Protecting Her 18+ (Her Series book one)

Nash

This is her. My woman. My soon to be wife. The mother of my future children. In our house.

Growing up and hearing about how it happens is one thing but experiencing it firsthand is a whole different thing. At a single glance I knew this beautiful woman was all mine with no element of doubt. I'm going to put my ring on her finger and give her my last name, fill her with my baby, marking her as mine wholly, and keep her for the rest of our lives. She's all mine.

Right now I'm trying my hardest not to sneak into her room and climb in the bed with her. It's her first day here, and she's had a long trip so she needs her rest. I should really get a gold medal for letting her sleep in the guest room tonight and not putting her in our bed like I'm dying too.

I'm pacing up and down the hall like a caged beast right now, trying to hold myself back from going into her room. Having the door between us is pissing me off and I don't know how much longer I can hold myself back.

Fuck it.

I quietly open her door, telling myself I'll just get one peek at her beautiful face to let me know she's still here and then I'll be satisfied. Then I can be content knowing she's in our house asleep where she belongs. As soon as I walk over to her sleeping form though, my carefully laid out plan goes to shit.

She's sleeping on her front, naked from the waist up, so there's no way not to see the many gashes and swollen welts on her back. Someone has damaged her beautiful skin.

It looks fresh too; so I know whoever did this has to be who she's running from. No wonder my beautiful brave girl was ok with sleeping in a shelter or on the streets. Who could want to harm such a kind and beautiful soul such as hers? A dead man that's who.

I'm going to get my baby to open up to me and as soon as she's comfortable enough to trust me I'm going to hunt the fucker who did this down and skin him alive for hurting my sweet angel.

I gently inspect her wounds, doing my best not to wake her. It wouldn't do any good if she woke up and saw me, a complete stranger to her, standing over her naked back right now.

I don't see any sign of infection and they aren't deep enough to need stitching so that's good. She's just going to be sore for a few days and I'll have to make sure she doesn't strain herself any.

I reluctantly back out of her room and call my brother, Levi. He's the sheriff and once I tell him what's going on, I know he'll jump in to help me in any way he can.

"What's going on Nash?" He answers after two rings.

"I need your help, Levi. I found her and she's running from someone." I rush out to tell him.

"Hang on. Found who? And running from what?" He asks me, confused. I know I'm not making any sense but my emotions are all over the fucking place.

"Her, as in my woman. Mine. She's here and someone hurt her." I growl out.

"Wait, are you sure? Tell me everything. Now" He jumps right into sheriff mode like I knew he would.

"Her name is Alice, she's young. Probably in her early twenties. She said she rode a bus from New York and I met her at Dusty's earlier today. She was looking for a shelter and a job so I brought her home with me under the guise that I need someone to work in the office and I let her sleep in the guest room. She's passed out on the bed right now and when I went in to check on her, she had wounds covering her back, like someone has whipped her. She's shy and skittish so I need to get her to trust me before she tells me anything. I need your help to figure out who the person who hurt her is and then I need your help getting rid of him." I tell him sternly.

"I'm on my way." Is all he says before he hangs up and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he will do whatever it takes to help.

We protect our own no matter the cost. Alice is mine, so that makes her family. She's now one of us and she will be protected by me and her new brothers.