Page 47 of Under His Guard

And like a damned frightened animal, I’m out of there so fast, I’m pretty sure I left Luke dazed and confused.

Chapter 16

Luke

Sticking resolutely to leaving Clara alone, I give her the rest of the night to relax.

But every time she’s that close, all I want is to taste her incredible lips.

Still…

I also want her to come to me—to enjoy the moment she finally lets go of all pretenses and lets us be what I know we should be.

Naked.

The remainder of the evening goes smoothly enough, and I hit the sack with enough of a buzz on that I think it’ll be okay.

A few hours later, however, I wake up drenched in sweat and ready to throw up.

The nightmare is just as potent as ever, and even now that I’m awake, I can’t get the images out of my brain.

“Fucking hell.”

I reach into my nightstand, where I keep a backup bottle, and take a few pulls.

The whiskey burns, and I heave a heavy sigh as I lie back down.

The ceiling stares back while I wait for unconsciousness, and the same churn of thoughts starts up.

I know this is wrong. I shouldn’t be using alcohol to sleep, but the medications I tried made the nightmares more vivid and…colorful.

No-fucking-thank you.

And I’m not about to “talk” to someone. I’ve tried therapy. Shrinks don’t understand.

They’ve just gone on and on about how it’s a normal response.

Yeah, no shit.

Doesn’t really help, and I know I need to sleep, so…

And that nonsense about just doing my duty. Yeah, the point is, it shouldn’t have been necessary.

“Okay, not helping.” I sigh, rolling over. “Think about something else.”

At that, my mind kicks up memories of watching Uncharted with Clara. And what do you know, I’m smiling again.

She’s just so damn funny when she’s not up in her head. Charm oozes out of her when she isn’t standing in her own way.

The frustration dies as I remember laughing with her, and eventually, I fall asleep again.

* * *

Once I’ve had my coffee and I feel a bit more like a human, I see Clara has left her lunch bag in the fridge.

I’m sure she’ll be able to get by without it. She has her wallet now, released by the police, who are taking their time with her excuse for an apartment.

Clara can just pay for something else, or…

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