She turned to look at him, then down at her pants.
“What? Look, I know they’re a bit tight—”
“A bit tight? Your ass . . . it’s . . .”
“What? Too fat? Saggy? Oh God, have I got rolls back there? That’s it! I’m not going.”
Wait. What just happened? Fat? Saggy? Rolls?
“What are you talking about?”
“These clothes are too tight. I look terrible in them.”
They were definitely too tight, but she most definitely did not look terrible in them.
“Terrible? You look far from terrible,” he growled. “Your ass looks so amazing that anyone who sees you will not be able to look away. I cannot have other men staring at your ass. They’ll try to take you from me.”
She gaped at him. “Are you sure you’re talking about my ass?”
“Well, I’m not talking about Webb’s.”
She blushed, and surprise filled him. “Do you really believe what you said just now? That your ass is saggy and fat?”
He didn’t like that at all.
“Well, yeah, because it’s true. Wait, oh, I see what’s happening. You’re doing that thing you were telling me how you always told your ex her ass looked good in whatever she wore otherwise she’d get upset. I’m not like that. I know my flaws and my butt is one of my biggest ones. I know I don’t have the body type to pull this outfit off, so you don’t have to lie to spare my feelings. I mean, it’s not like we mean anything to each other anyway.”
Not mean anything to each other?
“I am your guardian.”
She pinched the top of her nose. “You’re not, Zander. You’re the guy who kidnapped me and is keeping me prisoner.”
“To keep you safe, because I am your guardian.”
“Whatever it takes to make you sleep better at night.”
“I rarely sleep at night. Perhaps I’d sleep better with you beside me.”
“Don’t even think about it, buddy.”
“Hmm, you’re probably right. That would be going a bit too fast, and I don’t want to scare you. But I am going to look out for you the way a proper guardian should and that means whenever someone looks at your ass, I’m going to have to knock them out.”
She shook her head. “Have you had a sanity test lately?”
“Is there such a thing?”
“There should be.”
“Have you ever had someone look out for you, Keira?” he asked gently. Miles had tried to look into her background. But there wasn’t a lot there. She’d been in the hospital when she was ten. She’d ended up in the care of child protective services for a while, but then her father had gotten custody back and they’d sort of disappeared for a while until she’d called Eden.
Which was interesting. Had she not worked before getting the job at Reaper’s? Had she worked for cash? Where had she lived before she was with Carl?
Her father was dead and as far as he could figure out, she was on her own.
Poor baby.
“Have you ever had anyone put you first. Look out for you, make tough decisions when you can’t, ensure that you are properly cared for?”