Page 80 of Bossy Bodyguard

I met his eyes. “Yes?”

“What does touching grass mean?” he asked, his face serious.

A soft laugh bubbled out of me and I took my notes from him. I patted his hand and wiped a tear from my eyes. He looked adorable when he was confused.

“I forgot you’re old, boomer,” I teased him and walked into class. I didn’t miss his glare and knew he would later ‘punish’ me for calling him that.

Maybe the stalker won’t interrupt my life again and I’ll be able to keep Cillian by my side forever.

Just maybe.

48

DEMONSTRATION

CILLIAN

“So I was thinking…” Emma drawled after finishing her plate of pasta and keeping the fork down. Her right palm was completely healed after two months of care.

“Here we go,” I sighed, leaning back on the chair and taking a sip of sweet white wine.

There was no news of the stalker. No creepy gifts or messages. Elena and Zayed were in New York, and after having private meetings with Damon without Emma’s knowing, we had a list of suspects that fit the descriptions of the stalker. But we had kept her in the dark because I didn’t want to burden her with the information, despite how carefree she pretended to be. I knew that the incident had scarred her, physically and mentally. No nineteen-year-old should have to go through something like that.

“I’m serious,” she snapped, her sapphire eyes blazing.

“Go ahead, Doll,” I said. I had booked a private room for our dinner date for a special reason.

“You know how CBT therapy is working well for me,” she started, her eyes on the empty plate. I sat straight and leaned my elbows on the table. She had been going to therapy since the incident after getting a recommendation from Mia’s neighbors, Ivy and Aiden. I had met them a few times and Aiden seemed like a good therapist despite looking cold as ice. Emma’s therapist was a woman, as per Aiden’s recommendation, and slowly I could see how much it had helped her over the period. She wasn’t self-conscious anymore when we had sex. She was confident as ever and I loved it.

“I thought that maybe you should try it, too?”

I frowned, tilting my head. “Try CBT?”

Emma licked her lips and my eyes averted to them for a flicker of a moment. “Yes. Your nightmares are rare, but… it could help you.”

Her eyes were wary, and she was holding her breath, waiting patiently for my answer. I had been to therapy when Olivia passed away. Caleb, too. But I had never thought about revisiting my dark thoughts with a professional.

“Okay, Doll. I’ll book an appointment with Aiden,” I replied, my heart pounding in my ears when she smiled at me, her cheeks turning pink and blue eyes softening. She looked so fucking beautiful. I wanted to push off the plates and have her as my desert.

“I knew you would consider it—” She excitedly stood up, her heel pressing on her dress and the sharp sound of fabric tearing interrupting her.

My eyes were wide when she looked down in horror at her dress. “Did I just—?”

I stood up slowly and examined the damage. There was a small rip on the side of her dress, baring her soft skin and side boob to the world. But it was salvageable.

“It’s okay, Doll, stop panicking.” I kissed her temple and sat her down on her chair. Handing her a glass of wine, I said, “Drink this. I’ll be right back.”

“Do they have a tee shirt? Or a shirt?” Emma asked when I came back to our private dinner room with a thread and needle in my hand. I locked the door before eyeing her in the pretty navy dress that matched my suit. There was much more to do before the night ended.

“No, but I have this.” I removed my suit and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt to my elbows. “Strip out of the dress and get comfortable.”

“Cillian, we can’t have sex here—”

I smirked. “We are not having sex, Doll. Give me the dress and sit down.”

She looked down at her dress then at me. “I’m not wearing a bra.”

“I know.”

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