Page 66 of Redemption

“Sloan,” he groaned when I dragged my nails over his chest, his hands balled in tight fists at his sides. “Please.”

“Please, what?” My voice was a whisper on the wind.

“I don’t…” A muscle in his neck twitched. He bowed his head. “I…”

I smiled, gratified that I’d reduced this man to incoherent sentences. That he felt just as out of control as I did. I wanted to unravel him completely.

“There’s no one else here. It’s just the two of us.”

“And what about tomorrow?”

I lifted a shoulder. I just wanted one night. One night of pleasure. One night to finally get closure. One night to say goodbye to the past and move on. “Tomorrow, we go back to being—” I gestured between us “—whatever we are.”

He stepped closer. “And what’s that?”

“I don’t know.” I finally met his eyes. “Friends?”

“Friends,” he scoffed. “Right.”

“Fine. Principal and executive protective agent. Captain and skipper,” I teased.

“Sloan,” he groaned. “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

“I’m sick of doing the right thing,” I blurted.

For the past fourteen years, I’d “done the right thing.” I’d done everything that was expected of me and more. Taking over European and Asian operations. Focusing on my family’s hotel empire. Dating Edward. I was done doing what was “right”; I wanted to do what was right for me.

“Besides,” I asked, “who’s going to know?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I’d know.”

I scoffed, turning away and crossing my arms over my chest. Here I was, offering myself up to him, and he was going to cling to his honor? Part of me respected him like hell for it, even if it was inconvenient and annoying.

That said, Jackson was right. He might be an independent contractor, but it wouldn’t reflect well on me to sleep with someone in my employ. Not to mention the fact that the idea of sleeping with him while I was paying him for executive protection services felt ick.

And then I had an idea. If he was going to be a stickler for the rules despite the fact that he was leaving anyway, I’d make this easy for him. For both of us.

“Jackson.” I turned to him, unable to hold back my smile. “You’re fired.”

He gaped at me. “I—what?”

“You’re fired,” I said again, trying not to laugh. He hadn’t caught on yet. “You’re no longer my bodyguard, which means…”

“Which means we wouldn’t be breaking the rules.”

I bit back my smile. “Exactly.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “If only it were that simple.”

“It could be. As long as you don’t think you’ll regret it,” I said, thinking about his job. About how we’d spin this with Hudson.

He frowned. “Is that what you think?”

I lifted my shoulder, rolling my lip between my teeth.

“Sloan.” He slid his hand through my hair, cupping my cheeks. “I could never regret loving you. You are my solace. My da zra qarara. When I’m with you, my heart is at ease.”

My body relaxed at his words, even as my mind replayed them again, trying to search for answers. He nuzzled my nose with his, prolonging the torture. It felt as if everything in my life had led up to this moment. To him.

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