"It's a direct order."
"It's a death sentence."Stepping closer, Thyaar blocked him from the door."You know what you looked like down there?You looked like a male losing his mind.And now the emperor wants you sleeping outside her door?"
"I didn't ask for this."
"No.But you're not going to turn it down either, are you?"Thyaar searched his face, looking for something.He didn't find it.Didn’t find anything.Raaevik had long ago perfected a neutral expression."Draanthit all to hell, Raae.You're going to get yourself killed."
"Then I get myself killed."He shrugged and moved past Thyaar to the door."You're relieved.Go get some rest."
"I'm watching you," Thyaar said quietly from behind him."Remember that."
Raaevik didn't answer.Instead, he palmed the sensor, and the doors hissed open.
The main room of the suite was vast, decorated in creams and golds, with a view of the stars that spanned the entire far wall.It was beautiful and utterly cold.
But he wasn’t looking at that.Not while Emily was there.His gaze cut instantly to the tiny human female.
She wasn't resting as she should be.She was pacing, marching back and forth across the expensive rug like a caged animal, muttering to herself.
"...ridiculous.Absolutely ridiculous.Priceless.Like I’m an artifact in a museum.I am not a bloody artifact.I am a person.I have adegree.I pay taxes!”
She turned, pivoting on her heel, and saw him.
She froze.
Her hands dropped and her eyes, dark, wide, intelligent, locked onto his.
All the air left the room.The scent of her hit him—that warmth, that sweetness, overlaid now with the sharp tang of frustration and underlying fear.
Every muscle in his body locked against the pull of her.His hands fisted at his sides, the split knuckles screaming.Draanth.The pull was stronger than yesterday and a lot stronger than it had been in the alley.
He wanted to cross the room… wanted to wrap his hands around her waist and lift her off her feet.He wanted to bury his face in the curve of her neck and breathe her in until there was no air left in his lungs.
But he stayed right where he was and forced his face to remain unmoved.
"You're back,” she breathed.
She didn't look scared.She looked...relieved.As if the sight of a seven-foot, scarred warrior was the first good thing she'd seen all day.
That made it worse.
"Your Grace," he said.His voice was a low rumble, far rougher than he intended.
"Thyaar said you were busy.”She took a step toward him, then stopped.“I thought maybe...I don't know.I thought maybe you were gone."
"No."He stepped fully into the room, the doors sliding shut behind him."I am not gone."
Closing the distance between them, he stopped a respectful six feet away.Six feet.It was a safe distance.
"I have been assigned as your permanent protection detail," he stated."I will be with you for the duration of your stay here on Devan Station.I will vet your visitors.I will secure your transport.I will stand guard outside your door while you sleep."
Emily stared at him.Her lips parted."Permanent?"
"Yes."
"So...you're like my shadow?"
"Essentially."
