Singe (Guardian Protection #1)

“Was she a good mom?” he asked, wiping them away.

I bit my lip. “Not really.” I reached up and moved her diamond back and forth across the chain. “If you want the truth, she was a lot like Margaret. Selfish. Greedy. Narcissistic.” I laughed. “Dad had terrible taste in women. But she was the only mom I had.”

“Is that why you put up with Margaret’s shit? She reminds you of your mom?”

I shrugged. “A little, I guess. But, mainly, I do it for Katie.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, that’s another one I’ve got a lot of questions about.”

I offered him a weak smile. “I see you’ve been talking to Johnson. He started working for Dad right about the time he and Margaret were getting a divorce. Johnson never got to know Katie when she wasn’t the enemy. But she’s not as bad as he makes her out to be.”

“How about you tell me who I should make her out to be, then? I know you love her. And I know she annoys the shit out of you. But that’s about it.”

I absently watched my finger trailing through the thin layer of hair covering his chest, trying to figure out the best way to explain the mythical creature known as Katie Spencer. “Katie is like a sweet, little lamb who was raised by a school of piranhas. She had to learn to fall in line or she became dinner. I’m not going to tell you she’s perfect. But she’s not evil, either. I’ve learned that people are all about perspective. When you first meet someone, your mind immediately makes a judgment call on whether they are a good person or not. Friend or foe. Hero or heel. But people have a million different layers. No one is all good. Or all bad. Not even Margaret. And especially not Katie.”

“See, Butterfly. That is exactly what I’m talking about. You just said a bunch of flowery words, but not a single one of them gave me any concrete information.”

I sighed. “Katie’s that friend who will borrow your most expensive pair of shoes without asking, but she’ll always return them.”

He smirked. “I didn’t take you for a woman who would loan out your precious shoes.”

I laughed and glided my finger up the back of his neck and over his scars. Quickly, I trailed them back down when a soft gasp escaped his lips.

“I’m not. But, for Katie, I’ll make an exception. She lived with me for fourteen months after the fire while I was recovering. I couldn’t even wipe myself when I went to the bathroom at first, but Katie did everything for me.”

His eyebrows drew together, and it made me laugh.

“Trust me. No one was more shocked than I was when I came home from the hospital to find her bags in my guest room. Pete hired me a nurse and left after two weeks. Sandy after three. But Katie? I could barely get rid of her.”

“Did you pay her?” he asked skeptically.

“No. And she never asked for a single penny. After the fact, when I finally got up and going, I allowed her to move into one of the apartments Dad left me so she didn’t have to go back to living with her mom.”

“Wow,” he breathed. “I had no idea.”

“Don’t get me wrong. She definitely has her flaws. But, at the end of the day, we’re both alone in the world. Her mom is extremely difficult, and she has to put up with a lot from Margaret. Katie’s like me: She just wants someone to love. A family to call her own. We don’t have a ton in common, so we don’t hang out much these days. But, if I reach out to her, she’s always there. No matter what.”

“Except for the last two months,” he teased.

“Except for the last two months,” I confirmed. “But, in her defense, I can hold a mean grudge. It was probably best for her to lay low until I had a chance to cool off.”

“You hold a mean grudge?” he asked, clearly unconvinced.

I nodded. “Currently, I’m mad at you for at least twelve different things. Including, but not limited to, not asking me to have unprotected sex with you or for my best friend’s last name. You know, Jude, I’m not the only one who needs to learn to open up. You don’t want to wear a condom? Tell me. How the hell was I supposed to know you were ready for that? I went on birth control because I was ready. And I figured you’d say something when you were ready. And you want to know about my best friend? Ask me. I signed an NDA like a freaking secret squirrel when I first met Brianna, but everyone knows that your man is an exception.”

He smiled impossibly wide. “Ah, yes. The little-known boyfriend loophole.”

“And, in case you’re wondering, I will never ask you to extinguish an entire species for me. But I love you too. A lot.”

His smile fell and his body softened as he shoved his face in my neck and dragged me into a hug, but I didn’t allow the heated affection to slow me down. If Jude wanted me to let him in, I would—completely.

“And, since you already know I’m crazy, I guess I don’t have to hide the fact that I think I fell in love with you while I was still standing on that ledge.”

He inhaled deeply and whispered a pained, “Butterfly.”

“Please don’t ask me to pretend I didn’t,” I pleaded.

His fingers bit into the back of my shoulder as he squeezed me tighter. “You didn’t know me then.”

“No. But I do now. And everyone has to start falling in love somewhere.”

His lips moved up my neck, peppering kisses until he’d made it to my mouth, where he smiled. “This is yet another example of us living in different worlds. But I won’t ever make you pretend, Rhion. You can tell people it was love at first sight. I’ll tell people we met at a bar.”

I kissed him slow and wet. “My version’s better.”

“It usually is.” He winked. “I think that is the most you’ve ever said to me.”

I laughed. “I’m pretty sure it’s not.”

He swayed his head from side to side. “Okay, maybe not in words. But definitely in content.”

Smiling, I whispered, “I love you, J—” Then I screamed, “Jesus!” when my bedroom door swung open and Alex came walking in.

His massive body locked up when he caught sight of us. But, before he could back out, Jude had already launched himself to his feet, butt naked, crouched and ready to attack.

“What the fuck!” Jude snarled.

“Sorry. Sorry. Sorry,” Alex said, lifting his hands in surrender and spinning to face the door.

I tugged the covers up my chest and asked, “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“You big dummy!” I heard Brianna say at the same time she appeared at the door, wearing nothing but a virtually invisible lace nightie complete with garters and a pair of stilettos. A seductive smile curled her painted-red lips as she raked her gaze over Jude’s naked body. “Niiiice,” she purred.

“Brianna!” I scolded while Jude snagged my towel off the ground and wrapped it around his hips.

“I said the second door on the right!” she chided Alex.

“This is the second door. The first is a bathroom!” he argued.

She leaned her upper body out of the door to look down the hall and then let out a curse. “Shit. Sorry. My bad.”

“What in the fuck is going on here?” Jude asked, clearly slow on the uptake.