Page 7 of My Pleasure

He stood up straight, no longer leaning against the car. “Good luck.”

“Same to you. I’ll keep your number.”

He smiled and when he lifted his arm to give her a salute, she saw the outline of a warrior’s tattoo in black. Why was a Vanguard acting as a paranormal Uber driver?

Shaking her head, she pulled her suitcase behind her and made her way through the city she knew like the back of her hand.

“Kiera! Good to see you home, how long are you back for?” Mr. Compton yelled as a form of greeting.

She gave a wave. “Back for a while. I did pretty good with my last job, so I really want to visit with the kids for a while.”

He smiled. “The Goddess sent you a surprise,” he said, then winked.

Kiera felt her breath catch. For the past month she had been dreaming of her mate. Tall, built and gorgeous. Another reason why her scummy, cheating ex-boyfriend was a thing of the past. She had no idea who her mate was, but if he wasn’t a warrior, their people were missing out. She giggled nervously. “It wouldn’t happen to be a nice young man, that is tall and carries himself like a warrior, would it?”

He just smiled. “You really lucked out young lady.” He winked, then headed back into his small house.

Feeling like she had a swarm of butterflies fluttering around her stomach, she walked toward her uncle’s house. She was one street over when she heard a deep voice calling her name.

“Kiera?”

She turned and standing across the street was the man from her dreams. “It’s you,” she whispered.

He broke out into the brightest smile she had ever seen and hurried over to her. “Thank the gods you’re back. Meryn said you’d probably return today.”

She turned and looked to where he had been sitting. “Were you just going to wait for me?”

He nodded. “Ever since I figured out who you were, I’ve been keeping an eye on the kids. I don’t like how quiet they are, so I’ve been watching from a distance.”

She felt a growing panic creeping around her heart. “What do you mean they’re quiet?”

Hunter frowned. “I haven’t known many kids, but you know Caiden raised Amelia, right? So, the Nu unit watched her grow up.”

She nodded. All of Storm Keep knew how Caiden doted on his baby sister.

“Well, she was always talking and running around. Your brother and sister are quiet and stick close to one another.”

She looked around and her eyes landed on her uncle’s house. “Did you see them today?”

He pointed to the front door stoop. “They sat there for a while watching people go by.”

She sighed. “Gods, they’re waiting for me to come back.”

Hunter wrapped an arm around her and relieved her of her backpack. “Let’s go get them, honey. My parents have all but demanded they be brought to the Armstrong home so they can meet their grandkids.”

His arm around her was heavy and warm. With any other man, it would have felt threatening and unwanted. But, with him, she felt safe and protected. “Grandkids?” She took a deep breath. Things were moving too fast. “Hunter, we literally just met.”

He smiled. “I know.”

“I come with so much baggage it’s not funny.”

He frowned. “Kids aren’t baggage.”

“I meant the circumstances surrounding them. Technically, I don’t have custody, my uncle does, he has been raising them since my parents died. I want to petition for custody so they can live with me from now on. That’s not exactly conducive for getting to know your new mate.”

Hunter snorted. “Why not? They are a huge part of your life, and it sounds like you want them to be a huge part of our life together, why not include them from the beginning? Why do it alone when you have me?” he asked jerking his thumb towards his chest, smiling down at her. “Let’s go grab them and get them something to eat. They look thin and… small.”

Hearing him admit they were thin concerned her, but his observation they were small made her smile. “Most adults are smaller than you, much less the kids.”