Page 23 of Guarding the Singer

With her eyes closed and dark lashes fanned against her cheeks.

And her skirt pressed against his legs.

It was a modern-day fairytale.

His sister would know more about it than he did, but he felt it.

Felt it down to his bones.

When he moved back, he was shaken.

There was magic in this woman.

She swayed toward him, and he lowered his hands to her shoulders and then slowly moved his hands down to her upper arms, his gaze fixed on her face.

When Selene opened her eyes, he was lost again.

"I'm..." He pressed his lips together, trying to fix the feeling of her kiss in his memory. "I'm going to miss you." He drew in a deep breath. "You be careful, Selene. Take care of yourself, okay?"

He wanted to say more, but it was January, and it was cold.

Cold enough that he could see their breaths in the night air.

Her eyes shone as she looked up at him under the streetlight. "Same." She bit into her bottom lip. "You take care of yourself, William Winchester."

How could he do anything else?

One last time, he offered her his arm and she took it.

He walked her to the security booth at the entrance to the property and made sure that the guards had her protected and inside the building before he left.

William took the long walk back to the parkinglot where he'd parked hours earlier, his gaze on the windows of the Lincoln Bedroom.

He saw her light go on and he felt a strange peace settle over him.

She was safe inside and he'd done his job getting her there.

His heart, well that was another case entirely.

PART II

"Hey, squirt!"

William had snuck up behind his sister and when she startled and yelped, he wrapped his arms around her for a hug.

"Hey! Don't smoosh me!"

He loosened his arms, and she turned around, untangling her arms so she could wrap them around him, too. "I just need you to get a little taller, M. That way when I hug you, I won't cut off your air."

William swore that he could feel her rolling her eyes.

And then she pinched his side, making him pull back from her.

"Not fair!" He shook his head at her. "That's asibling sin, remember? Taking advantage of a physiological weakness!"

She looked up at him and poked him in the chest with her finger. "And what kind of accommodations do I get since you're bigger and stronger?"

He shrugged. "I can't help you there."

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