Page 33 of Protected By Her Mate

The dream doesn’t startle me nearly as much as my bedroom door being flung open and the room flooded with light.

“What the heck?” I throw a hand up, covering my eyes, squinting through my fingers.

“You shouted.” Lennox’s strained voice tells me who infiltrated my bedroom.

“Jesus, you scared me.” Groping for the lamp, I turn it on. “Shut off the light, for god’s sake.”

He complies and I sigh in relief as my eyes are able to adjust more easily. I focus on Lennox who’s standing at the end of my bed. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought you home.”

I shove the blanket off my legs and swing my feet to the floor. “I know you brought me, but what are you still doing here?”

“I wanted to be here in case you needed me when you woke.” He clears his throat and nods toward the door. “I helped Luke with supper and homework.”

“Luke!” I gasp, pushing to my feet and lurching around the side of the bed.

Lennox takes my arms in a light grip that steadies me. “He’s fine. I fed him and helped him to bed. He’s been asleep for hours.”

I stare at him, then take a small step back, forcing him to drop his hands. “Thanks.”

It feels strange thanking him for taking care of my son. I should have been there for Luke, should’ve been the one to talk to him about what happened. But I’m not upset at Lennox for taking over, the same way he took over at the fire station with my colleagues. Maybe because I know his intentions are noble.

“Not always,” he murmurs, lowering his head, touching his lips to my hairline.

The breath catches in my throat as tingles follow the path of his lips.

A shudder goes through him and he grips my shoulders again, this time in a hold that feels unbreakable. It’s not frightening or forceful though.

“I shouldn’t be in here.” His words are at odds with his body language, which is distinctly predatory.

“Then why are you?” I whisper.

“Wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m always okay.” My breath brushes his chest hair where it peaks through the open collar of his shirt.

“I’m not.”

I’m surprised by his admission. He always seems so in control, sure of himself in a way only a man of his age can be. “Why aren’t you okay, Lennox?”

He groans, the sound vibrating from his chest and up his throat in a way that sends an answering shiver through me.

Gooseflesh rushes down my arms.

He moves closer until our chests bump. “Say my name again.”

“Lennox.” The sound is throaty, needy, even to my own ears. I’m not embarrassed. I’ve wanted this man from the moment I laid eyes on him.

“I’m not okay because someone targeted you and I don’t know who did it or how to stop them from doing it again. You’re too damn important, Charlie.”

I lick my lips. “Say my name again.”

He grits his teeth, his incisors shining in the lamplight. “Charlotte.”

His unexpected use of my full first name is downright sexy coming from him. “Why do you think I’m important?”

“You… just are.” His fingers flex, clenching in the flesh of my arms. “You and I are working together for a reason, trying to solve a murder, trying to break up a crime ring. You distract me in a way I’ve never experienced before. I’m a slave to that distraction, but a willing captive if it means I get to be near you.”

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