Page 14 of Law

Lovie stared unseeing out the window. Every one of her senses was much too focused on relishing Law’s hand resting on her thigh. She loved that he had left it there. Somehow, it grounded her. As she ran her thumb over the bruises covering his knuckles and hand, she replayed the last few minutes in her mind, committing them to memory.

After wrapping his impossibly large hands around her waist, holding her steady with long, thick, masculine fingers, he’d lifted her into his truck with no apparent trouble, as if she hadn’t gained those extra fifteen pounds over the past four years. Not giving her time to recover, he’d reached across her to buckle her seatbelt.

What would it feel like if his arm skimmed her breast? Her nipples peaked at the thought, and it was all she could do not to untuck her burnished, teak-colored hair from behind her ear to create a barrier to shield her face. The last thing she needed was for him to ask why she was blushing.

Not that she would untuck it anyway, since he was the one who had run his finger along her long bangs to tuck it there. Then her lungs lost the ability to process oxygen whenhe leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead. Her Viking had a firm, decisive way about him. She had encountered many types of men in her life. This was a man who knew what he wanted and pursued it without apologies.

What would it be like to live that way? To know yourself so well and trust yourself completely. He didn’t second-guess himself. He probably never had negative voices chattering away in that handsome Viking head of his. They wouldn’t dare, unlike hers. Her voices were on constant autopilot, scrutinizing her every move as if they were Sunday morning quarterbacks.

And the way her brain worked, she could self-analyze and criticize with pinpoint accuracy.

If only she had a way to turn off that part of herself and just… be. Be happy. Be sad. Be angry. Be whatever she was, without filtering her emotions through how they would affect others or come back to bite her. Living her life for other people was exhausting. She was tired of what-if’ing herself to death.

She loved taking care of Zane as he grew up. He was her whole world. But to be honest, sometimes she felt like the seawall that kept the storm surges of their lives at bay. Her step father Phillip was a storm surge the size of a tsunami—one horrendous, never-ending tsunami—and she was tired of being battered. Just thinking about it exhausted her and left her hopeless. And even the toughest seawall can eventually crack.

That’s what she’d done at some point over the past four years. She’d cracked. And now she couldn’t protect anyone. If the General found out what she’d actually done, she wasn’t even sure she could protect herself.

Without thinking, she ran the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip. A deep gravelly rumble thrummed from the driver's side of the cab. Had her Viking just growled at her? Did Vikings growl?

At some point, she had to ask him for his name. It was obvioushe wasn’t going to volunteer the information. She could try to guess, but she really sucked at guessing games. He didn’t look like a Sven or a Bjorn. A giggle bubbled out of her at the thought of her Viking in a chef’s apron and hat like that Swedish chef Muppet, running around all, “hurdy gurty furdy lurdy” and waving a meat cleaver.

Her laughter faded as her Viking glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. “Is there something amusing you’d like to share with the class?”

Her eyes snapped wide, and she shook her head. Hard. Instinctively, she reached for her backpack. She had packed her friends in there, right? When everything had gone crazy at Graceview Estates, she acted so fast. She’d had a lot on her mind, but she wouldn’t have left without them. But she couldn’t recall actually putting them inside her pack.

What would she do if she’d left them? She’d have to sneak back into the compound somehow and rescue them. She wasn’t sure exactly how her Viking would feel about that, but she couldn’t leave her friends in that awful place. Leaving them there, away from her, wasn’t an option. They would be scared without her.

Jiggling her knee, she gazed out the window again, rubbing her thumb over his knuckle. Without turning to face him, she said, “I feel kind of silly calling you Viking all the time.”

“Why do you do it then? Is my name frightening?”

She made googly eyes at him, which he did not seem to appreciate. “Um, I’m not sure what else to call you. I don’t know your name.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I—” She giggled at his look of utter disbelief as he trailed off. “Hm. Well, I don’t suppose I did, did I?”

And then he laughed- truly laughed. Not snickered. Not chortled. Laughed.

It was the most wonderful and infectious sound she had everheard. She joined in, laughing until her stomach muscles protested and tears of joy streamed down her face. Those didn’t count as crying.

Even as he continued racing toward their destination, he ran his fingers through the back of her hair and pulled her closer. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers.

It only lasted a second, but she would never forget it as long as she lived. His skin was warm, even in the January cold. His fingers flexed before he let her go and her heartbeat dropped to her pussy.

No one had ever touched her like that. Perhaps no one would ever again. The touch might not mean much to anyone else, but it meant everything to her. And when her life returned to normal, whatever the new normal might be, she’d have that moment to look back on and cherish.

“Right. I'm Lawson Young, but my friends call me Law.”

She extended her hand to shake his. “Pleased to meet you, Law.”

He reached for her hand but ended up taking her fingers instead. Turning her hand over, he pressed a soft, warm kiss onto her knuckles. At first, she could only stare. Pulling her hand back, she turned to the window and gazed at the landscape whizzing by.

She needed a moment to recenter her thoughts and calm her racing heartbeat. In all the places it now throbbed.

Snow blanketedthe dips and shaded patches of ground as she and Law made their way to his house. Holy sausage rollies! She was on her way to Law’s home. Just her and her Law. And hopefully, her two best friends. They had to be in her backpack. But what if they weren’t?

Had it truly been just a little while since he’d found her in that office and rescued her from the Society? It felt like a lifetime ago. Without realizing it, she unzipped her backpack and slipped herhand inside. The moment the soft fur brushed her fingertips, breathing became easier.

Neither she nor Law had spoken since he kissed the back of her hand. He appeared lost in his own thoughts. He probably wouldn’t notice if she kept her hand in her bag.

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