Page 119 of Guarded Knight

I drop the empty fabric and he throws me down on the bed, caging my body under his.

“I was a fool to underestimate you,” he says melodramatically, like some defeated comic book villain.

And then, he kisses me. It’s soft and loving and magical with white fluff all around us, as if we’re a cloud in the sky, in a dream… far away from the reality awaiting us.

I lace my fingers through his hair and hold him to me, grinding myself upward, wanting to merge into one, wanting more than a kiss.

I love this man.

I’ve always loved him.

When we finally come up for air, we both smile not only with our mouths but with our eyes. I’ll give anything to come back to this joy. I’ll be the hunter, the pawn, the bait… anything.

I just want to get to the part where we make this real.

Gabriel rubs his nose against mine. “With moves like that, you’ll be just fine today.” His smile is easy, but his eyes aren’t—they’re sharp, scanning me like I’m a mission he can’t afford to fail.

I whisper. “Sorry about your pillow.”

He kisses me. “I’m not.”

Gabriel’s still smiling as he brushes a stray feather out of my hair. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I liked you better before you stabbed a pillow to death.”

I grin. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I liked you better before you let me win.”

He scoffs, shifting to lie beside me. “You think I let you win?”

I roll onto my back, gaze tracing the ceiling. “I think you didn’t want to hurt your ego chasing someone in bunny-print pajama shorts.”

His laugh rumbles low and lovely. “Fair.”

For a long, quiet moment, neither of us moves. The air is still charged with joy, but a different kind of weight is settling between us now.

Gabriel’s hand finds mine. “How are you feeling about today?”

I flap my lips with uncertainty. I’m determined, but confident would be an overstatement. “I’m good with uncertainty, but something about this is next level.”

“I think you and I together?” His thumb brushes over my knuckles. “We’re a hell of a lot more dangerous than we look.”

The quiet confidence in his voice lights something steady in my chest.

We’ll expose Kevin eventually. We’ll do it carefully. Legally. Strategically.

But when I stare into Gabriel’s gorgeous brown eyes, fear prickles under my skin. Is it because of what waits at the gala today… or because of what waits for us after?

31

We all drive togetherto the venue in Anton’s truck, but we unload separately in the huge parking lot, pretending not to walk into the venue together. From the minute we arrive to the start of the gala, I can’t shake the paranoia that Kevin will realize we’re all together.

Maybe he researched Anton and Gabriel and will recognize them.

By the time we enter the ballroom, people in lanyards and polos with Scarlet Hope logos crisscross the lobby, laying programs on tables and adjusting signs. Hotel staff wrap chiffon bows around the chairs and make things look special.

Everything is polished and bright, upbeat music playing over the speakers. But beneath it all, tension sizzles like a static current.

Gabriel keeps a step behind me, playing the doting hotel event manager, occasionally asking me questions and jotting things down on a clipboard. His gaze scans me and the room constantly. Anton hangs near the back entrance. They look like they belong here—calm, professional, competent. The illusion of normalcy.

But they’re hooked up together to communicate through earpieces like Secret Service agents.