Page 40 of I Don’t Need Your Protection (Harrington Bay Academy #1)

“Do you have to ruin everything?” I demand. “Come dance with me. Don’t leave a girl hanging.”

I yank him with me to an area in my room with a lot of space. I assumed he would resist, but he actually allows me to drag him to the dance area.

“This is a big mistake,” he says. “I don’t dance.”

“Sure you do. Everyone can dance. I think what you meant to say is that you don’t dance well.”

“Fine. I don’t dance well.”

“Who cares? It’s just the two of us in here.” I gently shake his hand. “Come on, just listen to the beat and move your body. You’re so good at being a ninja and you manage to do your homework in like five minutes. You want to tell me you can’t dance?”

“Yes,” he says in a serious tone.

I laugh. “Prove me wrong.”

For a second, I think he might back down from the challenge. He would have for sure done that a few weeks ago. But he gets a determined look on his face and slowly shakes his body. He takes it another step further and then another. And then he starts getting really into it.

“Yes!” I say as I grab his hands again and dance with him.

Before my eyes, I witness my bodyguard, who didn’t have the word “fun” in his vocabulary, let loose and have fun.

Maybe the most he’s had in a while? Maybe since he and I went bowling.

But he’s allowing himself to have more fun now than he had at bowling.

If I didn’t know him, I would say this guy is having the time of his life.

“See?” I say with another laugh as he tries to mimic some of my harder dance moves. “You’re much better at this than you thought.”

“I do excel at everything,” he points out.

“What an ego,” I joke as I playfully slap his shoulder.

“You like my ego.”

“I so do not.”

He winks. “Bet you do.”

My dancing comes to a halt as butterflies flap around in my stomach. Okay, that wink? Pretty sexy. I never thought I would ever see that on Caleb’s face, but oh my gosh.

“Getting tired?” he teases.

I shake my head and start dancing again. “In your dreams.”

“It’s cute how competitive you are.”

“Well, I am cute,” I say.

He looks deeply into my eyes and murmurs, “You definitely are.”

I once again stop dancing, my cheeks heating up. But I quickly pick it up again when I see just how happy Caleb is. I don’t think he himself realizes what an amazing time he’s having with me right now.

The music suddenly switches to a slow song. I frown at the speaker. “What’s that song doing there? I specifically chose only fast-beat songs. Well, unless you want to share a slow dance with me, I need to get rid of that song.”

I head toward my phone, but Caleb closes his hand around my wrist. I twist back to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

He hesitates for a second before saying in a low and uncertain voice, “Can we try the slow dance?”

I just stare at him. Did he just say…he wants to slow dance with me? A rush of heat engulfs every part of me, and my legs feel like they might buckle from underneath me.

He steps back, holding up his hands. “Never mind.”

“No!” I yell. Then I laugh nervously and push some hair away from my sweaty forehead. “I m-mean, we can slow dance. If I’m going to help you turn into a dance guru, you’ll need to learn to slow dance.”

He nods slowly, eyes still unsure .

“Right. So.” I clear my throat and step closer to him. “You put your hands on my waist.”

His eyes drop to my waist and then he takes a small step closer to me. He stretches his hands and tentatively places them on my waist, but he’s way too far.

“Um, I think you need to move closer than that,” I say, my voice quaking.

He nods and closes the distance between us. His hands settle on my waist, as light as a feather, and the area where he touches me burns.

“And I put my hands here.” I lock them around his neck and slowly raise my head to look up into his face. He stares down at me with a soft expression.

We sway to the beat of the slow song. I don’t know how many minutes pass, but it feels like an eternity.

I’ve never danced with a guy like this before, and it feels really good.

Especially with a guy who…means something to me.

Every part of me that he touches still burns, growing stronger by the second.

Getting lost in his eyes, I mutter, “I didn’t realize how tall you are.”

“I never realized how short you are,” he retorts with a small smile.

“ Please . I’m normal height.”

He leans forward to whisper in my ear, “Your height is perfect.”

I gaze up into his eyes, once again getting lost in them. “Your height is perfect, too. Actually, every part of you is perfect.”

He reaches to tuck some hair behind my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Every part of you is perfect, Addie Hayes. We might have been forced to spend time together, but it’s the best thing to have happened to me.”

I swallow as my eyes drop to his lips. “Do you really mean that?”

“Of course.” He brings his hand to my cheek and caresses it with the back of his fingers. “There’s no one like you, Addie. You’re special to me.”

More chills travel down my spine. “You’re special to me, too, Caleb. And it’s not because you saved my life. You were special to me before then.”

“How am I going to leave you?” he whispers, so low I barely hear him.

“Don’t,” I whisper back, my eyes once again dropping to his lips.

His lower to mine, too, and before I realize what’s going on, our faces move closer to each other.

“Caleb,” I whisper when his lips are only centimeters from mine.

“Addie,” he whispers back.

My eyes flutter shut as his lips make contact with mine. He’s very hesitant at first, partly because he’s never done this before, but also because he wants to savor every moment. Just like me.

But after a bit, he gently backs me to the wall and clutches onto me, his lips moving over mine more fervently.

I’ve never kissed anyone either, so I have no one to compare him to, but the way his lips move over mine feels like magic.

I’m transported to another world, where I’m not in danger and he wasn’t hired to protect me.

In this perfect world, I’m me and he’s him and the only thing that matters is what’s happening between us.

The wonderful feelings he’s evoking in me and what I hope I’m evoking in him.

I feel so many of his emotions in this kiss. He was always on his guard because he didn’t think he could get close to me, but maybe he’s finally realizing that he can. Maybe he can live a different life. Maybe he can be happy.

I hope I’m showing him that I will be here for him. I want to get closer to him and destroy whatever armor he encased around himself. He can be totally open and honest with me. I’ll never judge him. I’ll just happily welcome him into my heart. He and I could—

He suddenly steps back, breaking our kiss.

My eyes snap open and I find him staring at me with a shocked and confused expression.

He stumbles back. “This shouldn’t, we shouldn’t…

” He straightens his body and then marches to my phone.

He shuts the music and keeps his back to me, saying, “You should get started on your homework.”

“Caleb.” I take a step toward him, but he whirls around.

“Start your homework, Addie.” He lowers himself in his chair and folds his arms across his chest, wearing the same expression he wore on his first days here. As though whatever progress we made until now, whatever was built between us, has completely vanished .

“No, Caleb,” I say in the toughest voice I can muster. “I won’t let you pull away from me. Not when it’s so obvious you feel the same way as I do—”

“I wasn’t hired for this. I was hired to protect you.

Addie,” he says in a gentler tone. “Whatever happens in here doesn’t change what happens out there.

Your life is still in danger and I’m one of the only people responsible for protecting you.

If I don’t do my job properly, you could wind up dead. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts. Please start your homework.”

I want to protest, but from the expression on his face, it’s obvious he doesn’t want to discuss this further. So that’s it, then? He’s ignoring all that’s happened between us and going back to how we were when we first met?

How does that not hurt him?