CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

H e’d kill? For her? Oliver had said he’d kill for her.

No one had ever said something like that to her before. God knows she had daddy issues. No one needed to spell that out to her. She was well aware.

Was that what she wanted? A man to protect her.

Sure.

Wasn’t that what every woman wanted, even though in this day and age it wasn’t necessary? Society no longer restricted women in the way they had in the past. She had a well-paying job, independence and a great family and friends, but it didn’t change the fact she desired a masculine, sexy man.

Just not one who would tell her what to do all the time.

Like Oliver did.

He was constantly telling her to go home. Not to mention his favorite nickname for her was pain in the ass. Well, she was an embarrassment and pain in the ass to her father, too. And he’d all but written her off.

Yet... the way Oliver looked at her. The way his body moved closer and angled to protect her, even from someone looking at her, made her feel cared for.

It was such a foreign feeling she didn’t know what to do.

Sage had been the one who sat on Daddy’s knee being bumped up and down as a little girl while he called out to Piper for to tell her off for doing something naughty.

Now, the dominant way in which Oliver protected her was new and overwhelming.

The universe seemed intent on thrusting them together. He’d said it felt like she was his.

Mine.

No one had ever wanted to make her theirs before.

No man.

And he’d saved her life. It was hard not to forget that. Piper still had no idea of his involvement with everything, but she was beginning to wonder if he was worth letting her story go for.

When will I ever find someone else to feel like this about?

Oliver was sexy, protective, gorgeous, and clearly had an important job. And damn him and that southern accent. It was killing her.

He cared. She could see it in his eyes. Even when he didn’t realize she was watching him she felt his eyes following her. The little things he did like getting her a bottle of water after a ravishing session or massaging her hips.

Did he know he even did that?

“I could’ve taken you into one of the bedrooms,” Oliver smirked.

“That’s not your style, cowboy.” Piper nudged him to move. Oliver reached for the tissues, pulled out of her, and then handed her a bunch.

“How about a movie?” he asked when they had both cleaned up. He pulled her down onto the sofa as he flicked a switch. A whirring sounded as the furniture around them moved. The sofa now became a bed and the coffee table vanished into the floor. A screen fell from the ceiling.

“Do you have Netflix?”

“Everything. Name your poison,” Oliver answered.

“Let’s watch some vampire shows.”

He groaned.

“What?”

“You really believe in vampires?” he asked.

“It’s research,” she replied, kind of testing him. If he was involved with all of this, she wanted to know before she let her feelings out and really fell for him.

Whether that was an option between them, she didn’t know, but one thing was for certain: she was already losing control and falling.

And she had a feeling Oliver wasn’t far behind.

“Well, at least in the air I know you can’t get into any more trouble,” he said, handing her the remote.

The cabin door opened. Oliver had unlocked them moments earlier.

“Are you ready for breakfast, sir?” Suzanne asked.

“Hell yes,” Piper said, and Oliver smirked proudly, knowing he was the cause of her hunger.

He wasn’t wrong.

He nodded to Suzanne and in moments, the cabin was filled with the aroma of poached eggs, bacon, grits, and hot coffee. Piper watched him out of the corner of her eyes as he was eating. Everything he did was sexy. Or maybe she was becoming obsessed. The way he lifted his fork to his mouth and his powerful forearms corded. When he reached for his mug and his t-shirt tightened around his biceps.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m locking those damn doors again.” Oliver groaned, his eyes on the screen.

She blushed and looked away, but she felt the moment his eyes moved to her body. Heat pulsed over her skin.

“Finish your breakfast,” he mumbled.

Twenty minutes later, Piper was snuggled against his chest muttering about Damon being hot and how she’d choose him, even though he was a bad boy.

“Go to sleep,” Oliver growled quietly. “I told you, darlin’. You’re mine.”

As her eyes drifted closed, she smiled, imagining a life being in Oliver’s arms forever. Safe, loved, and adored.

Maybe it was what she wanted.

Maybe it was possible.

After all, he was hardly a vampire.