Jace woke before the sun rose. Sienna was still tucked against his body, her soft curves warm against him. He kissed her forehead, stroking her. Sienna nuzzled against him in her sleep, making a little sleepy sigh then settled back down. God, she was beautiful.

He brushed his hand down her body and the sheet drifted down. Now he could see those amazing breasts. He moved to take one in his mouth, but stopped himself before he could lose his sense. He could spend all day, and all night, inside her tight, warm body, but Sienna needed the rest. He frowned as his hand ran over her ribs, the skin there darkened with bruises from the day before. The bastards must have hurt her before she’d managed to get free. Before she managed to hold the fuckers to the wall. Goddamn it, that had been a sight to see. She’d been wild, crazy, and completely gorgeous. His own incredible goddess.

Of course, just because she didn’t run away from a fight, that didn’t mean she had to stand on her own. He still wasn’t letting her out of his sight, even more so now he’d learned just how incredible she was. If the people hunting her—hunting all the others like her—were more powerful again, she needed all the help she could get.

He slipped quietly from the bed, pulling the blankets back over her and smoothing down her hair when she protested in her sleep. “Shhh, rest,” he murmured in her ear. He waited a moment, but her eyes stayed closed and her breathing settled again.

Jace moved over to the bay window and sat, looking out into the soft dawn. The orange strains of sunlight were just beginning to peak over the hills. Normally by this time he’d be showered and dressed and likely already on his horse, but he’d been reluctant to leave his bed this morning. He still was. She should be safe here, hidden away on his property, but it didn’t make him any less concerned. Sienna was still injured, maybe even beyond the bruises. Whatever she’d been able to do to the assholes yesterday was amazing, but it had also been a tremendous effort. She’d been shaking from it. If they came for her again and she was also alone . . . Well, he was under no illusions. They’d slaughter her, or worse. His hands curled into fists as his jaw tightened. They might have run yesterday, but they’d have to kill him to get to her again.

For now, though, Sienna needed someone to see to her more immediate needs. They hadn’t eaten the night before. She’d been so exhausted that she’d fallen into a quick sleep.

After you made her come.

His lips curled up in a smile as tension left him. God, she had been absolutely glorious, legs wrapped tightly around him, lost in the passion of what he had made her feel. He couldn’t wait to get inside her, to make her scream his name again. But right now, she needed breakfast more than she needed sex. He chuckled. Sienna would probably disagree, if only just to argue with him. She was a fireball, and he loved it.

You could love her, too. Easily.

The thought didn’t scare him one bit. He already loved how she looked lying in his bed that morning, hair mussed and lip gloss smeared from what he’d done to her the night before. He could picture her in the rest of the house just as easily; reading on the front porch, waiting to greet him when he arrived back in the evening, sweaty and dusty from working the ranch. Maybe she’d even be interested in doing that, too. Sienna wasn’t afraid of hard work. But first, he had to solve a few problems—breakfast, and then they’d tackle who the fuck was trying to kill her.

He walked into the kitchen and dug out a packet of bacon out of the freezer, shoving it in the microwave to defrost. While waiting for the beep, he found a box of pancake mix and returned to the refrigerator, this time retrieving fresh blueberries. He’d bet that Sienna hadn’t been eating well lately. The truck stop food was hearty, and there was a lot of it, but it wasn’t the healthiest. Also, you had to actually want to eat. The kind of stress she’d been under the last few weeks, Jace guessed eating had come low on her to-do list. He’d have to find out what her favorites were and make sure he stocked them from now on. For that morning, however, his cooking would have to do.

He made up the pancake batter, adding the blueberries, and then set them and the bacon cooking while he brewed coffee. By the time everything was ready, the kitchen smelled pretty damn good, but Sienna was yet to make an appearance. Dropping a generous serving of everything on a tray and adding a tall glass of juice, he topped everything off with a plastic rose he found in a drawer.

Walking into the bedroom, he pushed the door wide with his hip. “Breakfast is served, Sleepyhead.”

Sienna, who he discovered had been standing just on the other side of the door, jumped so hard at the sound of his call the tray nearly fell out of his hands. “Oh, my God! You scared me.” She placed a hand over her heart, breathing hard. Her eyes narrowed on the tray. “Is that breakfast in bed?”

He shrugged. At least he’d made her breakfast before he scared her half to death. “Surprise?” He barely had time to set the tray down before he was tackled from behind. She threw her arms around his neck, and a suspicious-sounding snuffle reached his ear. “Hey, what’s this?” He chucked her chin, smiling at her. “There’s to be no crying over my pancakes.”

