Page 34 of His Forbidden Obsession

“Well, Dimitri is certainly no genius, as far as I know.”

“He’s not,” I said, “but he’s vicious. He needs this alliance. The last thing he wants is for his son not to show up at the wedding. So yeah, he’ll likely come here.”

“Why would Nikolai come here? Was he that sure you’d protect him?” Rafe asked.

Dante gave him a pointed look. “Where else was he going to go? His father kept him isolated. It’s not like he has friends or any of his own money.”

“True, but why would he think an enemy family was going to protect him?”

Dante huffed. “Have you met Lorenzo? He exudes protectiveness. He’s the first person most people who’ve met him would come to if they needed protection.”

“He’s also scary as hell when he wants to be,” Rafe said. “But I bet he was gentle with Nikolai. I bet he made it so good for him.”

“Oh my God, shut up,” I yelled. “Show some fucking respect.”

“For you or for Nikolai?” Rafe asked.

“Both.”

“All right, can we meet him?”

I frowned. “You’re not waking him up.”

Dante grinned, and I knew I was letting my possessiveness show.

“Do you actually know that he’s asleep?” Rafe asked. “We’ve been pretty loud.”

“He should be. He’s hurt, and he hasn’t been eating. He needs to rest.”

Dante laid a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you go check on him?”

“Without the two of you hovering over me?”

“We want to meet him,” Rafe insisted.

Dante glared at him. “We’ll stay right here. He’s been through enough trauma.”

“Meeting me would not be traumatic. It would be⁠—”

I growled. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

They both grinned at me. I’d let them see through me again. I had to get it together. I needed to treat Nikolai like anyone else I was assigned to protect. I’d worked my way up in this business. I’d been a bodyguard for the Theriots before I’d been given my own responsibilities.

I open the guest room door, trying not to make a sound. Nikolai lay on the bed, curled in a ball. He stirred when I entered, then sat up suddenly, looking terrified.

I should’ve known he’d be a light sleeper. He would’ve had to learn that as a survival instinct, just like I had. “It’s okay. It’s me, Lorenzo. You’re at my house, and you’re safe.”

His eyes were still wide, but he nodded. “I guess I fell asleep.”

“That’s good. You need to sleep. My brothers are here, and I’ve got men guarding the outside of the house. We’re going to make sure you’re safe. I was just checking on you.”

“I wish…” He looked down at the sheets and twisted them in his hands.

“What? What do you wish for?” It was a dangerous question, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking it.

“I wish you could stay here with me.”

I wanted to badly, but I needed to be on alert, and if I was curled around his warm body, I couldn’t guarantee that. “I’ve got to make sure we’re prepared in case your father or some of his men come. We will not let them get to you, but we have to be ready.”