Page 72 of Guarded Knight

I turn, pulse hammering. Gabriel stands by the door. The tension rolling off him is palpable, like a match burning too close to gasoline.

I slip the prescription in my tote, along with the receipt, hoping he didn’t see.

But wishing for Gabriel to miss a beat is futile. He’s seen everything.

And he’s not going to let it slide.

19

I haveno right to be but I’m fuming.

That fucking presumptuous asshole from the bar. Flirting with my girl?

She’s not my girl.

Still, I told him he wasn’t good enough for her, and he didn’t heed the warning. Then, Lara told me where my place was. She can do what she wants. She can. She can flirt, make jokes… and share any piece of herself she pleases even if my chest says they all belong to me.

But then why do I feel like throwing my fist through a brick wall?

Better yet, his face.

I asked Santi about the guy. He was at the Cantina that night and saw the whole run-in. Said he’s new in town. Doesn’t know anything about him. Too soon for the rumor mill to get grinding.

The pharmacy door bangs shut behind us. I stalk out into the early evening, every step too fast and too hard. Lara’s trying to keep up, her breaths ragged, her little legs a blur behind me, but I can’t slow down. Not now. Not when the thought of her with that jackass bar-crawler-cum-pharmacist is tearing at my chest like barbed wire.

“G…” My name is a plea to wait up.

I slow down. I’d do anything for this woman, but there are some things I can never give her and will always want to.

Why? My mind pleads with God.Why do you keep putting her in my arms only for me not to be good enough to hold her?

“G. Slow down…”

She knows I’m pissed. I’m not hiding it. I turn, intending to keep my cool, but instead, all that comes out of my mouth is a bite.

“Give me your bag.”

I have no patience left. Least of all with myself for not offering to carry it before we left. I’m losing my manners. Mom would’ve had my head if she were still alive.

“I can carry it,” she protests, breathless.

“Lara.” I grind out her name, jaw tight.

She hesitates, then shoves it into my chest. I take it, my fingers flexing around the straps like they’d rather be on her hips, pulling her in, keeping her. Keeping her safe.Making her mine.

She tries to keep pace, but my steps eat the sidewalk in angry strides.

“G. Seriously. What is this?” Her voice cracks around the edges.

I whirl so fast she nearly crashes into me. My chest heaves with every breath, my lungs burning. She’s too close. Close enough I can see the worry in her eyes, close enough I can’t hide from her. None of it. None of the possession I feel. None of the crave…

I want to turn back around, not let her see me like this. It’s unfair. I’m the one who asked to be friends, right? So I need to fucking act like one.

She deserves better than the silent treatment, even if I’d rather bury this fury than let her see the way it tears me apart.

“Gabriel?” She raises her eyebrows.

“It’shim, all right?” I say, harder than I want to. “It’s the way he looked at you, like you were some…toyhe could play with.” My throat is raw. I clench my fists, trying to hold on to the last thread of control.