Free Witness to Passion (Entangled Ignite) (Guarding Her Body) by Naima Simone

by moving closer and not stopping until his chest nearly brushed her spine. Her scent drifted up to him, tantalized him as it had the night before when he’d cradled her on his lap.
    “What about my parents? Addy? If the Lords of War can’t get to me, will they go after the people I love?”
    “We already have security details guarding them. Your mother is out of the country, so she should be fine. But your father and Addy, we have them covered.” Closing his eyes, he bent his head, his lips hovering near her ear. “What did I promise you?” he asked, the control he wielded to refrain from touching her evident in the hoarse tone of his voice. “Tell me, Fallon.”
    “That I was safe with you,” she finally replied after a long hesitation. Which grated over his skin like sandpaper. There shouldn’t be any uncertainty. He’d give his life for her as quickly and easily as he would for Addisyn or his mother. Why didn’t she trust in that? Could be because you’ve avoided her like an industrial accident since the night she kissed you , his conscience snidely reminded him. Since arguing with himself smacked too much of bat-shit crazy, he conceded the point. But what was the alternative? Confess the truth? Fallon, you’re my Achilles’ heel. I want to fuck you senseless, until you feel me imprinted on you even when I’m not inside you. But that’s all I want—all I can allow myself.
    Not only did that sound like a pretentious douche, but it made him a grade-A dick.
    “Turn around,” he ordered, and waited as she obeyed. For once. She must be in shock. Her soft, troubled gaze met his, and he clenched his fingers until they ached in protest. But he welcomed the dull throb. It reminded him that smoothing the shadowed circles under her eyes was lunacy. Touching her in any capacity would be the height of stupidity. Especially with the image of her back arching, her ass high in the air as she took his cock wavering in his mind like a taunting red flag.
    “I know you’re frightened, and it seems like everything familiar has disappeared. That nothing will ever be the same again. You feel alone,” he murmured, and surrendered to the clawing need to caress her, even if it was a tawny strand of hair that fell over her shoulder. Her breath caught, whether at his words or his clasp of a curl, he couldn’t decipher. “I won’t leave you.”
    The doubt that had been in her voice flickered in her eyes. And a fierce longing to command her belief in him, surged hot and swift. He gritted his teeth against the power of it. Then a thought infiltrated the demanding need. How many people, including her parents, had promised the same thing? Even he had pushed her away. Could he blame her for possessing misgivings about his vow to remain by her side? Damnit, yes . When it came to her life? Goddamn right he could blame her.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, the apology a gentle affront to his ears, his pride.
    “What do you have to be sorry about?” he asked, softening the hard edge to the question. “Explain.”
    She shrugged a shoulder, her gaze shifting to some engrossing object over his shoulder. “That Addy dragged you into this mess. It’s bad enough my life has gone to hell in gasoline drawers, but I wouldn’t have asked you to join in on the ride. It’s—I’m—not your responsibility.”
    “That’s just it, Fallon,” he said. “Addy shouldn’t have had to drag me into anything, and you should have asked. I’ve willingly placed my life on the line in Afghanistan for U.S. citizens I don’t even know. I do it now for clients who pay for my services. For you…” For her, who he’d watched grow from a beautiful girl to a stunning woman. Who he’d protected along with his sister. Who he’d secretly hungered for… For her he would raze Boston to the ground to keep safe. “How could you believe I would do anything less for you?”
    A small, tight smile quirked a corner of her mouth. “Of course. Duty.” Before