Page 25 of Guarded Knight

Lara walks past me on her way to the hall. Her shoulder brushes mine, just enough to detonate something low in my chest. The static’s back. That magnetic pull.

She practically takes my skin along with her to the bedroom.

Freya tugs the blanket tighter around the couch cushions, then steps back and gestures dramatically. “Your throne, Sir Protector.” She yawns. “Bathroom’s down the hall. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.”

The apartment settles into stillness after she disappears. I sink onto the edge of the couch, gaze locked on the door.

No sound but the soft tick of the clock. No movement but the wind pushing at the window.

It would be the perfect place to dream.

But I’m not here to sleep. I’m here to keep her safe. That’s the job.

And I can’t forget it—not for her lips, not for the past, not for anything.

7

Gabriel wasn’tin the apartment when I woke. No scuffed boots by the door. No coffee mug in the sink, not that he’s the type to leave one. All that’s left is a perfectly folded throw blanket on the couch, like he hadn’t slept a wink, which he probably hadn’t.

The sight of him gone should have relieved me, instead, it summoned the impossible conundrum that is Gabriel and Lara.How can someone so loyal and considerate, who shows me so much love not love me… like that?

It never felt right to ask why he ditched Starlight Canyon, protest or do anything but be understanding. When Gabriel came back and we talked, a slew of life’s worst nightmares were rearing. His mom died. Luis was depressed. And amidst all that, something overseas broke him.

Yeah, I wanted something with him, but was it really right to press when he was dealing with all that?

Anyway, I went off to Golden Sierra college and wasn’t home either at that time, so I gave him space and I took mine.

But while I stayed in state and still went home every third weekend to see family, and hopefully him, Gabriel started only showing up in town for what seemed to be posterity. A tick-box exercise for big events. He never came “just because.”

I tried to understand he was broken, but don’t broken people rely on the ones they love? Wouldn’t he have wanted my support? To stay connected?

One year turned into the next, and the pain of him not being in my life was so thick it required walls to contain it, not allow it to spill over on family gatherings and raise the suspicions of my parents or Xander. Why should I be hurt that Gabriel is off living his life?

Unless I’m madly in love with him…

I already had Joy Hunter to deal with.

I resist putting any attention on the riddle and move about my morning, completely distracted by the thought that he might knock on our front door at any minute.

I almost convince myself he’s gone for good until Freya and I step onto the sidewalk and I spot the black truck parked at the end of Grenvista Trail on Main Street.

Freya waves at him like they’re old friends. “Guess your knight in shining armor is still on duty.” She speaks without moving her lips too much, as if Gabriel can lip-read.

He probably can.

“I am down with the sexy protector energy. For you, of course,” she adds.

She thinks she’s being disrespectful toward Kevin, but every time she thinks someone else is cute, I celebrate it.

Maybe not Gabriel, though. Not that I have any reason to be jealous. And not that I’d worry about Freya even if she didn’t have a boyfriend, she’s already girl coded that G is off-limits, even though I’ve never given her a reason and don’t have one.

We’re not together, and I’m leaving Echo Valley right after this Cameron thing is sorted, so zero attempt to make a move is in the cards.

Why am I even thinking like this?

G’s in the driver’s seat, arms crossed over his chest, sunglasses on despite the overcast sky, and without his eyes, it only draws more attention to his cracking jawline. He focuses on us like we’re a two-woman presidential motorcade.

He rolls down the window as I approach, and my body flickers with heat when he looks over his sunglasses with those sexy hooded eyes of his.