For the first time in weeks, I was alone. The Protectors and Reaper remained by my side until the police had taken my statement. Reaper was always there, even when he was supposed to be taking a break. I could feel him, lurking in the shadows, watching over me like a demon guardian angel. Most women would freak out on him, telling him they didn’t need a babysitter. But I knew, there was no controlling it. He was still a little afraid someone would come after me.

I fell a little deeper for him.

As I surveyed the damage of my house, my heart sank. There was nothing left. My father’s car—out of all the things I lost in the blast, losing the car hurt my soul the most. Once the insurance agent left, I sat on the ground and stared the empty spot. There were so many things to decide. Did I want them to rebuild the house on that spot, or did I want to sell the land and move?

My father’s car would be replaced. It wouldn’t have the same feeling but I supposed I could make new memories in the new one.

“You’re not alone, Star.”

I stood and all but tossed myself into Reaper’s chest.

“I’m sorry—I tried leaving you to deal with this but I can tell you’re not doing so well.”

I chuckled. “That’s putting it nicely.”

“This won’t fix everything but I have an indecent proposal for you.” Reaper kissed the side of my head.

“You do? Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”

Reaper released me and took my hands in his larger ones. I looked up into his face, still not believing just how handsome he was. His large lips fit his face perfectly and his curled lashes sexy as sin. I melted.

“I’ve booked a hotel room for a few days.” Reaper explained. “It has a lovely view and the best part? You don’t have to leave the room if you don’t want to.”

“Are you going to be there with me?”

“If you want me to.”

“What do you mean if I want?” I tilted my head. “I told you what I wanted.”

“Then I’ll be all too proud to be your very, humble servant.”

No matter what was happening in my life, in that moment I had to laugh. “You couldn’t be someone’s servant if you tried. But I do have something I’ve always wanted to do for you.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a surprise. Now, can you take me somewhere?”

“Anywhere.” He framed my face and kissed me deeply. “Where?”

“What was I saying?”

Reaper laughed and dropped a kiss to my forehead. “You wanted me to take you somewhere?”

“Yes. I have my bank cards and my credit cards. I need new clothes—I need new everything and the insurance company hasn’t paid up yet. I have to replace a few things.” I exhaled.

Reaper walked me to his rental and opened my door. I kissed him and climbed in. When he was beside me, I placed my hand on his thigh as he drove us away from my old neighbourhood. He brought me to the mall and though I knew there were so many other things he could have been doing, never once complained.

When I tried on one outfit after another, he sat through it. To treat him, I carried him into a lingerie store and asked for a private room. There, I tried on lingerie for him—corsets, thongs, chemises and teddies. He seemed to enjoy it all for he kept pulling me into his body, touching me, stroking me, kissing every part of my body he could without getting into trouble.

At the end of it all, we picked up some takeout and he drove directly to the hotel. It was beautiful and the view of the mountains was breathtaking. I showered and dressed in the nightgown Reaper seemed to have liked the most; a red one with a plunging neckline and so short, it barely covered my ass.

I could see why he was so worked up when I tried it on. Dressed, I exited the bathroom to find him shirtless and trying to open a bottle of wine.

“Damn,” he said. “You do know our dinner is going to get cold.”

“How do I know that?”

“Nova, do you know how sexy you are right now?” Reaper set the wine down and moved toward me. “I’m going to enjoy tearing that fabric from your body.”

Those words made me tremble. “Give it your best shot.” I teased.

But he didn’t go right for it. During love making, Reaper loved making me wait, making me burn. He kissed my lips gently at first as though testing me. When I moaned, he cradled the sides of my neck and plunged his tongue into my mouth. I whimpered, melted into his chest and gripped the waste of his pants. His hard body backed me toward the bed and we stopped when my thighs touched it. I toppled backward with him on top of me. I took his weight but he pulled away to kneel over me like Hercules. I stared up at him, marveling at the fact this gorgeous soul could be mine if I fought for him. This man, with the brown eyes that saw through to my soul could belong to me.

Sighing, I dropped my hands against his jean clad thighs and dragged them upward and across to his belt. Reaper caught my hands to stop me and I met his gaze.

“I don’t want to go back.” Reaper’s voice broke. “I want you, Nova. Tell me I can—”

“Then take me.”

“That’s not what—I want to be by your side.” His eyes shimmered down at me. “I want to wake up to you, come home to you—to be yours. I never thought I’d want any of this.”

“You have to be able to trust me if this is going to work.”

Reaper sighed and nodded. “I can.”

“Then, we can work something out.”

It seemed that was the answer he wanted. Within seconds he had me moaning and arching up at him as he nibbled at my throat, my shoulders, the valley between my breasts. He parked there, pinching my nipples, tugging them, rubbing the work roughen balls of his thumbs across them. I sighed his name, spread my legs for him and dragged my nails down his shoulder. Reaper cupped my breasts, pushed them together and licked from one to the other. Every thought I had before was gone as I kissed his head. I was never a fan of a mouth on my nipples but Reaper—

“Shit!”

He used everything—his lips, his teeth, the tip of his tongue. I knew I was sopping wet, I could feel it and I wanted him to know it was all for him—because of him. Spreading my legs wider, he fell intimately against me. Reaper found my mouth again, but didn’t stay long. He moved down my frame, dragging his tongue in a wet line along my flesh. He circled his tongue around each tattooed butterfly against my side, kissed my hip and continued his descent. Reaper passed where I needed his mouth and lifted my right leg to trace the butterflies there with a fingertip.

