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Gemma blinks rapidly as if shaking off a daydream. “Of course. How unprofessional of me.”
We walk in loaded silence through the murmuring crowd. Gemma is all charm and grace, nodding politely to guests as we pass.
Anthony materializes from the crowd, making a beeline for Gemma. “I've been looking for you.”
“Dylan was just accompanying me back from the terrace. It got a bit warm in here.”
Anthony’s sharp gaze cuts to me, eyes cold. “Hmm.” He frowns, clearly displeased at her unsupervised escapade. “Perhaps you'd like to do a perimeter check, Mr. Knight, and assure everything is secure.”
It's a clear dismissal. “Yes sir, right away.”
With a polite nod at Gemma, I disappear into the crowd.
My heart aches. But the more time I spend with Gemma, the more she gets under my skin. This assignment is getting complicated in all the wrong ways. It’s my duty to protect her, even if that means denying the connection between us.
After we part ways, I watch Gemma work the crowd, wondering if I'm in over my head with this assignment. She’s unpredictable in the best possible way.
Guarding her body while resisting her pull on my heart will be the greatest challenge of all.
Chapter3
Gemma
I weave through the crowd,my bag thumping against my hip as I walk briskly across campus. Students are sprawled across the quad, enjoying the sunshine, but I barely notice them. All I can focus on is the shadow trailing me.
My stomach knots with a mix of anger and something dangerously close to desire. The gala dinner flashes through my mind—the heat of Dylan's hand at my waist as we danced, his dark eyes locked on mine, sending shivers down my spine.
He's hot, bossy, and protective—everything I find irresistible in a man. I push the feeling away. He's made it clear enough that this is just a job for him.
Yet every piercing stare and every gruff word sends my heart racing in a way it shouldn't.
I quicken my pace, glancing back to see if he's still there. Of course, he is. Dylan Knight is my constant shadow. He thinks he can order me around and dictate my every move.
“Miss Caldwell,” he calls out from behind me.
If he follows me everywhere, I might as well make it interesting for him. I veer off the path and duck around a corner into an alleyway lined with old brick buildings—a shortcut back to the main quad that few people know about. One more lecture stands between me and freedom, where I can relax in my apartment.
Alone.
“Gemma!” His voice is closer now, tinged with irritation. He doesn't use my name often. It sounds foreign coming from him.
I quicken my pace, slipping between two guys carrying a giant poster board. But no matter how quickly I move, Dylan is right on my heels, and my stride is no match for his long legs.
Dylan's eyes bore into my back as I dart around a group of students chatting in the courtyard, clumsily jostling past and throwing a hasty apology over my shoulder.
Of course, Dylan's right behind me, smoothly sidestepping obstacles, never breaking stride.
“Slow down,” he says as he falls into step beside me. “What's gotten into you today?”
I spin around to face Dylan, my chest heaving with exertion and unexpected quickening of my pulse. He's so close, invading my space in that bossy, protective way he does.
Heat rises in my cheeks as a jumble of emotions surge through me—anger at his high-handedness mixed with breathless attraction I can't seem to smother no matter how hard I try.
“What's gotten into me?” I shoot back, hands on my hips. “You! Following me everywhere like a shadow. Don't you ever take a break?”
Dylan's jaw tightens, a muscle feathering along his stubbled cheek. “I can't do that. Not with the threats against you.”
I throw my hands up in exasperation. “Yes, you've made that abundantly clear, believe me.”
