Page 102 of Guarded Knight

“You need a miracle.” I scramble for the first thing I can find, his hoodie from last night, and throw it over my head. The hem hits mid-thigh. My hair’s a mess. My thighs are still sticky. I look like every single walk of shame you can imagine.

Voices float closer. Little girl giggles. My brother’s voice laughing with Anton’s.

Gabriel’s eyes go wide. “I’ll hide.”

“Where?”

He looks toward the closet like he’s considering full military retreat but then darts behind the door instead.

“Really?” I whisper. “That’s your plan?”

“Go!” he hisses, wild-eyed. “Buy us thirty seconds.”

I crack the door open just enough to peek out, and yep. There’s my big brother at the bottom of the stairs with two tiny, cute humans attached to him like accessories. Poppy’s got a juice box, Daisy a one-eyed teddy bear that’s seen better days.

I try to take a deep breath but only cough again, and this time, I get a good clearing.

Xander grins when he spots me. “Hey! Thought I’d bring the girls by as a surprise.”

To cheer you up, he means.

Two angelic faces stare up at me and cheer in unison. “Surprise!”

“Awesome!” I say, way too chipper.

“Did we wake you?” There’s judgment in his voice, and he runs his gaze down my disheveled ensemble. “Damn, Lara,” he glances at his watch, “it’s like seven-thirty.”

My brother thinks six a.m. is late.

“Nope! I was working in my room.” My gaze catches on my laptop with a mermaid sticker over the Mac Apple, which I left on the coffee table in the living room.Crap.

Lies. Big, hoodie-covered, post-orgasm lies.

His eyes drop to what I’m wearing. “That sweatshirt looks familiar.”

I freeze. “What?”

“Is that Gabriel’s?”

I glance down. Damn it. It’s huge on me. Navy blue with a frayed cuff and that faded SEAL team logo. So not subtle.

“Oh, I dunno.” I tug the hem. “He sacrificed his room for me. I probably just grabbed the wrong one.”

Xander gives me a look. The kind only an older brother can give, the one that says: You’re full of shit.

“I’ll be right down,” I say quickly. “Just need to, um, put on pants. And underwear.”

Thank God Gabriel is a million times taller than me.

Xander lifts an all-knowing eyebrow, and his features fill with suspicion and maybe a warning.

Shit. I’m in trouble. Or Gabriel is. Or both of us are.

Xander knows. He’s way too smart, plus I am a shitty liar.

I go back in the room. Gabriel is still behind the door. I run to my overnight bag and grab a hair tie, throw my hair up in a messy bun, and wiggle into a pair of jeans. I fall over putting my socks on one by one.

I hiss, “How are you going to sneak into the frame? You can’t just come downstairs, too, or Xander will know you were in here.”