Page 39 of Just a Bit Guarded

“You sure blew something,” Will said with a somewhat pinched look.

Gadiel laughed. “Was that an actual joke?”

Will stared at him for a moment before saying,“Why didn’t you call for help?”

“What?” Gadiel said, confused by the sudden change of subject.

“When those thugs were trying to kidnap you. You didn’t make any noise. There were people around who could have helped.”

“Oh. That.” Gadiel brushed a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“Gadiel.”

The sternness of Will’s voice made his spent cock twitch. Sometimes he hated being nineteen. Or maybe it was just Will.

“You promised to tell me once we got home. Start talking.”

Gadiel sighed. “I can’t believe you still remember it after I blew you.”

“You aren’t that good, kid.”

“I can’t believe you still call me kid after fucking me. That’s just weird.”

Stepping closer, Will tipped his face up with his fingers, forcing him to meet his eyes. Gadiel shivered, unable to lookaway. God, those eyes. So intense. They looked more gray than blue now.

“Why didn’t you make any noise? There were plenty of people around. They could have helped you. They could have called the police.”

“I didn’t think anyone would hear me.”

Will’s eyes narrowed. “Try again.”

Warmth spread through Gadiel’s chest. He felt oddly pleased that Will hadn’t been fooled—that Will knew him well enough by now. It felt... good to be known. To be seen.

“I didn’t want to attract attention,” Gadiel admitted. “My father gets mad when I end up in the headlines. Even if it’s not my fault, he’ll still blame me. I really fucking hate his lectures.”

Will’s brows furrowed. “And it would have been better if you got kidnapped?”

“Not really. He would have been even more pissed off if he had to pay for me, but I wasn’t really afraid of that.”

“You weren’t?”

Gadiel shrugged, averting his gaze. “I knew you couldn’t be far away. I—I thought... I knew you would save me if I delayed them a little.” His face felt on fire. Somehow admitting this felt more embarrassing than admitting his crush. This... thisfaithfelt more telling—and dangerous—than any crush. But it was the simple truth. He hadn’t doubted even for a moment that Will would find him in time and save him.

“That was unnecessarily risky,” Will said, his voice soft. “I could have been late.”

“But you weren’t,” Gadiel said, looking back at him. “Thank you.”

Will stared at him strangely.

Seconds ticked by.

Gadiel looked at Will’s mouth, and then back into his eyes. He licked his dry lips, his heart pounding.

Willcleared his throat and stepped away. “I’m your bodyguard. That’s my job.” Looking aside, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “All right, that’s enough excitement for the day. Go to bed if you still intend to go to your brother’s private island in the morning.”

“Right,” Gadiel said. “I—yes, I wanted to talk to him.” It took him a moment to remember what he had wanted to discuss with his brother: he’d wanted to ask Zain to talk to their father on his behalf and try to convince him to delay the wedding. He doubted it would work, but it was worth a try. The wedding was less than two months away now.

His stomach knotted up at the thought. With Scott out of the picture, the approaching wedding felt more real than ever. He had to try to delay it, and then maybe...

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