Page 75 of Guarded Rebellion

He growled, spanking my ass lightly as he turned me to stand in the shower with him.

This time, he cleaned himself off, but not before tending to me. And this time, when he opened his mouth and spoke again, he defied that initial distance between us. He shared his concerns about the Ilyin presence on campus. He opened up about the details of his previous assignment, where he killed an Ilyin boss and also a few other guards, one who is reported to be alive again and out and about in the city.

“What, like he came back from the dead?” I laughed. “Maybe he has a twin.”

“That’s what I wonder,” he said. “Or the reports of spotting him are inaccurate.”

We dried off together, and still, as we got dressed then lay in bed, relaxing, he continued to explain his worries and ideas.

I fell silent, listening more than talking, but he smiled at me after a while. “What? What’s that little look for?”

“You’re such an overachiever,” I teased. “It’s no wonder my uncle has always favored you.”

He sighed, losing his lighthearted expression that seemed to settle in the more we talked “shop”.

“Okay, what’sthatlook for?”

He took my hand and threaded our fingers together. “He might not care for me at all after he realizes what we’re doing.”

I mentally swooned when he lifted our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. “And what do you call this? Whatarewe doing, Lev?”

He stared at me, and so many emotions passed between us wordlessly that I knew. I saw it in his eyes.

Falling in love.

Leaning in slowly, he licked his lips. “I don’t know, baby.” He cupped my face and kissed me softly. “But I never want it to stop.”

Me neither.

31

LEV

Talking about my assignments was only the start of how much I opened up to Eva. It felt right. It was natural to speak freely with her. She’d gone fromjust a jobto my friend, my partner I couldn’t keep my hands off.

Even though Kelly was in the apartment, she gave us space.

I was fine with that. I’d be as possessive as I wanted with Eva because there was no telling how her uncle might react once word got to him that we’d forged a relationship together.

But Eva fussed each time she noticed Kelly hiding in her room.

“She told me she wants to move out and find another dorm room,” she said as we prepared to leave for her first class.

I didn’t need to hear it from Eva. I saw it myself. Kelly left earlier with Rurik tailing her for protection.

“That’s her right,” I reminded Eva as she pulled her coat on.

She frowned, not swayed with what I said. “She told me she doesn’t want charity from me. From the family. To stay here with me. Which is bullshit because the dorm room was destroyed because of me.”

“I can’t blame her.” I sighed at her pissy look. “I’m not arguing, but look at it from her perspective. She is just a nobody,a stranger who can do what she wants with her life. To be viewed as a connection to the Baranov Family, she’s risking the stigma of anything someone might hold against your uncle, against the family.”

“I know, but…”

“She won’t be unprotected.” I let her head out before me into the hallway. “Rurik is with her, from a distance.”

“But I feel like she’s pulling away from me.” She kept her face down as she took my hand. “And I think…”

I gripped her fingers tighter, pulling her to my side. I hated to leave the safety of the apartment, but we had to. She had classes to get to, even if she seemed to be losing interest in her courses. And I needed to be present with her and see what happened with any rivals on campus.

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