Page 47 of Flirtatious

The tears welling in my eyes make it hard to see him, so he looks like some watery giant standing in front of me when I ask, “Then what is it like? Tell me because I need to know. Please.”

He sighs again, another sign all of this is a burden to him, but finally, he lifts his head and I see that sweetness I saw right before I kissed him tonight. “I’m your bodyguard, Mia. It’s not right for me to be involved with you. That’s what I mean.”

I crave the feel of his skin on mine after he says that, like if I don’t touch him he might disappear from in front of me, so I reach out and wrap my fingers around his pinky finger. “Why can’t you protect me if you’re with me? I don’t understand.”

His gaze moves to where my skin touches his and he winces. “Things get muddled, Mia. That’s never good.”

Stepping toward him, I look up into his eyes and wish my tears didn’t make it so hard to see them because they’re the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen in my life. Cool and almost icy, they somehow convey so much emotion that I can’t help but stare at them whenever he’s nearby.

“Would you protect me any less if you and I were together? Explain to me how caring about me makes your job harder.”

Liam shakes his head. “It’s not like that. It’s that there needs to be a clear line between the client and me so I can do my job.”

I take another step toward him, and holding his pinky, I curl our arms up between us. “What if I don’t want that line between us?”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, okay? You don’t want me. You think you do because I’m always there and I protect you.”

Every word that comes out of his mouth hurts, and I push away from him, releasing my hold on his pinky. “I’m not a child, Liam! Don’t tell me what I want and what I don’t want. I know what I want! Is it so bad for a woman to want a man who protects her? Why do you make it sound like I’m foolish for wanting that?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean? Tell me!”

“You only think you want me, Mia. If you met other men or got out of that house more often, you wouldn’t think twice about me. I’d be that invisible thing that watches over you, not a man you want to kiss.”

“Why? Because I’m Mia, so of course, I couldn’t want someone like you? You think I’m that shallow, don’t you? Or you think I’m some pathetic thing that never gets out of her gilded cage, so she can’t know what she wants.”

Liam shakes his head sadly, like he’s disappointed he can’t make me understand why I shouldn’t want a man like him. “That’s not it. I’m fucking this up, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean that you’re shallow or pathetic. I just meant—”

Cutting him off, I hold my hand up to stop him. “I know what you meant. I’m not stupid either, Liam.”

I need to get the hell away from him before I begin crying like a baby because I’m tired of him feeling sorry for me. Poor, pathetic little Mia. She has everything anyone could want, but she’s not bright enough to understand she can’t have the man she wants.

My feet move before the rest of my body understands it’s time to run again, and I jump off the curb to dash into the street. Cars screech to a stop and horns blare, but I dodge getting hit. Liam follows me, of course. It’s his job.

I don’t care.

Then as if everything stops and falls silent, I hear him call my name and when I turn around, I see him collapse onto the pavement. Did a car hit him?

Frantic, I run back and find him on the ground with blood on his upper right arm. Clutching his elbow, he struggles to stand up but pushes me behind him. “Call 9-1-1. I’ve been shot.”

I fumble with my phone to get it out of my pocket and call the cops. “Help! My bodyguard has been shot.”

The dispatcher asks me questions I don’t have the answers to, so I look around for a street sign. I tell her our location and she says someone’s on their way.

As I hold on to him, he backs us up off the road. “Liam, they said someone’s on their way. Are you hurt badly?”

He makes it to the sidewalk and behind a parked car, but then he collapses to the ground again. I stare down in horror as the wound on his right arm gushes blood, but I don’t know what to do.

Dropping to the sidewalk, I kneel next to him and watch his eyes slowly close. “No! Liam, open your eyes! Open your eyes. The ambulance is coming right now. Please, Liam, open your beautiful blue eyes and say something to me.”

But he doesn’t move.

I stroke his forehead and gently press a kiss to it as tears roll down my cheeks. “Please say something to me, Liam. Tell me you hate me for driving down to this part of town and forcing you to run after me. Tell me what to do. Tell me you’ll be okay. Tell me what I need to do because if you don’t, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Tell me what to do so you don’t die.

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