Page 19 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

Despite looking shocked about the fact that I was calling him out, with at least a hint of that sheepishness still, he corrected himself and crossed his arms. “Who says I’ve been guarding you, hm? You sound pretty confident about that.”

My brows furrowed at his dismissive words, and I scoffed. “You couldn’t be any more obvious, you know. You’ve never hung back this late after work, but now that I’m around for the night, you’re still conveniently here.”

He gave me an almost challenging look. “I don’t expect you to understand what I do, but you’re making some pretty big assumptions here, sweetheart.”

Something about his forced smugness only irritated me further, and I didn’t care to be nice to him anymore. While I normally would’ve been affected by his gaze and the way he was poking and prodding at me, I was too annoyed to entertain his antics.

“Don’t try and act clueless. We both know you’ve been lurking around a lot more than necessary.”

“Is it such a crime for the guard to…I don’t know, guard?” he asked, eyes gleaming with every intention of not letting it go. Of not admitting that I was right.

It only made my blood boil more.

“You know damn well it’s not as simple as that.”

Even then, Damien maintained his ground, assessing gaze firmly on me while I stood across from him. The way the corner of his lip turned up ever so slightly made me want to shake him until he admitted it.

I didn’t know why he had me so on edge and more combative than usual, but I wasn’t about to back down either.

Chapter 9 - Damien

As much as I was denying Sky’s (correct) claims about hovering around her more often than I should’ve been, I wasn’t showing how she was getting to me. How she was onto me and it was making me want to squirm in my seat.

She had been a lot more observant than I anticipated, and it made me feel caught.

Of course, her being aware of how insistent I was about seeing her would’ve taken some of the pressure off me to try and hide it, I still wasn’t ready for her to know just how often she consumed my thoughts.

Even if I was keeping my cool and steeling myself against her accusations, she was making me feel antsy, and her refusal to drop it only irritated me further.

Sure, it probably wasn’t the best move for me to stay back while she was working late, but I couldn’t help it.

Knowing she’d be there all alone at night without anyone left on the floor, vulnerable and open, I couldn’t just leave. I tried, but it didn’t sit well with me. I couldn’t go home in good conscience, knowing that anything could happen to her. And if something did happen, it could’ve been prevented by me.

She was completely right—I was guarding her. Only her. Under the guise of doing more surveillance.

In all honesty, I was working. I had more searching to do to keep Luk and Kir satisfied with my progress and to finally lock in on a suspect.

She was right and I was lying through my teeth, but it was just easier that way. She could only know so much, and I didn’t need her to be aware of just how invested I’d been in her.

After a moment of tense silence between us, Sky forced out a breath, all the while her features were tight with irritation. “I don’t understand why you won’t just admit it.”

“There’s nothing to admit,” I muttered back, growing more annoyed that she was being so adamant.

I didn’t like how on the nose she was, and I didn’t like how she was making me feel guilty for it. Everything about the situation bothered me, mainly because I was being called out for the bizarre behavior that I knew would eventually land me in the hot seat.

Damn her for being so perceptive, and damn myself for being so careless. For being obvious.

As much as I wanted to blame her for everything, I couldn’t. Still, I wasn’t prepared to admit it yet.

Sky narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not as good of a liar as you think you are.”

“Why can’t you just drop it?” I returned, letting more of my irritation slip. “So what if I’m here when you are?”

She grumbled to herself, becoming more worked up by how avoidant I was being with the topic. “Because it’s clearly not that simple!”

“No?” I questioned, matching her as I stood from my place, towering over her. “And why isn’t it simple?”

“Because you’re hiding the fact that you’re not just here to work…If I had gone home when everyone else did, would you still be here?” she asked, pleasant demeanor thrown to the wind. “Have you ever stayed here late before?”

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