
He closes the distance between us for a second time tonight, gripping the back of my neck. The look in his eye is wild with a need I feel just as strongly. “Are you doing this to me?” he whispers. “Making me desperate to have you?”
“No,” I reply honestly.
“I didn’t fucking think so.” Bracken slams his mouth down onto mine. A tangle of teeth and tongues, he assaults my mouth with fire. I grip his arms, letting him take what he wants from me.
Because I want it too.