Defender (Seattle Sharks 9)

Not entirely off the mark as I had a tendency to lose myself in my own world, but I was a grown woman who had been taking care of myself since I was fourteen.

He made it hard to focus, though. That much was apparent as we slowly made our way through the museum. The man smelled good, looked good, and radiated a presence I couldn’t ignore—like he had a signature vibration that hummed under my skin whenever he was close. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why it happened, but I was certain it had everything to do with how calm and kind he’d been this entire trip when he could’ve easily been upset with his appointed title of bodyguard/tour guide.

Axel certainly didn’t seem to mind the company—the giant of a man practically sucked the air out of any room he entered, but his presence was the chaos to Nathan’s calm, no matter if he spoke or was silent. There was simply something about Axel that screamed storm—one that was constantly brewing beneath the almost brooding exterior.

Still, over the past few days, I’d gotten to know him almost as well as Nathan. Granted, Nathan spoke a bit more to me than Axel did. Not that Axel took issue with me, but he had taken Langley as his responsibility and had a laser focus when it came to her, almost as if he could sense when she was about to go off the rails again.

Breakups could do that to a person, or so I’d seen before but never experienced. I’d never been a relationship girl myself. I enjoyed the release from sex and the fun company on a date on the rare occasion, but mainly I was married to my work. And that work didn’t have time for the emotional trauma that Langley clearly was going through after having her heart broken by her fiancé.

At night, when the boys would go to their room and us to ours in the hotel Lukas had put us up in while we toured the city, I could hear Langley crying into her pillow. Before bed, I’d often try to talk to her, to see if she needed to vent, but the woman was a tiger. Strong and too proud to break down to anyone…or at least not to me.

We were just walking into the creativity exhibit—the rich wooden display cases hung on the walls backed by vibrant pops of color—when Langley hissed ahead of us. Her cell phone was in her hand, her eyes glaring at the screen as if she could set it on fire. The woman straightened her spine, but her lip trembled, and I was shocked that she allowed that public display of vulnerability, let alone the tears that now lined her eyes.

What had the bastard texted her?

Why was she still checking her phone?

I moved, knowing I needed to do something but not exactly sure what. Langley wasn’t Faith. I liked Langley just fine, but Faith and I had a cosmic connection that had instantly made me comfortable around her. Made it okay for me to be myself and to be there for her when she needed me. Langley and I hadn’t established that bond yet, so I wasn’t exactly sure how to help.

Still, I moved, almost in sync with the blond giant at my side, but Nathan placed a hand on Axel’s chest, effectively stopping me as well.

“I’ve got her,” Nathan said, his voice soft, soothing. He sighed as he hurried off to where Langley had retreated to the far corner of the exhibit room, my eyes tracking them almost out of habit now. Strange, how quickly I’d become accustomed to him on this trip. How easy it was to have him within an arm’s reach the entire time.

I slowly shifted and focused on the colorful display case before me, the backing a bright red, making the picture of a historical scientist stand out. I tried to read the information, and it took me a few tries to realize my brain was attempting to decipher Swedish, a language I didn’t speak.

A small whimper drew my eyes back to Langley and Nathan across the hall, and I swallowed hard when Nathan’s hand gently patted her back, smoothing it up and down slightly. There was nothing sexual in the touch, but…he’d also touched me in that way, and it had felt…intimate in some way.

Special.

Maybe I was losing my mind.

“Museum’s not to your liking?” Axel asked, his accent thick and heavy. He’d taken up a lean beside me, the massive muscles in his arms rippling as he shoved his hands into his pockets. The blond beard that matched the disheveled hair on top of his head was tied with a tiny strap of leather. The muscles, the sheer height, and the stark blue eyes made him look like he’d walked off the set of Game of Thrones—all he needed was a pair of battle axes, though I supposed he’d look equally terrifying with a hockey stick in his hand.