What he’d asked was for her to move in. Big difference. But she looked too exhausted to argue semantics. “Thank you for agreeing.”
Her gentle fingers moved down his jaw. “I’m relieved to be here, but I need to figure out a few things.”
“Like?”
“It’s not right to just leave Merissa alone there. I know she’s staying with Cannon for a while. But that won’t last. She’s not the type to impose.”
“How could she ever impose when he wants her there?” It was a message he wished Cherry would apply to herself.
“This is my fault. Carver is here because of me. The least I could do is—”
“No.”
Denver tumbled her down in the bed and moved over her, pinning her in place. “You already agreed to stay.”
She searched his face, and he saw so many questions reflected in her dark eyes. Questions about the future. Questions about them as a couple. He couldn’t answer them all just yet, so instead he made a suggestion.
After he gently kissed her. “I know things are moving fast and we both have a lot on our plates already. I’m training, you’re working.”
“And my past is closing in, mucking it all up. I’m so sorry about that.”
“I’m relieved that you’re not dealing with those fucks on your own.” When she started to speak, he touched a finger to her soft lips to quiet her. “I know you’re independent, girl. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
Going utterly still, her eyes darkened and her face flushed.
Knowing he had her attention, Denver tried for a little leverage. “But being independent doesn’t mean you have to do everything on your own. Trust me when I say that I want to be here for you.” Now and always. “Trust Cannon to look out for his sister, and trust Merissa to understand the situation for what it is.”
“It’s—”
“Not your fault,” he emphasized.
“Not directly because I would never, ever deliberately hurt my friends. But it’s a fact that Carver is here because I’m here.”
“I’m glad you’re here—with me.”
She relented enough to say, “I’m very glad about that, too.”
To convince her, he gave her a different way of looking at it. “Blaming yourself because he’s a psycho punk who needs to be committed is like blaming me because Pamela was an unhappy woman stuck in an unhappy marriage of her own making.”
Her arms came around his neck and she held him to her, her hold...protective. “That was not your fault.”
Touched, amused and loving her more by the minute, Denver eased her back. “And what Carver does isn’t yours.”
He felt her gearing up, knew he wouldn’t like it, and leaned back to see her.
“I’m sorry, Denver, but I can’t just wait to see what he’ll do.”
“Eventually he’ll screw up and we’ll have him. But no way in hell will I let him hurt you.”
“I need to call him.”
“No.”
“I need to—”
“I’ll call him.
She hugged him again, tighter this time, her face against his chest. “He doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“He’ll fucking well talk to me all the same.”
Resolve had her scooting away from him until she sat on the other side of the bed. “You need to understand something, Denver.”
Damn, but he felt the loss of her warmth. Assuming they wouldn’t be sleeping for a while, he sat up against the headboard and crossed his arms, his own resolve in place. “I’m listening.”
“Carver isn’t a man swayed by logic. You can’t just warn him away. Threats will mean nothing to him. He thinks he’s invincible. He thinks he can always do as he pleases because usually he can.”
“Then he’ll have to come to grips with the fact that this time he can’t.” Because he can’t have you. “He needs to know you aren’t alone.”
She sucked in a breath. “If you do that, if you try to stress that you’re here for me, then you become his target.”
Good. “Better me than you.”
“No!” Shoving a hand into her hair, she left the bed. “This is bad enough already without you getting—”
“Involved?” Though he tried, he couldn’t remove the edge of disgust from his tone.
She whirled on him. “Hurt!”
Well hell, that was even worse. A slow pulsebeat of fury brought him forward with a building scowl. The disbelief emerged as a grated whisper. “You think that mewling punk could hurt me?”