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We take our shots, her face is flushed, and I know she's going to make a run for it. Her tongue snakes out to lick off the remnants of whiskey from her lips, and I can't help myself, I need to taste her.
I reach for the back of her neck and pull her into me. My lips land on hers, and she gasps. My tongue slips into her mouth at the invitation. Between the alcohol and her, my head is swimming. I want this girl. She's my angel. I explore her mouth and her body relaxes into mine. I wrap my other arm around her waist and pull her closer. She slides her arms up my chest and around my shoulders, fitting her body into mine. It takes everything in me not to lift her up and carry her from this pub. I know we're making a scene, but I don't care. She's all I care about right now. We part and catch our breaths. Again, I lean down to whisper in her ear.
“Angel, come with me. We’ll only have tonight, but I want you.” I kiss the shell of her ear and her body trembles.
“I can’t, but if you ever meet someone named Duncan Preston, tell him hello from his midget and to be safe. Good bye, Lieutenant. This has been one pleasure I will never forget. Please be safe yourself.” She's disengaged her body from mine and is practically running from the pub, her friends following close behind.
She hesitates at the door but doesn’t turn back.
I want to kill this Duncan Preston for leaving such a beautiful lassie alone. She kissed me back though, so maybe this Preston tosser isn't that important.
I lick my lips and taste her on them. Bugger me that was a kiss. I want to chase after her, but instead I watch as her long, wavy blond hair sways around her compact curvy body as she walks away. Her heart shaped arse taunting me, causing my jeans to tighten.
* * *
I come awake from the dream. My body reacts just as it did all those years ago. My cock is hard and throbbing. The weight of the sheet makes it ache. I can still taste her on my tongue, the smell of cherry-blossoms overpowers my senses. Bloody hell. I groan as I sit up in bed, scrubbing my face.
I did end up meeting Duncan Preston, who’s now one of my closest mates. Imagine my surprise when I found out that tosser is her brother, and imagine my greater surprise when I ran into her in December and saw how bad her marriage had gotten. She's now my company's newest high-value protectee and pregnant with her wanker of a husband’s baby.
I know there's more to the story than what she told us that night at Maya's DC flat. No longer the brave young girl from the pub, she’s skittish and wary among all of us. All I want to do is protect her and return her faith in humanity…especially men.
For some reason, she acts like she doesn’t know me and tries to avoid me. I keep up with that status quo because it seems to be what she wants, but I don’t make it easy.
I get out of bed and prepare to go to the gym Maya had built inside one of the many barns around the compound. I need to burn off some of this sexual tension before Ana’s appointment later today. I escort her to all her doctor appointments. Maybe I’ll talk to her this time, find out why she’s pretending.
I want to claim her, make her mine, like she should have been all those years ago. But I don’t.
I’m so screwed.
Chapter Two
Ana
“Okay, Ana, let’s try something new. When I come at you, put your arm straight out, palm toward me, real fast. You want to hit the nose area with the lower part of your palm. Don't really hit me though, okay?” Maya instructs as we start to practice again.
I can do this.
“All right, Maya.” I try to calm my nerves.
“Don't over extend. Wait until I'm close. I don't want you to fall. Okay? Remember your center of gravity is different right now. Plus, if you act like you're not going to react, it'll startle your attacker more.”
Maya takes an attacker’s stance and prepares to rush me.
“What in the bloody hell are you doing!” a loud, angry voice yells, and I about jump out of my skin.
Maya and I both swing around to see Joshua walking directly toward us.
“You could've hurt her, Maya,” he barks again.
“For your information, Josh, I'm teaching her how to protect herself. She’s perfectly safe,” Maya replies angrily.
“What the bloody hell am I for? I protect her. She doesn't need to lose her balance and fall.”
My pulse spikes and my body trembles in reaction to his raised voice. Instantly, my mind flashes back to Jonathan. I need to calm myself; but between the workout, Joshua’s anger, and my memories, I'm lost.
Joshua’s and Maya’s voices are faint, like they’re at the other end of a long, dark tunnel. I step back, lower my head, and drop to my knees. My hands rest on my knees, assuming a subservient pose, as I was trained to do. And I wait for him to calm. For him to command me. The strange thing is, I'm grounded in this position, and that’s when I realize what I've done. “Um, Ana, what're you doing?” Maya asks.
This is what Jonathan made me do when he was angry. I hear the words in my head and pray I didn't say them aloud. I try to think and come up with an excuse. Something, anything, but the memories flood my system. Adrenaline and panic rises and flows, and I know I could wait here for hours.
