Page 67 of Close Protection

‘Tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.’ He gently spins me around then lifts me up onto the counter. ‘You stay here.’

I direct him to a spare flannel and a small first-aid kit in the cupboard and he finds them with ease before coming to stand in between my legs and passing them to me.

‘Th-thank you,’ is all I manage to get out when he rests his hands on my knees.

‘Where do you want me?’ he asks in an innocent tone, but his eyes betray him. They’re laser-focused on me, heat building in them with each passing second.

‘I… um, w-well…’

‘Use your words, Miss Green.’ The undeniable tension crackles in the air around us as he inches his hands up ever so slightly, softly squeezing my lower thigh. ‘Where do you want me?’

Our eyes meet and my breathing dips. As if in slow motion, his tongue darts out slowly, wetting his lower lip, while his eyes stay glued to mine.

So… so… sexy.

Somehow I snap out of my daze, clearing my throat and lifting up the first-aid kit.

‘Could you get out some antiseptic, gauze and a light bandage, please?’ He takes the kit, our fingers brushing together briefly before I let go, pick up the flannel and lean over to turn on the tap, wetting it with warm water.

Once I’ve wrung it out, I lean back and notice Milosh has lined up everything that I asked for next to me.

‘Hands.’

He brings them up for me to analyze again. I gently place the left one back down on my thigh, choosing to start carefully wiping the right one first. I’m meticulous, taking my time to be soft yet thorough. After I finish with the flannel, I set it down and add antiseptic to the area before blowing on his hand.

‘Sorry, I know that’s got to sting,’ I empathize. When I don’t hear a response from him, I look up to find Milosh studying me with a small smile. ‘What?’

He shrugs. ‘You’re cute when you’re concentrating.’

Not quite knowing how to respond to that, I decide it’s my turn to ignore him so I lean over to the sink again and re-dampen the flannel before starting on his other hand.

‘There,’ I murmur once I’ve finished, lifting his hands to my lips and placing a feather-light kiss on each of them. ‘All better.’

He pulls his eyes slowly away from mine, looking down at his hands, a gentle, lopsided smile on his face. ‘Thank you, Miss Green.’

‘You’re welcome, Mr Petrov.’

He throws the flannel into the dirty laundry basket behind the door and cleans up the surfaces, putting the first-aid kit away. Then he lifts me off the counter and onto my feet, restoring our usual height difference.

‘Well, I should go to bed,’ I say, breaking the silence.

‘Hmm,’ he hums. ‘Do you need me to get someone to help you with changing into your pyjamas?’ A light coat of concern sheets his face as he glances to my bandaged shoulder.

I shake my head. ‘No, I’ll be fine if I take my time, but thank you anyway.’

He holds my gaze a moment longer before nodding and turning to the door, stopping to turn back when he’s partway through it.

‘Goodnight, Miss Green.’

‘Goodnight, Mr Petrov.’

He closes the bathroom door behind him and I wait until I hear my main door close before I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

I walk into my dressing room and start to remove my clothes.

You’re cute when you’re concentrating.Did he mean cute as in ‘Aww, look at that baby’ or cute as in Gabriella Montez dainty and sweet? The way he was looking at me didn’t suggest the former, or am I just reading into it?

I groan, trying to get out of my own head but I can’t. Not when I can hear his deep voice with its Bulgarian-American accent playing on a constant loop in my head.

---