Page 8 of Guardian's Touch

Of all times for her to decide to break the rules.

How do I get it through to her how dangerous that was? How she can’t take risks like that ever again.

It would mean telling her about my work, something we’ve never discussed. As far as I know, Fiona is as much in the dark about what Frank does. There’s nobody to set her straight on how I make my money.

I’ve gone out of my way to keep the truth from her. She’s safer that way.

She was, at least. Now I’m not so sure. What started as an act of youthful rebellion might’ve turned much uglier if any of O’Grady’s guys had spotted the girls. For all I know, he could have eyes on the house, on our comings and goings.

It isn’t until she let out a strangled groan that I realize my grip has tightened around her trembling body.

How unfortunate. Now, it isn’t only her safety on my mind. It’s the body—in a skimpy scrap of a dress—pressed against mine. A look down at her creamy tits and deep cleavage makes me twitch and lengthen in my pants before I know what’s happening.

No. That is not the way this goes.She needs me to get beyond my lust and do what’s best for her. No matter how I long to bury my nose in her neck and inhale her deep into my lungs. She smells like vanilla and honey, and I could easily lose myself in the scent.

She could’ve gotten herself killed tonight.

Yes, that’s what I need to focus on, not to mention how close she came to getting dragged off by those assholes. What if I never went to her room earlier and headed for the shower instead? Where would she be now?

All thoughts of my dick are long gone by the time we reach the house. Heads are going to roll for what happened tonight. They might as well have ushered her to the end of the driveway. Better yet, they could’ve driven her to the club.

“What are you doing?” Her question falls on deaf ears while I carry her in through the front door. My jaw twitches, and a hundred replies run through my head, but I hold them back. What matters most is getting her alone, where I can say what she needs to hear.

She wriggles in my arms—a bad move since I could drop her on her ass, but I have no intention of doing that. My arms are strong enough to keep her safe from herself.

I don’t know what’s pushing me forward down the hall, but it propels me past her bedroom door. She stiffens against me, but I ignore her reaction, my gaze focused on the larger room at the end of the hall. My room.

“Where are we going?” Her voice is small, scared, almost childlike. She’s finally beginning to understand what she’s gotten herself into. How dangerous it is to screw with me.

My silence leaves her whimpering in dismay until we reach my bedroom, and I set her on the bed like the willful child she is. That’s who I’m looking at now. Not a voluptuous woman whose body begs to be stripped naked and ravished until dawn.

“It’s time for us to have a talk,” I growl. Those are the first words I’ve spoken since we were in the club, and they come out slowly through gritted teeth. I’m furious—enraged, ready to kill—but I can’t pretend the craving has eased. If anything, I only want to throw her down and impale her on my cock that much more.

“Why did you do that?” The catch in her voice draws my gaze to her flushed face and the tears swimming in her eyes. “In the club? How did you find me? Why were you telling everybody what to do?”

At least these questions are easy to answer. “I own that club. I got a call as soon as one of the bouncers recognized you—not the one whose ass I fired. Maybe you should’ve greased a few more palms if you wanted to get away with it.”

“You own a club?” Her mouth falls open in surprise, and I’m reminded of how little she knows about me. On the list of businesses I own, a club is nothing. “Why didn’t I know that?”

“Why is it any of your business?” I counter. Her head snaps back, and for a split second, I’m sorry for snapping. She’s tested my patience lately, but I’ve never shown my temper that plainly. “For what it’s worth, you should be on your knees, thanking me until you lose your voice for saving you from those assholes back there. Do you have any idea how much worse it could’ve gotten?”

“I know.” She lifts her trembling chin. “You rescued me.”

I can only shake my head at first. “No. Don’t do that.”

“But you did. You saved me. You came to my rescue.”

This is all wrong. She’s supposed to beg forgiveness and promise to never do anything that stupid again. She’s supposed to realize I’m not a man to disobey and will make her regret even considering it.

Instead, her big, blue eyes shine with trust and admiration. “Don’t look at me that way,” I warn, pacing in front of her. This is all wrong. She’s supposed to be crying and begging.

“What way?”

“Like I'm… heroic.” I have to force the word out when it gets stuck in my throat. “I’m not a hero. And I could have killed that bastard for putting his hands on you.” The memory is enough to make my fists clench. He's lucky so many people were around. I doubt I could have stopped myself from caving his face in otherwise.

“I was so afraid, but you stopped him. That’s heroic.”

“It's not, dammit.”

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