Page 27 of Broken Bodyguard

I wasso gladthere were a thousand miles between Seven and I right now, because I would have punched the fuck out of his shoulder for his annoyingly correct observation.

TROJAN: Not sure what I said that suggested that, but okay.

SEVEN: You have never once used the phrase ‘peachy keen’ in your life. You’re either boning the ward or you’ve been abducted and this is your cry for help.

That fucker. He knew me too well. But I wouldn’t let him win so easily.

TROJAN: Abducted. Send help.

Seven called me seconds later. I answered with a laugh. “I’m glad you’re so quick to react when you think I’ve been abducted.”

“So you haven’t been abducted, which means youareboning the ward.”

My gaze slid to the hallway. I could hear the muffled undertones of the shower running in the bathroom. “Can neither confirm nor deny.”

“You know,” Seven started, sounding fucking smug, “a wise man once told me to never get with a client—"

“Maddie’s not a client,” I reminded him.

“Why don’t you justgo find someone else and get it out of your system?” Seven’s smug smile could be tasted as he said my own words back to me. And I hated it. “That same wise man told me that.”

“This wise man sounds like a very handsome, smart, and capable person who was speaking to you from a very specific point in his life.”

Seven’s laughter boomed through the phone. “You are so busted.”

“And you are annoying. I need to go.”

“Everything good over there?”

“Yeah. About to be a lot better once you let me get back to what I was doing.” As I hung up, I heard Seven’s laughter booming through the phone. My cheeks hurt from how hard I grinned. I loved that dude. He was the closest thing I had to a brother. We’d been thick as thieves since day one at boot camp, and I was happy to report that our friendship was even stronger over fifteen years later.

Ever since he’d gotten serious with Jordan—the one I’d told him to stay away from because not only was she his client, she was the little sister of his employer at the time—he’d been putting the pressure on me to settle down too.

Well I had no intentions of settling down. At least not like he had.

But part of me wondered if there wasn’t some happy medium to be found.

I checked emails while Maddie and Grace moved from the bathroom to the bedroom. I heard some muffled giggles, followed by a long stretch of silence. Just when I thought maybe Maddie had fallen asleep in there, the bedroom door creaked open.

Maddie slipped out, hurrying toward me. I straightened from where I’d been leaning against the kitchen counter as she launched herself at me. I barely had time to catch her, laughter cascading out of me as she clung to me like a little panda.

“You really missed me, huh?”

I hoisted her in my arms until her thighs settled on either side of me. She was at eye level now, and grinning at me with mischief written across her face.

“I was hoping we could pick up where we left off this morning.” Her arms slid around my neck, wrists locking behind my head. I squeezed the thickness of her upper thighs, a low rumble of appreciation escaping me. She could stay here forever as far as I was concerned. Nothing felt better than the weight of her in my arms.

In lieu of more words, I leaned forward and finished the kiss I’d been thinking about since eight a.m. Our lips met hungrily, and she kissed me like she’d been thinking about the same thing nonstop too. I pressed my tongue past her lips, consuming the taste of her, getting drunk on this passion pulsing between us. A soft whimper escaped her as she tightened her thighs around me, erasing every last inch of space between us.

I kissed her like I’d been wandering a maze for years and she was the exit. Something deep inside me sighed with relief. Something I wasn’t quite ready to explore, much less understand.

Our kisses grew more desperate. Maddie rocked her hips against me, which sent my pulse pounding. I’d been fully hard since the second she stepped out of the bedroom and I only wanted more of this woman.

“Oh my God.” Maddie rested her forehead against mine, drawing deep breaths of air. “These kisses are making me dizzy.”

I nuzzled the side of her neck, needing more of her sweet scent. “Me too. You’re a really good kisser.”

She bit at her bottom lip, her eyes drifting shut. “So are you.”

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