Page 63 of Protected By the Billionaire Ex-SEAL

“Not that, silly.”

“Then what’s the best part?”

Still laughing, Raven stands up and tugs my hand.

“Dad’s wine selection.”

* * *

The wine does its part in making me feel sleepy, but it’s Raven’s parents still awake late that postpones my mission to sneak into her room—something I haven’t done since I was a horny teenage boy, and I get a kick out of the idea of doing it now. I fall asleep while waiting for them to sleep, comfortable in the bed.

But the comfort takes a turn sometime later as visions appear, and suddenly, I find a body lying motionless on the ground. Blood seeps from her head, then her chest, coating the cement with a dark red color, and her dress…

“Anya!”

Horror and panic swirl together as I run toward her, my legs sluggish like I’m floating in water. When I reach her, her fingers twitch and my hope jumps. But when I roll her body over, that hope shatters as Anya’s face morphs into someone else and I find myself staring at Raven’s blank amber eyes instead.

I stumble back, my chest tightening and the agony intense. Gunshots sound in the distance, then beside me. Then a last, louder gunshot breaks me from the nightmare and I sit up in bed, gulping down air in a desperate attempt to distance myself from that scenario.

I’m used to dealing with horrible things from my assignments in the military when I was deployed a few times, but it’s crazy how this is one of the worst. My body shakes and ice coats my veins, but soon enough, my training kicks in as my mind slowly pushes everything away.

But when I’m calmer, I still don’t move, stuck in my thoughts.

“It’s just a nightmare. Not real.”

Except I haven’t had a nightmare in more than a year, not even about Anya and what happened to her.

And this one with Raven? It feels vivid. Like a warning about my growing feelings for her.

And don’t I always listen to those gut warnings?

Chapter 20

Raven

I wake up to the sun shining on my face and warmth surrounding my body, and I know it’s not just the warmth of the blankets or the morning. Instinctively, I back away a bit, pleased when a wall immediately presses against me. The wall moves closer, too, snuggling, and a soft mouth presses over the back of my neck.

I shiver, then turn around to hug Christian’s sleepy form. I thought he wouldn’t leave his room at all, but sometime past midnight, I felt his body slipping into the space beside mine and didn’t question it. I don’t question his clinginess now, loving it as much as I love?—

Stop, Raven.

I blink, startled by my thoughts. As if sensing the change, Christian opens his eyes and looks at me.

“Hey…what’s wrong?”

I shake my head and kiss him. “Nothing. I just like having you here.”

He smiles. “Good morning to you, too.”

We laugh, then try to shush each other. We kiss some more until they turn hungrier and more frenzied, but when I reach for his cock, he gently swats my hand away and tries not to grind against me despite how hard he already is.

“No.”

“No?”

“Not in your parents’ house…definitely not while they’re around.”

“But you snuck in here.”

---