“I prefer to think of it as being protective. You’ve got enough on your plate. You’ve carried this burden for long enough. You deserve to have a bit of happiness in your life, and I’m gonna make sure you have that. Okay?”
Even though he put it as a question at the end, she got the feeling it wasn’t. And the truth was it would be nice not to worry for a little while. Knowing someone like West had her back was part the reason she’d chosen him in the first place, before she’d even known he was her one.
“Right, so after you normally have a nightmare how do you get back to sleep?” he asked her.
“I don’t.”
He went still. “You don’t go back to sleep?”
“No. I never really sleep well anyway. I’m always too worried he’s going to come into my room. He’d never let me have a deadbolt on the door. I used to move the dresser, but the other day he secured it to the wall. So now I have to put a chair under the handle. Doesn’t keep him out, but it would wake me up.”
He became so still he was stone. “He came into your bedroom without permission? When you were sleeping?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Often?”
She shook her head. “No, not that often.”
“But often enough for you to feel the need to sleep with a goddamn chair under your door handle. Fuck!” He ran his hand over his short hair. She wondered what he looked like when he grew his hair. Probably even more breath-takingly gorgeous than he did now.
“Please, dear God, please tell me he didn’t touch you.”
She frowned at that weird question. Obviously, he touched her. Oh . . . she got it then. Why he looked so horrified.
“No,” she whispered hoarsely. “No, he never touched me like that.”
“Promise me.” His hand was tight around hers. Almost too tight, but she didn’t say anything. The fear and horror in his face told her he wasn’t even aware of his tight grip and that he needed to hold onto her. So she’d give him that.
She would give him whatever he needed. “I promise.”
“Good. Good.” The relief in his voice was clear, and it made her fall for him just a little more.
There was definitely more to West Malone than what he let most people see.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” he told her in a rough voice. “He’s in jail.”
“He won’t be for long. He’ll make bail. He has plenty of money. Stupid, isn’t it? I worry about him in jail, but I’m scared about when he gets let out. He’s not going to let me leave him, West.”
“Listen to me.” He grasped her chin, raising her face. “He has no choice.”
“West—”
“He doesn’t know who he’s up against, sunshine. He thinks we’re ranchers, but we’re so much more. We kept Mia safe from a mobster, we can do the same for you, yeah?”
She just stared at him.
“You just agreed to let me look after you, don’t go doubting me so quickly. My ego can’t take it.”
She snorted. “I’m certain your ego will be just fine.”
“Let me worry about him.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” She wasn’t sure how, but she’d try.
“You need sleep, you’re exhausted. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Sometimes chamomile tea helps. You got any tea?”