Page 61 of Vengeful Guard

“You’re okay,” he murmurs, but he keeps his hands cupping my face.

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out.

Kael ’s looking at my mouth. He swallows visibly.

I can’t stop looking into his eyes, getting lost in them, and my heart starts to race.

This is a bad idea. A terrible idea. I have to do something. Say something. “I haven’t forgotten about our bet. Have you?”

His eyes meet mine again, and I lose myself in them.

This attraction has been harder and harder to manage. I’ve been touching myself every single night thinking about Kael, about how he could make me come, how he’d feel inside me.

His touches as he corrects my positioning burn my skin, and I crave his hands all over me.

“No, princess, I haven’t.”

“When do you think I’ll be ready to spar? I think I’m getting better. Don’t you?”

He nods. “You are getting better, and it won’t be long now. Maybe the bet won’t take effect in the first sparring session, as that would be unfair, but yes, I remember it.”

His eyes darken, and my body reacts immediately, readying itself for something that won’t happen. Not with him at least.

I smile as I step back from him.

He drops his hands, his eyes still burning through me.

Waving goodbye at him, I head upstairs to get in the shower and once again take care of myself.

Sleep has been little to none, but at least I’m eating better with Kael around the house.

Maybe sleeping would help with my training, but I’m still not in a good place. Not a place where my mind is free from the horrors of that afternoon. So, I drink lots of coffee and pretend to sleep every night while I fight to keep my eyes open.

Sometimes, I lose that battle, but so far, I’ve been able to not scream again. Or at least, he hasn’t come to my room gun drawn since that first night.

I head to the kitchen one afternoon. Our morning session is done, and I’m all showered, but I’m hungry.

As I walk in, Kael is standing in by the stove, something sizzling in front of him.

He looks over his shoulder at me. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You hungry? I have enough for two.”

“Not even going to ask what you’re cooking and just going to say yes, because I’m actually starving.” I go to the cabinet and grab us both plates to start setting the table.

It’s been a while since we shared a meal together. We might live in the same house for now, but except for our training sessions, which are more than intense, and I don’t just mean the training part, we hardly cross paths. It’s like we are purposefully avoiding each other. Or more like he’s avoiding me since he’s stuck in his room all the time.

I don’t look at Kael as I work, but his presence is overwhelming just the same. I almost feel him here, my breath coming short.

When he’s done, he serves us both and sits to eat with me. For a second there, I wasn’t sure he would.

If this tension between us goes on much longer, something will give. There’s no way anyone can survive this forever.

I pick up my fork and take a bite of the chicken alfredo he put in front of me. “Any news about what’s happening with the Murphys?”

He chews, shaking his head. When he swallows, he looks at me. “Things have not changed one thing or another.”

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