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We watched the garter throw, Zander didn’t join the crowd, and then it was time for the bouquet. I joined the gaggle of women gathering around to catch the thing with Blake following me. He stood behind me, gently rubbing my arms while we waited for Mackenzie to count and toss.
When he dropped his hands, she threw the bouquet. It came right for me, so I had to reach out to grab it or let it hit me in the face. I suspect Mac had done that on purpose.
As I reached up for it, Mac’s cousin Sheila dashed between me and the flying flowers to pluck them out of the air. Her movement managed to push me backward. She realized and grabbed for me, but I fell back directly into Blake’s strong arms, just like I had on the night we met.
“Caught me again,” I said with a laugh.
He smiled down at me. “So I did,” he said, his voice deep and soft.
I was in his arms for the rest of the night, on the dance floor and off, barely able to think about anything but being in his arms back in our hotel room.
26
BLAKE
Despite tonsof great sex and more time alone with Callie than I’d expected, I was relieved to head home. The stress of the constant crowds of people kept me on high alert.
Even when my eyes were trained on Callie, I remained hyper-aware of everything going on around me. I could barely look away from her beauty, but I also had to keep her safe.
It was my job, but it was so much more than a job. I took every assignment seriously. I’d have been devastated if someone I was hired to protect got hurt. But this was different.
This wasCallie.
The thought of her being hurt at all, under my protection or not, turned my stomach.
I felt exhausted by the time our plane touched down. As soon as we were at a stop and the captain was making his announcements, I felt some of the tension drain away. At home, I had full control of the environment. I’d had none of that at the hotel.
Callie put her hand on my arm and smiled at me when I glanced at her.
“What?” I asked.
“I thought you might have fallen asleep.”
“I could never sleep on an airplane. Especially not when I’m here to protect you.”
I reached out to tuck a strand of her reddish-brown hair behind her ear. I always seemed to find an excuse to touch her.
On the way home, every mile I got closer to my house made me feel a little better. When I finally pulled into the driveway, I let out a deep sigh.
“Good to be home, huh?” she said with a broad grin.
“Excellentto be home.” Before we went in, I scanned all my motion-activated cameras and looked for any alerts or movements I might have missed. Everything was in order, just as I’d expected.
When she reached for her bag, I shook my head. “I’ve got it.”
She followed me into the house and up the stairs. When she opened her bedroom door, I kept going and walked past it to my bedroom. I put our suitcases on the floor at the end of the bed.
Then I turned to see Callie in the doorway, smiling, her hands on her hips. She glanced at her bag and gestured toward it. “Forget something?”
“Yeah,” I said, walking up to her. “I sure did.”
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her. It was the kind of passionate kiss that get slowly deeper and more intense. The kind where you bend the woman back and she’d fall if you didn’t have her firmly in her arms.
It was the kind of kiss I wanted to give her every damn time I looked at her.
I kissed her, twirling my tongue around her, making it clear what my intentions were for the rest of the night. When I straightened again, letting her stand again, she slowly opened her eyes to look at me.
“There,” I said. “That’s better.”
