Page 40 of Vengeful Guard

As if in slow motion, he approaches my bed and sits down on the end of it, reaching up to grab my ankle.

“I’m sorry I woke you. But I remembered another tip to help you sleep.”

He jerks me down the bed, spreading my thighs.

His fingers creep up my thigh, and my brain screams at me to stop him but god, it feels so good.

His fingertips are rough at the edges, and when he slides them through my lower lips, I arch my back, wanting more, wanting something. Needing. Craving. But I have no idea what.

I’m empty, hollow, almost as if waiting for something to fill me.

I can’t seem to speak, can’t seem to think, and something builds in my lower abdomen, something big and almost scary.

As his touch probes my entrance, my body jolts?—

I wake up, panting, and it’s the middle of the night.

My mouth is dry as dust. My body’s still feverish, my stomach tight with arousal.

Was I touching myself in my sleep?

God.

Why does it have to be Kael, of all people?

It has to be because we’ve been spending so much time together, right?

Because there’s no way I really want Kael Sullivan. I don’t!

Do I?

12

KAEL

Paige stays in her room all day, almost as if she’s avoiding me, and I wonder if it's because of our training session.

Having my hands on her felt almost wrong, but also too right at the same time.

Some part of me does understand that she’s a gorgeous woman, but she’s still my best friend’s little sister. My boss’s baby daughter. Off-limits in all kinds of ways.

But I’m a man, after all, and she’s a woman, and it makes sense that I’d be mildly attracted to her. Plus, I’ve been hard up. That's all it is.

Since I know she hasn’t ordered food or come down to make herself something, I order Thai food for dinner. I’ve had enough dinners with the Burkes to know Paige’s taste, and when the food arrives, she pads downstairs.

“Do I smell Thai?” She bounces a little on her heels, and I fight a chuckle, telling myself I do not find it cute.

“You haven’t eaten all day.” I frown.

She pouts a little.

“I was tired. I’ve been sleeping.”

The fact that her eyes avert from mine tells me she’s lying. I let it go.

“Good, then. You needed the rest, I guess. But after dinner, we’re going to have our first real training session.”

She grins. “Do I get to kick you in the balls?"

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