Page 38 of Quickies

“You make me feel safe, Boone. I’ve spent over a year with you like a shadow next to me every single day, and I’ve only ever been uncomfortable when you were too far away from me.”

I sighed with relief. What he said was the highest praise for me. All I ever wanted was to stay close to him and keep him safe. It would be enough for me forever.

“You’d do anything. Literally anything. See, I know that already, and it confuses me. You’re always with me. You don’t have a life outside of this job, do you?”

Hewas my life.

“But then some arrogant dick asks me out, and you hold the door for me, quiet and stoic, as if it doesn’t matter to you. Why?”

“I’m your bodyguard, sir. You make the decisions about your life. My task is to protect you, not to decide for you.”

“And do you like being my bodyguard, Boone?” There was a challenge in his question.

Silly me, I answered honestly. “I do. I like being near you.”

“Every single day.”

“Are you angry with me, sir? Tell me what I did wrong, and I’ll fix it.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong!” Now, he was frustrated. “You never do. You’re a damned saint.”

Far from it. He didn’t know about my secret desires and filthy fantasies. If he knew, he’d have fired me ages ago.

“And now you have the guts to say that you’d do anything for me.”

Why did that make him so angry?

“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s the truth. Please, forgive me.”

“Forgive you? God, Boone, you’ve never done anything wrong. Not a single misstep. You always say and do the right thing. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?”

I was risking everything, but I didn’t realize that until much later.

My angel was angry at me, and fear clouded my brain. I didn’t know what else to do.

With my eyes on the floor, I sank to my knees. I heard him suck in a breath. And then, silence. My head down, I waited.

As I knelt before him, peace filled my mind and chest. He would decide what to do with me. I had no power, didn’t have to think. I only had to wait. Waiting was easy.

He stepped forward; his shoes were polished leather, sleek and elegant.

His warm palm on my cheek sent sparks through my brain. A whimper escaped me. I wanted him to slap me across the face so I could feel his anger and soak it up. Take it away from him so he wouldn’t have to carry it.

“You’d really do anything for me, Boone?” he asked again in a whisper.

“Yes, Mr. Olivier.”

“Look at me.”

I tilted my face up and met his gaze. I’d always been powerless against his beauty, but I’d never felt as helpless as I did then.

Frowning, he stared at me, scraping through my stubble with his thumb. His nostrils flared.

“I’m so needy I’m aching all over, yet every alpha I meet disgusts me. They lean in for a kiss on the cheek, and I want to puke. I haven’t been touched in months. Sometimes I feel so lonely my skin hurts.”

He rubbed his thumb over my closed mouth.

“What will you do to soothe me?”

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