She spun to face him. The top of her head came to his chin. He wanted to tuck her into the curve of his body and shield her from anything that meant her harm. But that wouldn’t work when it was Alex’s presence that placed her in harm’s way to start with. She stared at him, confusion sharing space with something that might be anger.
At him? At the situation? At herself?
“You’re not here to protect us, are you, Alex?” she asked, her voice husky. “Humans, I mean.”
“Did you really think I was?”
She didn’t answer. He wished she would. For reasons he didn’t understand, he wished the truth could match her expectations.
“So why are you here, then? Why do you care if hellhounds eat up the natives?”
“It’s not natural.”
“Human’s aren’t meant to know they exist,” she finished for him, her voice flat. Disappointed.
He hated that he cared.
“How did you even know where to find the hellhounds?” she demanded. “Were you tracking them?”
“There was a sighting not far from here,” he said. “We knew we just needed to get close enough for them to smell us and they’d come.”
Her eyes rounded and her jaw dropped. “You’re not serious.”
“I am.”
“Well that’s a great plan if you want to get eaten.”
The bite of sarcasm caught him by surprise. Before he could respond in kind, she went on.
“If you want to hunt them, however, you have to see them before they know you’re there.”
“And how many hellhounds have you hunted?” he asked derisively.
“It doesn’t matter what you’re hunting. If they see you first, they have the advantage.”
“And you’re an expert because?”
“I watch the Discovery channel and I have five dogs, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Hellhounds are not dogs, not that you know a damn thing about them either.”
She scowled. He was right and they both knew it. “I could still tell they were smart.”
“They are.” He paused, eyeing Belle with a dark look. “Smarter than your dogs.”
“But what are they?”
“If I said, demons, would you sleep better knowing?”
She recoiled. She couldn’t help it. Alex wasn’t surprised.
“Why do you ask me questions when you know you’ll hate the answers?” he asked.
“I hate not knowing more,” she said with raised brows.
He couldn’t help but smile. “Do you practice that look in the mirror?”
“What look?”
“The one that hides your fear.”
“What makes you think I’m afraid?”
He laughed softly. “You’re too intelligent not to be.”
She didn’t want to be pleased by the backhanded compliment he hadn’t meant to give. But she was. He could see it in her startled eyes, in the way she tried to hide them by looking away.
She sniffed. “I’m not hiding anything. I have a gun and I know how to use it.”
“So brave.”
“Says the man whose ass I saved.”
He laughed and for a moment she seemed fascinated by the sight and sound of it. Her stare made his muscles tighten all over again. He wanted to touch her. He wanted more than that.
“So that’s it?” she asked in a voice that wasn’t quite steady. “You zip in, round up demons, kill them, and fly away home, wherever that is? What does that make you? A hellhound exterminator?”
His smile faded in the face of his true circumstances. “Well, right now I’m an outlaw.”
From her expression, he guessed that she hadn’t yet considered the impact of what he’d done, fighting one of his own to protect her. Killing Jared. He could scarcely believe it himself, but Alex had been enraged when Jared had attacked her. His brain had disconnected and all he’d been able to think of was Lilly. Protecting Lilly.
“Oh,” she said in a small voice.
“Oh.”
She placed her hand on his chest, palm soft against his bare skin. Could she feel how hard his heart was beating?
“Why did you do that?” she asked. “Why did you take such a risk?”
“I don’t know.”
It was an answer that didn’t satisfy either one of them. She began to pull away and he stopped her, covering her hand with his.
“I couldn’t let…I wanted to keep you safe.”
She heard the truth in his voice. It made the lavender in her eyes turn gray and solemn.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, because clearly something was. “Why did that make you sad?”
She looked away, but Alex turned her face back. Her fake smile made him shake his head.
“I’m not sad,” she said, adding a lie to her ruse. “It’s just…it’s… I haven’t had many protectors in my life. Thank you.”