The Guardian

listened careful y, but didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. “What noise?”
    He pul ed the laptop closer so that he could bend over and place his ear near it.
    She laughed as she realized what he’d heard. “You mean the song?” She’d turned it low when she came
    back after the shower fiasco.
    A light that could almost be cal ed joy shone in his eyes. “You have music?”
    “Yeah. I downloaded some while you were gone.” She turned it up for him.
    He didn’t smile with his lips, but his eyes did. She’d never seen him look like that. Like a poor kid at
    Christmas who’d received everything on his list. “I’ve never heard anything like this.”
    “It’s OneRepublic. ‘Come Home,’ from their album Dreaming Out Loud .”
    “I swear I only understand about half of what you say.”
    She smiled at him. “I get that from a lot of people.” She watched as he closed his eyes and listened to the
    lyrics of one of her favorite songs. He was so close now that her hand itched to touch those dark red curls
    and feel them wrap around her fingers.
    But she knew he wouldn’t approve. Nor would he let her.
    Frowning while he explored her playlist, she couldn’t get past the harsh bruise on his cheek and the sight
    of his abused lips. Against al sanity, she wanted to get him away from this place. To show him that the
    world wasn’t what he thought it to be.
    That he could be happy.
    She was desperate to teach him to smile and to laugh. To give him real sunlight. Not some flat picture
    whose only warmth came from the electrical charge of a power cord.
    Most of al , she wanted to protect him—like that made any sense given the size of him compared to her.
    He was so powerful and strong, and yet vulnerable in a way she’d never dreamed possible.
    He actual y jumped in startled alarm when the next song, Sevendust’s “Never,” started playing.
    “Sorry about that. I should have warned you. That one’s a little heavy.” She reached to turn it down, but he
    stopped her.
    “I like it.”
    She barely understood his words. Her attention was focused on how good his rough hand felt against her
    skin. And how much she’d like to feel his touch somewhere else on her body.
    Seth recognized the lust in her gaze as she stared at his lips. He ached to taste her again.
    But he was in enough pain for one day. The last thing he wanted right now was to have his back clawed
    again. Or his lips ripped open.
    If only he could convince his body of that. It stil wanted a piece of her even if it meant being ravaged.
    I am such a sick bastard.
    Suddenly, she opened her mouth and yawned. Then she yawned again. “Goodness. I’m so sorry. I didn’t
    sleep wel last night.”
    “I understand.” He moved away from her. “You may take the bed. I won’t bother you in it.”
    “What about you?”
    What about him? A thousand years of torture had ruined his ability to close his eyes for any length of time.
    “I don’t sleep much.”
    “Why not?”
    Because he didn’t like being weak. Sleep left him open to attacks from creatures other than Noir and
    Azura. Cowards who would only come out when they thought they were safe. He despised them most of al .
    She waited expectantly for his reply.
    Instead, he conjured her a warm nightgown and held it out to her. “Here, woman.”
    Lydia was touched by his gift. Mostly because she knew how rare it was for him to do this. “Thank you.
    And by the way … my name is Lydia. Not woman.”
    He nodded and stepped away from her. “Sleep in peace, Lydia.”
    She felt a knot in her stomach at the sound of her name on his lips. With his accent, it sounded more like
    Lah-deeah. And al she wanted to do was rise up on her toes and kiss him.
    If only she could.
    Taking the white cotton gown, she went to the bathroom to change.
    When she came out again, he’d dusted off his bed and turned the covers down for her. For a man who
    didn’t believe in any sort of kindness, he certainly was showing a