Page 88 of Protect Me
I stare at him, a little shocked he’s restrained himself. Just like the other two, I remind myself. They’re holding back on purpose. I just don’t know why.
“Okay, what kind of game are you playing?” I demand.
“I don’t play games,” he says, and I know Duncan well enough by now to know he means it.
“Then what’s the deal today? You three have taken turns doing me favors all day, but when you have the chance to take me to bed, you act like I’m a hot potato and can’t get away fast enough.”
“First, I can promise you I’ve never thought of you as a hot potato.” His lips twitch. “But if that’s the kind of kinky nickname you want--”
I shove his shoulder. “Cut the shit, Dunc.”
“Okay, okay. The truth is we want you to know we like you. Not just your body, either. We like you for you, and we’re trying to show you in the only way we know how.”
The awkwardness in his expression is the only thing that keeps me from teasing the shit out of him for what he just said.
“You like me,” I repeat.
“Don’t get cute,” he says gruffly.
I press my lips together. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He narrows his eyes.
“I think it’s sweet.”
“Sweet,” he repeats, his lip curling in distaste.
“What’s wrong with sweet?”
“No one’s ever called me that before.”
I can’t help the quick laugh that escapes. “I’m not surprised.”
Now he fully glares, and I swallow the rest of my laughter.
“If it helps, I like you guys too.”
His glare turns intense. “That does help.”
“And I don’t need you to win me over with favors or gentlemanly behavior. You’ve already done enough of that to prove you’re gentlemen.”
His gaze turns suddenly piercing. “Then what is it that you want, Sway?”
“I...” I hesitate. Ten seconds ago, we were being flippant and flirty, and I could have said any number of silly things, but the way he’s looking at me now says he really wants to know the answer. So, I go with the truth. “I want my freedom.”
His eyes glimmer—with promises that involve blood and death and somehow make me feel more loved and secure than any other look he could have given me. “Then that’s what you’ll have. I swear it.”
* * *
Ten minutes later,Duncan walks me to the Big Top, and by the time we arrive, I can feel the broodiness he’s worked himself into at watching me in this outfit. I smile to myself because it means I’m not the only one already wishing the show was over so we can go home and find out what all these plans and surprises are exactly. He catches my hand before I can begin my ascent into the rafters and pulls me back to him for a searing kiss.
“What was that for?” I ask, breathless, when he pulls away.
“For luck,” he says, “and for later.”
I smile, light on my feet as I let him go and begin my climb.
At the top, I get ready and use the opening acts to scan the crowd. It’s a full house tonight, which is good for business, but even from here, the moment I spot Killian and Bracken, I can see their tension. They move seamlessly through the shadows, so invisible that the crowd doesn’t seem to notice them at all. It strikes me that I probably shouldn’t have been able to spot them either, but my gaze finds them easily as if some invisible force connects us.