Page 12 of Guarded By the SEAL

Harry seems to feel it too. His eyes pop open wide, and I watch him suck in and hold a breath. It’s definitely a sensation that isn’t supposed to be there, but it is, and neither of us can avoid it now. It’s swimming in the thick air around us, amping up the anticipation, circling through the pair of us and drawing us together. It’s as if there is a magnet there, pulling us in, leaving us with no choice but to obey it.

Harry is moving in. I can feel it. I’m acutely aware of every damn inch of his body. I want to slip forward to him as well. I want so badly to cave to this temptation, but there are alarm bells ringing. They are vibrating and aching in my brain, making me feel anxious. I’m stuck between leaning in and giving my body what it wants and listening to my mind which has a million other ideas of what is best for me.

The anxiety twists up in knots. It zaps away all the good feelings deep within me. I know with utter certainty that we can’t do this, that we shouldn’t do this. We might share a connection, but we’re still here for a reason and it isn’t to be kissed. I need to get out of here, and I have to go now.

“S–Sorry.” I snap away. “Sorry, I don’t think… I need to.”

I jump up and twist away. I run quickly, needing to create some distance between us. There is something there now, sizzling in the air between us, and I have to ignore it. Nothing can happen between us. It’s insane that it almost did. I don’t ever want to think of that again.

10

HARRY

What was I thinking? Still, hours later, I can’t quite wrap my head around that part. I don’t know what happened between Petra and me. A moment of madness, I suppose. I’m just glad that she had the wherewithal to run away before we could overstep that boundary and actually kiss.

“Oh, my God,” I groan in sheer agony. How the hell did we almost kiss? I have worked with tons of people in this situation before and had never nearly kissed a client before. What is wrong with me?

I’m glad it didn’t happen because as she now knows, I’m not one for a relationship after what happened to me in the past. I also can’t justify a relationship with a client. That would be too crazy for words. I don’t even want to think about what Max would say to me about it. And as for Benji… God, the teasing would be too much. Not a chance. No, we need to push that to the back of our minds and never revisit it again. I don’t think Petra will want to talk about it, anyway, judging by the way she ran off.

I know that I should go and check on her, but I don’t want to make things more awkward than they already are. She popped out of the room once while I was scouting the area outside to grab some food, but I don’t think she has been out since. She’s back to hiding away from me. I don’t blame her.

I think the worst part of it all is knowing deep down that I felt something for Petra. It might have just been in the moment and not something that I need to worry about, but it was there for sure. There was a moment of chemistry between us so strong that we almost gave up everything for one another.

“You can’t feel that way for anyone,” I hiss angrily at myself. “Feelings aren’t good for anyone. Ever.”

I’ve done all my checks and I’m happy that everything is secure, so I might as well try and watch some TV for a while. I’m not one for television. I don’t have enough time to catch up on shows, but I need something else to focus on. I can’t keep thinking about that almost kiss. It’s too much for me.

The TV is old. The signal is shit, I can’t really get anything on it, and certainly nothing that’s interesting enough to stop me from thinking about Petra’s plump, delightful lips and her sweet, bright eyes.

You don’t like her, I remind myself angrily.You don’t get along with her. She’s bratty and awful.

But I don’t think she is, really. I’m sure that was just a reaction to everything going on around her. The more vulnerable side of her was powerful enough to make me open up myself, and that says something, doesn’t it? That makes me really consider what sort of person she is…

“Stop it,” I hiss as I realize that she is flooding me once more. She is filling up my mind and making me yearn and ache for her once more. The more that I think about Petra, the more that I want to drag her out here so we can talk. Or maybe kiss, really kiss this time, because it’s been a while. Not for a meaningless kiss, but for something that will really make me feel something. “Goddamn it, Harry, just stop?—”

The words fall apart on my lips as I hear a sound, a noise that makes my blood run icy cold. It isn’t coming from upstairs where Petra is. I don’t even think it’s inside the house, but I shut the TV off sharply as everything inside me snaps to attention. My Navy SEAL training spikes up, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on edge. I need my gun and I need it now. Luckily, it’s always within reach.

“Petra?” I call up the stairs, forgetting completely about the weird tension zinging between us. Work and protection always take priority. “Petra, are you up there? Is everything okay?”

She doesn’t answer me right away, so I bound up the stairs two at a time. By leaning in through her bedroom door, I immediately hear the shower running so I know I can probably breathe a sigh of relief. She’s okay. But I need to check, just to be certain. I can only call out since I can’t see her.

“Petra, is everything okay in there? I just need to er, check in on you, that’s all.”

“Fine, thanks,” she calls back. I hear the confusion in her voice, which I quickly decide is a good thing. It means that she doesn’t know why I would have anything to worry about. “Do you need me?”

“No, it’s all good. I’ll see you in a bit. Just give me a call if you need anything.”

I head back down the stairs and am instantly overcome by the weirdness clinging in the air. Yep, there is something going on. I can just sense that something is going on, that someone is here, and there is no way that someone should be here. No boats can arrive here without my knowing about it. Max would have told me if anything was arriving, and he hasn’t. This is bad, really bad. I need to sort it out.

I check the house first, even though I’m pretty sure it’s okay. I need to be sure that every room is empty, locked up, and Petra is safe. Then once that’s done, I go to do the same on the outside. Since this feeling is so strong, it’ll take a while so I can check every damn inch of the island. Whoever is here will regret it.

I work best in work mode. I do well when I’m professional and everything that I have ever been trained to do comes to light, so I know with confidence that if someone is here, I will get them.

“What’s going on?” Petra runs toward me the moment I step inside the house once more. I’m all confused and on edge because I haven’t found anything or anyone, but I still have the sense that someone is around. “I can feel it. Something isn’t right, is it? I don’t know what it is, but it’s wrong.”

I part my lips to reassure her that nothing is wrong, because I don’t want her to worry unnecessarily, but she silences me by flinging herself into my arms. I automatically wrap my arms around her to hug her because to be honest, I’m glad that I’m not the only one who can feel this.

“I’ve checked the whole place,” I tell her seriously. “There is no one around and no sign of visitation either. I don’t know what it is, but you have nothing to worry about. No one is here.”

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