“What is it about these creatures that you love so much?”

“I’m Hopi Indian,” I explained. “The butterfly means life to me—but I can explain to you more about my people—after.”

He laughed softly as he placed a soft kiss to my ankle then lowered my leg to the bed. “Okay, darling.”

Reaper crept up my body. He paused to drag his mouth against the soft insides of my thighs. He toyed with me, played me then listened to his reward of me pleaded—begging him to take me, taste me.

The moment his tongue found me I bit into my bottom lip. It was better than the first time he went down on me. The motion of his tongue was strong, drawing back and forth over the most tender part of me. He sucked, licked, played me like an instrument until I sang for him.

From somewhere in my passion filled mind, the sound of a belt buckle followed by the crinkle of plastic seeped in. I tried bringing my mind back to the present but I was still trembling against the bed from one of the most powerful orgasms I’d ever experienced.

Reaper returned to me and gripped the neck of my clothing and tugged. Soon the cool air from the air conditioner flowed over my flesh followed by the heat of his body. My nipples tightened in anticipation.

“I’ve been waiting for this.” Reaper spread my legs and knelt between them.

He slid into me, nice and slow.

“Oh.” I sighed. “Me too.”

Reaper held me down and rode me hard. One orgasm lead to another as his sweat spilled against my body and mingled with my own. I couldn’t keep my hands off him—from digging my nails into his muscular body, to biting at his nipples. He growled as my teeth sank into the tight bud.

His body stiffened over me and with his head tossed back, Reaper came for me. I released his nipple to suck the pain away as he trembled powerfully.

“Fuck, Nova.” Reaper panted. “How did you…”

He slumped beside me and drew me into his side. As I cuddled into him, I sighed.

“Did I hurt you?” Reaper asked.

“In all the best ways,” I said. “Let me catch my breath and we can do it again.”

Reaper laughed. “We have so much to talk about. From the living situation to life in general.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” I shifted against him. “You told me about the little girl you brought home from your mission.”

“Mhmm.”

“Well, she’s still in the system, right?”

“She is.”

“What’s her name?” I asked.

“Sofía Muñoz.”

“Do you think I could be her mom?” I asked.

“Star, I’m going to need you to be serious about this.” Reaper spoke. “Sofía has had too many set backs with this whole adoption thing. People hear about what she’s been through and they walk away. They fear she’s damaged.”

“What happened to her parents in Columbia anyway?”

“They were murdered. So, she’s had some hard times.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Are you ready to be a father?”

“I’ve been ready. I just didn’t think it was in the cards for me. We have to get a few things in line first—we can’t be living in a hotel when we contact them about her. And I can’t be living in Climax, Saskatchewan.”

I chuckled. “True. I have to find a new job. I can’t keep doing this job anymore. Especially if I want to be a mom to this little one. Being an investigative journalist was a good gig but I can’t keep putting myself at risk—the cost is too high.”

I eased back to look up into his eyes.

“If I want a job, Star, I have it.” Reaper shifted slightly. “Montana has offered me a job and I’m pretty sure it’s still on the table. But I don’t really require a job.”

“How do you figure? I’m too young to be a sugar momma.”

Reaper laughed softly. “And I’m too old to be a sugar baby. My father was the owner of Forge Industries.”

“The mining company?” I asked. “Your father was Gavin Forge?”

He nodded. “After his death I inherited everything.”

I sat up and curled my legs. He shifted up to press his back against the headboard but I knew he wasn’t looking into my eyes. He was staring at my breasts for a silent moment before lifting a hand to play with one of my nipples.

“I can’t think when you touch me,” I admitted. “But, I still need to find work.”

“Star, I thought you said you wanted to write a book.”

“Yeah.”

“Then follow the dream.”

“Reaper, I don’t want you taking care of me.” I frowned. “I’m not that kind of woman.”

“Don’t look at it like that. There are so many things you can do with your education and your drive.” He scooted forward to curl his legs before him and draw me into his lap. “This isn’t about pride. This is about a man wanting his woman to be herself, to do what makes her happy.”

“Writing does make me happy.”

“See?” Reaper smiled.

I nipped at his shoulder then caressed a hand down his arm. “You still haven’t told me what you wanted in payment for helping me.”

He smirked. “How much time do I have to figure it out?”

“Forever, if you want it.”

“I do.” Reaper whispered as though he couldn’t believe how true those two words had been. “I do.”

I blushed.

He cleared his throat. “We don’t have to figure this out tonight or even tomorrow. The next couple of days will be for us to breathe. Once that is over, we will then find some way to pick up the pieces.”

“Be careful, Maverick Forge—I could fall in love with you.”

He framed my face with his hands and smiled. “Well, shooting Star, I thought that was the aim.”

The happiness that spread through me was enough to make my heart race. Yes, it won’t be easy. I had to replace everything, build from the ground up. But I knew it wouldn’t be impossible. Deep down, I felt Reaper would be by my side as long as I allowed him. Sure, we didn’t have all the answers right then and we may never have all the answers. Yet, I drew comfort from the way Reaper rallied around me and protected me. His strength will keep me on my toes and when things went wrong, he would stand with me as my champion.

Yes, I saw myself falling in love with Maverick “Reaper” Forge…

Hell—I think I already am.

And that night, as he pulled me under his body, just before my mind was consumed by him, I had one final thought…

—Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil—for Reaper is with me…