Page 32 of Dragon Bodyguard
Fabian and Konstantin were loitering in the hallway, both straightening their backs as Misha led her out of the room. Their respect for him was evident. He really was good at his job.
Why had he thought she didn’t support him in it? What had her stepmother actually said to him? Part of her didn’t want to prod at it, but she knew she would have to ask him. She had to explain herself. Could she? Why had she so readily believed that he didn’t love her?
Because…
She clung to him harder, forcing the tears back.
Jesus, because who would love her? It had made sense to her that he would find an excuse to break it off with her. Why would he want to tie himself to a shiftless? Perhaps he’d even been told that, if he did, he wouldn’t have a future within the family at all. She’d figured that it was all on her. That it was more plausible he hadn’t seen a future with her, that he wouldn’t risk the future he wanted for himself for her.
But here he was, with his arm around her, holding her close.
She really had missed him.
He let her go once they reached her bedroom door, walking ahead of her into the room to check it, just like he had when they arrived back earlier that afternoon. She watched him head into the bathroom, turning a grateful smile on Fabian and Konstantin, who were already flanking the door. Fabian nodded once. They’d be there. It was a comfort. She closed the door, facing Misha as he re-entered the bedroom.
“All clear,” he said.
It made her smile for some reason. He huffed a soft laugh, knowing he sounded formal again.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You really don’t have to thank me, it’s—”
“Your job,” she filled in.
The air in the room grew thick with the silence that settled between them. She didn’t even know where to begin. She knew she had so many questions but didn’t want to open with the wrong one. What if she unintentionally angered him? They seemed to have a bad habit of slipping into argument.
“Would you stay a while?” she asked.
“You’re not tired?” he queried.
“No, I am,” she said. “I just… Would you stay?” He observed her as if he didn’t quite know how to answer that question, but then he smiled, nodded. “Would you…?” She trailed off, hesitating. “Would you lie down with me on the bed? Hold me for a bit?”
“A bit?” he repeated, making her give him a look.
It hiked one corner of his mouth into a crooked smile, almost a grin. He seemed pleased enough with the request. Perhaps he enjoyed having her lean on him the way she was, but she was beyond caring. She wanted to lean.
They approached the bed from opposite sides. He slung a leg up, sinking down against the pillows, making himself comfortable as she crawled over to him. She settled her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, one of her hands on his stomach. She closed her eyes.
Nothing could get her here.
He wouldn’t let it.
“So,” he said, his voice a rumble in her ear. “You missed me, huh?”
She should be annoyed by the utter smugness in his tone, but she had to smile. She could tell he was teasing. It was one of the reasons she’d fallen so hard for him. He got her sense of humor the way no one else in the family did. Not even Aleksander, who could be too direct for her dry approach to things. Sarcasm sometimes went straight over his head.
Besides, she didn’t feel like joking anymore.
So, she chose earnestness and said, “Yeah. I did.”
The muscles of his chest swelled when he shifted, a simple invitation for her to touch him, run her hands over the thin fabric of his shirt. Old fires were turning from embers to licking flames and she moved her head to meet his gaze. He did what she’d hoped he would, what she’d wanted him to.
He gently turned her onto her back, following the movement to join their lips together, parting hers, his tongue teasing hers into play. It began soft but grew desperate within seconds. She made a soft noise as his tongue circled hers harshly, his hand that wasn’t under her gliding over her hip, up her back, into her hair.
She brought one leg up, wrapping it over his thigh to bring him closer to her. She could feel his arousal through his trousers, remembering how his cock inside of her had made her lose her mind. Heat through her veins. She’d forgotten.
How could she have forgotten what it felt like to be in his arms like this?
