Page 61 of Guarded Rebellion

“I just wish we could figure out what or who the target is,” he said before I told him that I would leave and return to Eva at the apartment. We weren’t finding anything here. No sign of our rivals. No rumors to overhear about drugs or rapes.

“You think someone drugged Kelly to get to Eva?”

He shrugged. “That makes the most sense. Eva hasn’t befriended anyone else on campus. If anyone were watching her, they’d see that they’re close.”

I didn’t like the idea of anyone watching my charge. Eva was mine to protect, and I damn well wouldn’t fail her there.

“And obviously, she’d be a target just because she’s the Boss’s niece. Hell, maybe someone wants to interfere with her being eligible for marriage. They could try to claim her, then the Boss would be forced to go along with an unfavorable alliance.”

Too late.I had already claimed her. And I struggled with the idea of giving her up. At all.

Look at this mess I’ve gotten myself into.I let out a deep breath, more eager to see her now. If I would only have this forbidden tryst with her as her temporary bodyguard, then I had to ensure we could enjoy ourselves for as long as possible.

I drove back to the apartment, stuck in my head as I tried to rationalize how we could brace ourselves for when we’d have to step back from this carnal connection we couldn’t deny. That was the one thing that remained unchanged—the lack of any actual future.

But the second I stepped into the apartment, relieving the guard standing in the hallway, I was hit with the scents of a homecooked dinner. I was treated to the sight of her bringing dishes to the table, lit with candles.

“What’s all this?” I rubbed my lower lip to hide the slow and cautious smile that wanted to sneak across my face.

She grinned, shrugging as she faced me in a simple black dress. “Just thought I’d…” Lifting her hand and gesturing at the table she’d set out for me, she implied the obvious.

“Hmm.” I tossed my coat to a chair and approached her, hands behind my back.

“Hungry?” she asked.

I gave her a slow once-over, admiring her demure yet so sexy appearance. Her hair tumbled down, unrestrained and unbound, and I fought back the instant vision of fisting it. Or seeing it splayed on the bed as I pounded into?—

I cleared my throat, trying to clear out the filthy thoughts taking over too. “Famished,” I replied.

“Then come see how I used to while away my idle time at the mansion.”

Before she could take her seat, I beat her there and pulled the chair out for her. “You cooked?”

“Yes. It was a hobby I could do anywhere, I assumed, in case I had to be moved to a safehouse.”

I frowned as I sat, appreciating her sweet gesture to cook for me. It was veritable proof of her changing feelings toward me. She’d come a long way from snarling and pouting at me, arguing with and defying me. This was a clear show of something like affection, and I would never, ever forget the first time a woman made a dinner for me.

“You were never moved to a safehouse. At least as far as I remember.”

She nodded, dishing out food to me. “True. But the possibility is always there. When the cooks were on breaks, I’d experiment in the kitchen. Then it became a hobby.” She smiled, but it didn’t last for long. “I guess it’s another way of trying to live a lifeIwant, doing something instead of sitting around or shopping.”

“Or going to salons?” I teased. “Rurik hated it when he was assigned to Maria with all her trips to the salon.”

She rolled her eyes. “That too.”

“You’re an intellectual,” I praised. “You thrive when you can apply yourself to something.”

That sweet smile returned. “Yes. But I guess I’ll need to wean myself off that sooner or later. I can’t see my husband accommodating my ‘whimsies’, as my father calls them.”

I dipped my chin, unable to hold her eye contact with that comment.

I would. I would let you do whatever the fuck you want. Study. Read. Be a teacher.I’d heard her tell Kelly that she wanted such a career.Cook. Bake. Ride my dick. Any and all of the above.

“Any news on campus?” she asked when the quiet lasted for several minutes too long.

“No. Not really.”

“Hmm. Well, hopefully, Kelly will remember a little more of how she was drugged and that can provide some clues to your investigation.”

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