Page 35 of Heir

But—I didn’t do anything.

Fuck.

Blue wrapped his arm around me and led me to the door. People moved out of the way for us, some whispering as we passed. I kept my head down, my face red from the attention, and tried to keep it together.

We got to Blue’s car and quickly climbed in.

Blue started the car but didn’t drive.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

Blue turned to me. “What are you talking about? You didn’t cause any trouble.”

“But Kai’s so angry.”

“At the bastard. Did he touch you?”

I could hear Blue’s voice shaking slightly. But I wasn’t really paying attention. If Kai wasn’t angry with me, then why had he sounded so rough?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know what to think anymore.

I shook my head. “No, Kai stopped him.”

Blue squeezed the steering wheel. “Fuck. I shouldn’t have left you alone in a bar.”

I turned to Blue in surprise. “Now you’re just being silly. That was just a freak accident.”

And if what Blue said was true, then Kai wasn’t angry at me.

He… protected me.

Only Blue had ever protected me.

Perhaps my dad had when I was little—from Mom—but I didn’t remember it.

“I knew what the environment was like at the bar.”

“You think you need to stay by my side for the rest of our lives to protect me?” I asked. “Why don’t you just marry me then, Blue?”

“I will if you agree,” he said quietly.

I rolled my eyes.

Despite being terrible at reading people, I knew for a fact that Blue didn’t love me. Not romantically, at least. But he would want to marry me, for no other reason than wanting to protect me. He somehow thought it was his job, and that was how seriously he took it.

“Then why don’t you kiss me?” I said.

Blue turned to me in surprise, leaning back until he hit the car door. I refrained from laughing. “W-what?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t want to kiss me. You’re not interested in me like that. What were you going to do if we got married? Have sex with me? Are you going to be my first, Noah Arrington?”

“I, uh, well, you, we can just, uh…”

I lost the battle and laughed. I mock-punched his arm. “You want to protect me. You love me, and I love you, too. But it’s not your job or your responsibility to make sure I am safe. Okay?”

He relaxed his posture at my words and wrapped his arms around me. “Fuck, but wouldn’t it be easier if I had the superpower to ensure nothing bad would ever happen to you?”

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