Page 152 of Sweet Temptation

“You loved him.”

“Yes, I loved him. Fuck, did I love him. I still love him. He’s one of my best friends.”

My newly-revived heart cracked open and a small death rattle coughed out.

I’d never felt so fucking jealous of another man in my life.

She’s not with him anymore.

She’s with you in a car. Stop being an idiot and kiss her.

“Have you ever loved anyone like that?” she asked me.

“No. Not like that.”

I didn’t say anything else on the subject, and she went silent. Normally I might’ve enjoyed the silence, but I needed to keep her talking. My dick insisted that I keep her attention on me.

I liked having her full attention. I liked not competing with everyone else around her.

But I wasn’t sure what to say.

I’d agreed to protect her, and I knew I was getting distracted—by her. Wanting her in my bed. In my fucking lap, right now.

Even with all the blood slamming to my cock and my balls throbbing, I knew the right thing to do, as soon as fucking possible, would be to assign her another bodyguard. Someone else to do what I was starting to wonder if I could even do at all, when I so badly wanted her.

But then I’d lose all this time with her.

So I knew I wasn’t gonna do that. Not yet. I couldn’t stand to lose this yet.

Selfish.

“Can I ask you something?” she said, eying me carefully.

“Yeah.”

“What did Andre mean, when he said that stuff about you never taking another bodyguard assignment? You were supposed to be retiring your bodyguard services the night you met me?”

Thanks, Andre.

“Yeah. I was,” I admitted. Because I was hardly gonna lie to her face about it.

“Then… what happened? Why did you take this job?” She studied me with a kind of hope in her eyes… like she was waiting for me to confess that there was something between us.

That I’d felt it from the moment I met her.

Or maybe I was just imaging that’s what she wanted me to say?

I cleared my throat and tried to think of some way to explain my actions. Actions that even I was having trouble understanding.

“Like Andre said… Brody is a valued client. And when I took his call that night, and walked into your home… I could tell you needed security. There was a need there and I knew I could fill it.”

That was true, but damn, it sounded cold.

I knew it was cold, because the hope, or whatever it was in her eyes, kinda flickered out.

Maybe I’d just confirmed for her what she’d feared…

That I really didn’t want anything to do with her outside our professional relationship.

---