Page 42 of Close Protection

I spend a moment taking her in, revelling in the fact that I’m one of the few people that get to see her like this. Her once-tight, straight ponytail has loosened from the force of the water, giving way to a relaxed one that holds her now tight curls, with a few loose tendrils framing her face. The water droplets that accent her face lead my gaze down to her defined collarbones. But I don’t allow my eyes to drop any further. Her face alone is all I can take right now.

‘I like your hair,’ I murmur before I can stop myself.

‘Pardon?’

‘I like your hair like this.’

She looks confused and taken aback for a second before replying, ‘You like my hair messy and wet?’

‘I like your hair curly,’ I correct as I reach out and tuck a spiralling tendril behind her ear, feeling her gently shudderas I do. ‘It looks pretty.’You look pretty.

Her warm mahogany eyes catch mine and her mouth parts ever so slightly.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ Her voice is tentative as her shy side peaks through again.

‘Mm hmm.’

‘You said you’re Bulgarian. How do you speak Russian so well?’

‘There was a little boy in my old children’s home who could only speak Russian, so while I was teaching him English I subconsciously started learning Russian from him, which was pretty easy because Russian and Bulgarian are such similar languages.’

Daphne nods, a warm smile dancing on her lips. ‘I like learning more about you,’ she breathes, so quietly I want to lean in and make sure I heard her right.

I don’t respond to her statement, instead opting to flip the focus back to her. ‘How do you know so many languages?’

‘Well, I learned French and Mandarin at school. My cousin, Camilla, is deaf so the majority of my family knows sign language, and I went to an international private school, so one of my best friends is Russian. She taught me all I know.’ She shrugs as if speaking five languages isn’t impressive at all.

‘Thank you again for today.’ She looks down at her hands.‘You know, for everything when we were shopping and for after… when I was asleep.’

‘Miss Green, you don’t have to thank me for doing my job.’

‘I do when you keep going above and beyond for me,’ she counters, chewing her lower lip. My eyes involuntarily drop there, tracking the movement.

‘Really, Milo.’ My eyes jump back to hers when I hear her say that nickname again. ‘I really do appreciate it. I don’t even want to know what would’ve happened if you weren’t there.’

‘But I was, so you don’t need to wonder. You’re safe and back home, Miss Green.’

‘Yeah,’ she breathes. ‘I guess so.’

More than anything I want to bring her mouth to mine and kiss the worry away, but I remind myself to re-establish some boundaries.

Kissing her was a two-time thing, and it can’t and won’t happen again.

She’s the job. Keep her safe and walk away.

My eyes return to her necklace and I can’t help but reach down and lift the metal off her skin, rubbing it between my fingers.

‘It’s pretty,’ I murmur, trying to figure out if I’ve seen her wearing it before. It looks vaguely familiar.

‘Thank you,’ Daphne snips, a little too sharp.

‘Did your dad buy it for you?’

‘Yeah, he did,’ she answers quickly. I let it fall gently back onto her skin.

‘Hmm,’ I hum. She’s being cagey, but I don’t have time to explore why. The lack of sleep is finally starting to catch up with me. ‘I’m gonna go get some rest,’ I inform her as I start to back away. ‘Are you gonna be okay down here?’

When she told me earlier that she’s been jumpy since the break-in it made me realize that I hadn’t thought about any of this from her perspective. Getting attacked in your own home, your place of comfort and safety, must be awful. I’ve been in multiple situations where I’ve had to sleep with one eye open, always on guard, but Daphne hasn’t. This is completely new territory for her and even though there’s more security around the house I’d completely understand if she still felt unsafe.

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