Sienna gave him a wobbly smile. “I’m sorry, it’s just . . . no one’s made me breakfast in bed for years. Not since I was little, not since my mom . . .” Sienna went quiet.

Jace pulled her into his arms. “No apologizing. You deserve it. I want to give you everything you need, if you’ll let me.”

Sienna smiled again. “For now, let’s just start with breakfast.” She looked up at him. “Thank you, though. That was really sweet.”

A maybe was definitely better than a no. He’d take it. Now he had to lighten the mood, before she ended up crying again. “So you can’t have breakfast in bed.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Huh?”

“You’re not in bed.”

“Ahh,” Sienna said, grinning. She turned. “I can go back to bed.” She walked the long way around to the side of the bed, her hips swaying all the way, where she lay down on her side. “But maybe we can skip straight to dessert?” She’d donned the shirt he’d left lying on the floor. It gaped at the front, giving him a view of the tops of her breasts. Unfortunately, Sienna was likely to protest if he suggested keeping her just like that permanently; in his bed and semi-undressed. He leaned over and held the back of her head, wrapping his fingers in her hair, then kissed her deeply. She opened for him and his tongue thrust into her mouth, brushing against hers. Jace groaned. His cock grew hard, and there’d be no hiding it in his lightweight pajama pants. But, she needed to eat and he had to get to work. As much as he’d like to spend the entire day kissing every part of her, he couldn’t leave the ranch entirely alone. He kissed her once more and then reluctantly pulled away, picking up the breakfast tray in an attempt to hide his hard-on. “Eat. I’ll be in the shower.”

And probably jerking off one—or three—thinking of you lying here.

Ten minutes later, he was done, dressed but hair still damp. He’d gotten dressed in the bathroom. He wasn’t trying to hide; in fact, he had absolutely no problems with Sienna seeing him naked. Just if he walked back into the bedroom with nothing but a towel between them, Jace could guarantee he wouldn’t be leaving his bedroom for the rest of the day. Probably for the rest of the month. Or year. Instead, he was ready to go. He’d kiss Sienna goodbye, then get on with it so he could be back at her side before she needed anything else. A good sleep the night before seemed to have done wonders for her, but there had to be something still lingering. There was no way she was A-Okay only one day later.

When he walked back into the bedroom, Jace’s suspicions were confirmed. Sienna was no longer in bed and breakfast was hardly touched. She sat on the bay window seat, the same place he’d watched the sun rise. She stared out the window, her gaze blank and unfocused. “Sienna? You okay?” She flinched again at the sound of his voice. Jace frowned. He knew why that was happening. Didn’t mean he had to like it.

Sienna looked over at him. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her arms reached to hug them to herself tighter, almost like a shield. “I thought you had to go to work.”

He sat down next to her. She started to shrink back, but after a second she stopped. Jace smiled and reached over, laying his arm lightly over her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” She looked across the room, through the open bedroom door, to where the boxes he’d hauled in from the car sat in the hall. Ahh. Sienna had insisted that they stopped at the truck stop long enough to transfer the boxes from her car to his after she’d been released from the hospital. Whatever was in them, he wasn’t sure if they were doing more harm than good to her at that moment. “It’s okay. You can deal with those whenever you’re ready. They’ll wait.”

She shook her head. “No. I have to look. The others are depending on it.”

His arm tightened around her. “I don’t care. You need to do what’s right for you, Sienna.” She snorted. “Hey, if anyone gets shitty, they’ll have to go through me.”

That made her smile. He would spend the entire day just making her smile if he could.

“I know you would. But this is something I need to do.” She stood and marched over to the boxes, hauled one into the room, and sat with it on the bed. Then she surprised the fuck out of him. Sienna lifted her hand and waved him over. “Will you sit with me while I look through it?”

Fuck yes, he would. But he had to know she was sure. There was no going back from this. “Are you sure you’re ready? I can give you as much privacy as you need.”

She patted the bed beside her. “I’m not ready, but I don’t have a choice, and so I want you here, too.” She locked her gaze with his. “I have no idea what’s going on with any of this, but I trust you, Jace. Yesterday was enough. I need someone, and you’re it. If you’ll have me?”

“You’d have to kill me first before I’d ever leave you. Even then, probably not.”

That time she laughed, even though the hand resting on the box shook slightly. “Then Jace, please come sit with me. I need you.”