Lovelyn peeked around him to see what was going on. They’dbe talking about that. When he put her behind him to keep her safe, she better damn well stay behind him.
She looked back and forth between them a few times. Her eyes warmed, and she put both hands in his. “I didn’t know the Sabre men spoke in sign language. You’ll have to teach me. That little exchange didn’t involve a single word.”
She’d spent enough time looking at Hutch. He pushed Lovelyn behind him again. When he had her in place, he made his expectations clear. “Stay.” When her brows shot up, he added, “Behind me. Stay behind me.”
She studied him. Her face took on a tender look, one he was beginning to crave. When she smiled and nodded, the tightness in Law’s chest relaxed. As if she understood what he couldn’t say, she put her hand on his waist. How did she know to do that?
Hutch quirked a brow at him. Sure, he was acting crazy. Just because he recognized it didn’t mean he could hold back. The thought of Hutch touching Lovelyn made him want to punch something. Or someone.
And when his brother had called her Lovie, Law decided that was a name was for Zane and everyone else. But for him, she would be Lovelyn.
“You really are a Viking, aren’t you?” Lovie asked from behind him. “The least you could do is squat or something so I can see. Your back is ridiculously wide.”
Hutch barked out a laugh. “I like her. The guys are upstairs waiting. I’ll be up in a sec.” Still laughing, he walked back to the bar.
Law took Lovelyn’s hand again and led her toward the stairs. “Are you all right?”
Concern prompted her question. And why not? He was acting like an idiot. He’d always been protective. Even possessive when he had a Little. But nothing had ever gripped him like this. At the thought of Hutch touching her, he’d lost his mind.
He didn’t want anyone else to come near her. She was his.
No, she’s not. And she’s never going to be.
He needed to calm the fuck down and get her upstairs. He could brief Reid and the others on what had happened and then leave. He needed to spend some time at The PlayPen with some nameless, faceless woman who knew what she was getting if she played with him.
It had been too long. That was all that was wrong. Once he relieved a bit of tension, he’d see that Lovelyn wasn’t so different than anyone else. The thought of spending time with some other woman, however, didn’t really appeal to him.
He heard the Musketiaras laughing as they walked up the stairs. Lovelyn must have heard them, too. Her grip on his hand tightened more with each step. Once they’d stepped into the main room, she tucked herself under his arm. Without thinking, he put his arm around her.
Satisfaction washed over him. When she’d needed to feel safe, she’d turned to him. She trusted him. And damn if that didn’t make him feel like that Viking she kept calling him.
The room went quiet as he bent down to whisper in her ear. “No one here will hurt you, fairy cat. They’re good people. You share many similarities with them. But if you start feeling threatened or upset, you come to me. I’ll take care of you.”
She stared up at him in wonder. It thrilled him, but it also pissed him off. Had no one ever taken care of her before? The look in her eyes said no.
CHAPTER 13
He promised to take care of her if she needed him. And for the first time in her life, Lovie believed someone meant what they said. Had anyone ever told her that? “I believe in you. I don’t trust many people, but I trust you.”
Eyes could change color. She knew this because Law’s eyes darkened to a smoldering chestnut brown. Eyes that held her transfixed, mesmerized. Could a gaze burn? Flames of desire licked her skin, and she knew if she could read his mind, her panties would catch fire. She’d never wanted to play with fire before, but she did now.
“You can’t say things like that when people are around, Lovelyn. Not when I can't show you how much those words mean.”
Pictures of all the ways he might mean flooded her mind. He was right. Timing was everything. She’d remember that.
Her connection to him made no sense. Experience with men had never been an option. Losing their V card wasn’t something most women had to worry about. It was embarrassing. Most of her school friends were married and had children.
Whatever her stepfather had threatened the Warriors with, ithad worked. Most of the time, they wouldn’t even talk to her. How lonely did you have to be to long for a conversation with an outlaw biker? If it hadn’t been for Owlbert and Buzzy, she’d have gone crazy.
“…over there,” Law said.
Wait, what was he talking about? Brows raised, he seemed to be waiting for an answer. She just wasn’t sure about what. “Sorry?”
“Listen to Daddy when he’s talking, fairy cat. I said someone is waiting for you right over there.”
Following his gaze, she turned to the boxing ring at the far end of the room. And everything else disappeared. Zane stood in the ring, punching the air as he waited for a large, muscular man to join him.
Zane wasn’t still at the hospital. He was here. In the same room.