Page 68 of Just a Bit Guarded

“What?” he croaked out.

Zain made an impatient sound. “Tell him to pack. Our father wants him to come home. The wedding preparations are underway. His presence is needed.”

Wedding preparations.

Will heard himself say, “We’re returning to Dubai today?”

Gadiel’s back went rigid.

“Gadiel is returning today,” Zain said. “There’s no point in you coming to Dubai only to fly back immediately. Your job is done. His new bodyguard will be waiting for him on my jet.”

“I didn’t say that I wanted to quit,” Will said carefully, gripping the sheets in his fist. Gadiel’s back was still unnaturally stiff and straight.

“You didn’t need to,” Zain said. “I’m firing you.”

“Can I know why I’m being fired?” Will said evenly.

Gadiel whipped around, his eyes wide.

Zain’s voice was cold as ice when he replied, “In your job interview, I asked you whether you were straight for a reason.”

Will closed his eyes. So Zain knew. He must have had people watching them. He knew Will had been less than professional.

The thought made him feel nothing. No guilt, no shame, no concern for his professional reputation. Nothing seemed to penetrate the numbness that had settled inside him, the sense of surreality. Gadiel was leaving. This was it.

This was it.

“Understood,” Will said tonelessly and hung up.

Letting the phone fall onto the bed, he lifted his gaze and met Gadiel’s.

They just looked at each other for a moment.

“Your brother has his jet ready. It’s leaving in two hours.”

Gadiel nodded, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. His eyes were wide, unsure, lost. He looked at Will as though...

“He fired me,” Will said, his voice rough like sandpaper. “I’m not coming with you.”

Gadiel’s expression went absolutely blank, the vulnerability that had been in them a moment ago wiped clean.

“All right,” he said at last. “I guess... I guess it makes things easier for you.”

His jaw working, Will pursed his lips. Gadiel’s lack of reaction bothered him. More than it should have. Fuck, what was wrong with him? Had he actually wanted Gadiel to be clingy? To ask Will to come with him?

“Right,” Will said stiffly. “It does make things simpler.”

Gadiel glared at him with such force it seemed he was trying to burn him with his eyes. “Fine, then,” he said, his face pale and his gaze dark. He lifted his chin and sneered. “Thanks for beinga serviceable bodyguard—and a serviceable fuck. But I’ve had better.”

Will knew he was just goading him. He knew Gadiel was just lashing out. He always did that when he felt unsure or vulnerable.

But it worked all the same.

Will didn’t even realize that he was moving before he toppled Gadiel back onto the bed. “Have you?” he said, his heart pounding and his vision red as he glowered at the younger man under him.

Gadiel’s lip wobbled. “Yes,” he said viciously, and then they were kissing, kissing as though trying to swallow each other’s air, all teeth and raw need. It was the worst kiss of Will’s life, his pounding heart trying to claw its way out of his throat, his body grinding mindlessly against the smaller body under him. There were no thoughts in his brain besidestake, claim, mine, take.

“I wish I never met you,” Gadiel said against his lips, hands gripping Will’s face hard.

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