Excerpt!
Bruce
Lexi returns from her room and takes the seat next to me. I’ve concluded that we are fighting a losing battle. It’s just a matter of time before the attraction between us takes over and its fiery flame burns through us. We are quiet, our eyes are trained on the movie even as I’m provocatively attune to her presence, her allure is seeping into every nook and cranny of my being. It doesn’t take long before she leans into me. I don’t move out of her reach. She’s soft and warm in my arms and my whole being is responding to her closeness. I need to get her in bed. I move her head from my shoulder. “Hmm,” she groans. “Kiss me, Bruce,” she whispers. I pause for a moment, convinced I didn’t hear her.
“What did you say?” I ask, betting she doesn’t realize what she asked of me.
“Kiss me, Bruce,” she says, her voice barely audible. “I want you to kiss me. I took my meds.“ A chuckle escapes her “Be aware that I may not remember in the morning, so make it good so I can dream of you.” She grins, though a bit out of it.
I want her to remember, and I shouldn’t grant her request, but I’ve been dying to kiss her, so who am I to deny her request especially when she wants to dream of me. I shift positions so she’s on her back and I kiss her lips gently and she opens her mouth to let me in. I kiss her with the fervor of a starved man that I am. Her tongue swirls sweetly with mine. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer and deeper to her. My tongue is seeking every inch of her mouth, my body is intensely aroused. A soft moan escapes her, it sends a charge through my body.
I can probably make love to her now and she wouldn’t stop me, but I also want her sober and consenting plus I want her to always remember us, every touch, every kiss and every thrust of me inside her. I slowly pull away. Breaking the sweet feel of our kiss.
Fuck, I just kissed Jonah’s girl and I fucking like it.
She smiles. “Goodnight, Bruce.”
She turns to her side and sleeps like she didn’t just break through every resistance shield of mine. I sigh because looking at her, I want more. I feel it in the blood thumping in my veins. My ragged breath that I fucking need to control. My hands running through my hair in exasperation of what I’ve just done. I know there’s no going back now.
Leaning down, I lift her in my arms. She giggles like a little girl. I should leave her in her room, but I’ve a need for her closeness, I can’t explain or control. I move slowly with her asleep in my arms and place her gently in my bed. She curls to her side and sleeps off. I sit on the bed for a moment watching her, “she can’t leave” the voice that slams in my head. Just as Declan’s words a while ago “when you kiss the one, you never want another” I feel the weight of what I’ve done. Kissed the one but she belongs to another man and not just any man. A man that hates my guts, paid me to keep her safe and sternly warned me not to touch her. I now know why, he made that request because he knows once I did.
He and I would be at war. Yet I find myself willing to go to war for her. Damn it.
I move closer and kiss her temple, my palm gently touching her face. A giggle escapes her and I wonder if she’s dreaming of me. I cover her and get off the bed. I go into the bathroom to shower and relieve the monster awakening between my legs. I get temporary relief. Wrapping my towel around my waist. I peep to check on her. She’s knocked out. I put sleeping pants on and get in bed with her, pulling her into my arms and she doesn’t resist.
Duty or desire—he’s sworn to keep her alive.
But staying close blurs the line.
When a threat puts her life in danger, there’s only one man capable of protecting her—a ruthless bodyguard with a fearsome reputation and loyalty carved into his bones. The problem? His family and hers are sworn enemies. And he learned to hate her last name long before he ever knew her.
This is duty.
A contract.
Nothing more.
Shared space. Constant protection.
No attachment. No temptation.
Forced proximity turns restraint into tension. Hatred softens. Awareness sharpens. Desire becomes impossible to ignore.
She’s a damsel in distress who refuses to be fragile. He’s a possessive protector bound by duty, fighting feelings he has no right to claim. Every glance is forbidden. Every moment together is a betrayal written in silence.
As enemies close in and pressure mounts, distance becomes impossible.
Because the longer he stands between her and danger, the harder it is to remember where duty ends—and desire begins.
He was sworn to keep her alive.
He just wasn’t prepared for what it would cost him.
Touch her… and die?
Author bio:
A. Akinosho lives in her own little nest in Illinois. An avid reader and enjoy reading thrillers, suspense and romance novels (partial to romance genre). When, She’s not reading or keeping up with life. She enjoys writing and creating twist to stories. She loves writing about diverse characters, friendship and overcoming challenges through, what is perceived as a weakness.
