Page 80 of Nothing Special X: The Last Stand

He was trying to comprehend how that made sense. As if Xander hadn’t been hiding in a closet twelve hours ago while someone—smart and determined—had hacked his security, cut his power, and put a bullet through his bedroom door to get to him.

What the fuck was he thinking?

Cassidy took a slow breath to pull himself back from the edge before his temper overruled his judgment.

The second he pulled air into his lungs, Xander’s scent came with it.

His body, already overheated from the workout, burned hotter, that light, sensual fragrance curling through him until all he could think about was finding the place where it lingered and putting his mouth there.

It was unlike any cologne he’d every smelled. It was light, and quiet. Powdery and lust-warmed, like sugared milk on creamy skin.

“Um.” Xander blinked up at him, pretty as sin. “I wanted a little pick-me-up, and I didn’t want to bother you. I figured with all the people moving around, it’d be safe as long as I didn’t leave the hotel. Free said—”

“Free said our floor is secured,” Cassidy inched closer. “Not the entire hotel.”

He kept his palm planted against the door beside Xander’s head, unable to make himself back away. “And I don’t care if you’re standing in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard,” he said, voice rougher than he intended. “You don’t stand there without me.”

He heard it the moment it left his mouth.

Christ.

That was too hard and possessive.

Xander didn’t belong to him, no matter how natural it felt waking with him tucked against him. No matter how much he hated peeling himself out of bed and away from the warmth of his soft body.

Cassidy lowered his hand to give Xander room to breathe.

He steadied his tone before he spoke again. “Xander, you can’t just leave. Not without me.”

Xander’s shoulders sank a fraction.

“I know this sucks.” He sighed. “Being restricted is frustrating. And you’re probably tired of people deciding where you can go and what can and can’t do.”

Xander bit his bottom lip, nodding slowly.

“But I’m your close protection lead, meaning, I’m to always be by your side,” Cassidy stressed because he needed Xander to understand what that meant. “I’m responsible for who gets close to you. If anything happens—”

He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Cassidy shoved his hand over his damp hair, cursing under his breath.

He had to pull this apart and quickly. Had to separate the professional from the personal before both pieces knotted together and rendered him useless.

The man in front of him was not a lover he could keep pressed to a door because he felt good and smelled too fucking delicious.

Xander Vale was his principal. His Starlight.

God’s team had given Xander a call sign that felt less operational and dangerously close to an endearment.

Cassidy’s jaw was tight. “I’m sorry you got saddled with me.”

Xander’s eyes widened. He shook his head so fast a strand of caramel-blond hair slipped free near his temple. “No. Please don’t say that.”

Color warmed Xander’s face, the pink rising slow and sweet.

“I’m glad it’s you. Before you um…” He swallowed and lowered his gaze for half a second. “Before you laid down with me last night, I’d been scared every day and every night. I kept thinking I was safe, and then I wasn’t. But with you…I slept.”

Cassidy barely breathed as he listened.