Page 22 of Bound By Valor

“I wasn’t unaffected,” he whispered, “I said I was trained to not get affected, but I failed miserably. I was more than just affected and I didn’t want to be. You’re a civilian, Leora. If anything happens, the squad will be dissolved.”

“Why would anything happen if you’re affected by my boobs? Make some sense.” I scoffed weakly.

He shifted his position on the bed slightly and cupped my breasts, “If I’m affected, I’m compromised. If I’m compromised, I’m a liability. And a liability can get people killed.”

“Then why were you stalking me?” I challenged him.

He blew out a harsh breath. “Because that was the closest I could get to you, without trapping you into this life.”

“I’m here now. You couldn’t stop that.” I breathed out.

“I couldn’t. But I’ll get you back on track.” He sounded defeated.

As his thumb brushed gently over my peaked nipple, a ripple of desire flickered across his expression–a yearning he was struggling to control.

“You’re resisting this.” I called him out.

“I am.”

“Why?”

With his eyes shut, he answered. “None of us have significant others, Leora. And if…”

He remained silent.

“If what?”

He took a deep breath in and looked at me. “If you’re it, which I think you might turn out to be, then I’m screwing over the squad, or worse, I’m dead.”

His gaze softened and I whimpered when his hand squeezed my breast gently.

“Kiss me,” I whispered.

His nostrils flared in anguish and he said the one word I dreaded, “No.”

He slipped his hand out of my t-shirt, handed me the bottle of painkillers, and left the room. If embarrassed was how I felt the past few times Zarek rejected me,thisfelt like devastation. I had bluntly asked him, and he still left me yearning. A kiss wouldn’t be enough to land him in the grave, would it?

Drop it, Leora. A few days, maybe weeks, and then you’re out of his life.

I got up and left for my room.

ELEVEN

Zarek

I leaned against the kitchen counter, half-listening as Logan toyed with his food rather than eating it. Leora hadn’t appeared all day, not for lunch, nor for dinner, and it was gnawing at my conscience. After giving her the painkillers, worry had started to eat at me—what if she had an allergic reaction?

“She should eat something,” I muttered, more to myself, but Logan caught it.

He looked up, his eyebrow arching playfully. “What’s up? Did you finally do something right or she’s avoiding you out of shock?”

“Very funny,” I retorted, not in the mood for his teasing. “I haven’t done anything—well, not intentionally. I’m just concerned.”

Logan’s smirk widened as he pretended to examine his chicken wing closely. “Well, since you’re playing stalker-nurse, you might want to know that Kabir found something interesting in her medical file. But maybe you don’t need that stress.”

“What?”

He shrugged and my patience snapped. “Logan, spit it out.”

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