Page 13 of I Don't Need Your Protection

His jaw clenches.

“Permission to take a shower now, boss?” I ask. “And can you please let go of me?”

He stares into my eyes with that irritation before dropping his hand from my waist and backing away. I face the door and am about to open it, but he says, “Return here after your shower. If you’re not back in twenty minutes, I’ll consider your life in danger.”

I whirl around to face him. “Now you’re timing me?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Twenty minutes.”

“Or what? You’ll go into the girls’ bathroom and drag me out?”

The look on his face tells me that’s exactly what he’ll do. And the crazy part? He’d totally get away with it.

“Fine,” I mutter and leave the room.

The bathroom is not far. Caleb can be here within seconds if I’m in trouble.

I make sure to finish well before twenty minutes and return to my prison. Caleb sits on his chair, staring at the space before him. I have no idea how he can just sit there and not be bored.

“Satisfied?” I ask him.

“Yes.”

After I shut the lights, I pull back the covers on my bed and climb in. I close my eyes, but the second I hear movement from him, they pop open. Caleb sits on the second bed. The covers are pulled back. He’s going to sleep there? I don’t know why I assumed he’d stay in the chair all night.

He must feel me watching him because he looks at me. Then he reaches for the hem of his shirt, pulls it over his head, and tosses it on the nearby table.

I swallow as I stare at his broad chest. The room is a little dark, so I can’t see well, but it’s enough for me to know that’s a very sexy chest. Heavily muscled, a six-pack, the kind of chest women dream about. The kind of chest a girl can snuggle on when she’s scared or feels unsafe.

“Good night, Addilyn,” Caleb says.

I blink to snap out of it. “Good night.”

He just sits there, watching me. It’s as if he’s waiting for me to fall asleep first. Like he’s worried I’ll get hurt if he loses focus on me.

Those intense eyes are the last thing I see before I drift off to sleep.

Chapter Five

Caleb

I don’t need a lot of sleep. Most of the time when I’m protecting someone, sleep is the last thing on my mind. But now that I’m protecting a Bradshaw—the only remaining Bradshaw heir— I need to be as alert as possible. Which is why I’m still awake even after Addilyn and I turned in for the night three hours ago.

Rolling to the right, I check on my new charge. Since it’s dark, I can’t see her well, but I can make out her features. She’s turned toward me, eyes shut, lips pressed together. Her eyebrows are furrowed, as though she has something weighing heavily on her mind. I know every detail about her life. About her parents’ deaths, the group home she was living in, all of it. I know she had a wonderful life before it was torn away from her.

Shutting my eyes, I grit my teeth. She’s not the only one toknow pain. I myself experienced my own pain two years ago, after my mom died. But Iwon’tthink about that now. My focus needs to be on Addilyn and Addilyn alone. Not only because I took an oath when I accepted this job, but because I don’t want any harm to befall her.

There’s something about this girl. I’ve protected several girls over the years, but there’s just something about her. Maybe because she’s stubborn, defiant, and makes my job ten times harder than it already is.

I think back to how tough I was with her, especially about the shower. She doesn’t understand that I don’t mean to be so hard on her. I’m just trying to protect her. I’ve had enough experience in the field to know that all it takes is one small move or mistake and a precious life could be taken just like that.

My phone beeps with a text from Dad, the boss. He wants me to give him an update as soon as I can. Considering I’m wide awake and Addilyn is asleep, I figure now’s the perfect opportunity.

After checking on her once more to make sure she’s okay, I slide out from under my covers and slip into the closet. I could lock myself in the bathroom, but she might wake up and need it.

The closet is very large and there are numerous clothes hanging everywhere. Because of the size, I have lots of room in here. I press a button to call Dad.

“Caleb, how is everything going?” he asks. “How’s the girl?”