Page 31 of The Bodyguard

Such deep rage vibrated inside Sawyer that he was surprised that the water didn’t shake around him like he was the epicenter of an earthquake. He struggled to find the right words. If he let loose what he wanted to say, he would scare Angela out of the pool and into hiding. Finally, he managed a stilted, spitting, “There isnothingwrong with you.”

Her eyes stayed on the water. “After Titan rescued me, after the FBI debriefed me, after Jared offered me a job, a place to recover, and I moved to Abu Dhabi…” She shrugged. “It just never happened. And…” She lowered her voice. “I never thought about it.”

Angela had been through hell. For years. So what if she didn’t want to jump in Paul Bane’s bed? But Sawyer couldn’t imagine being in Paul’s position and not doing everything in his power to help his woman recover. Sawyer couldn’t fathom, after finding and rescuing the woman he loved, that he wouldn’t have held her tight until the nightmares subsided and thanked God he had her home again.

His throat ached because worse than that, Sawyer couldn’t imagine everything Angela needed and didn’t receive. If he had any idea that Paul hadn’t stepped up to the plate and cared for Angela in that way, Sawyer might have ruined their friendship and interfered.

“I can’t handle your pity,” she whispered.

He let out another deep breath. “Shit, Angela. I’m not pitying you. I’m a lot of things, but that’s not close to one of them.” He reached for her arm and gently pulled her closer. His fingers slipped over her skin protectively, promising that she had nothing to fear from him. “You could’ve talked to me.”

“I never thought much about it,” she admitted.

“Ibrahim?” he asked, knowing he was prying more than he should.

Finally, she turned and faced him again. A blush pinked her damp cheeks. “No.” She lifted a noncommittal shoulder. “I’ve had more important things to figure out.”

Sawyer stymied the urge to bring her to his chest and wrap her in the strength that she should have been surrounded by over the years.

“The thing is,” she said. “I never…”

Tension drew tight in his chest. Waiting her out was killing him slowly.

“I never wanted him,” she whispered. “It felt like we were so young, like we were so inexperienced. He never got my blood racing. I never had butterflies. I think I liked the stability and normality that he offered.” Angela studied the water as though she could find the answer floating between her stomach and Sawyer’s. “That’s what I wanted from my connection with Paul. Stability. And that’s what I had before I was abducted. Since then?” She frowned. “I’ve been busy working on me—but I have never been… frigid.” She bit her lip. “I don’t think.”

“Paul should’ve offered you anything, everything. He should’ve known what you needed and worked to find the rest.” Sawyer’s heart thudded heavier when her eyes met his. He should’ve known, should’ve asked. But he hadn’t. “Angela.” He needed to tiptoe through this minefield. His thoughts weren’t clear except that he had a responsibility to her as her part-time bodyguard and friend. “The breakup is done. You can move on and decide whatever you want your future to look like.”

“You look angry,” she whispered.

Damn, he hated Paul. “I am.”

“Don’t be. That’s not why I told you.”

“I am anyway. He didn’t stand up and be the man you needed. Fuck him for that, and fuck him for taking a cheap shotwhen you left him. Fuck. Him. You dumped him, and he lashed out like a child.”

“Wow.” Angela laughed quietly. “It never ceases to amaze me how different the two of you are.”

Sawyer bit his tongue. There was no comparison. “You are an amazing woman. Do you understand that?”

Angela rolled her eyes. “All right, all right. Don’t lay it on too thick.”

“I’m telling you the God’s honest truth. Do you know you’re amazing?”

She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “If I say yes, can we change the subject?”

He pulled her close. “Do you believe me, Ange?”

She rested her cheek against his chest, and, finally, she tilted her head up and met his gaze. Goose bumps prickled down his arms. His breath became shallow.

“I’m too tired to believe anything right now.”

His molars ground. Sawyer couldn’t stand in a pool and convince her of all she deserved. “Come on.” He scooped her into a cradle hold. “We need to get out of the pool.”

She laid her head against his chest. Her hair fanned over his shoulder as he walked them toward shallower water. He summited the stairs and stopped next to the pool chaise with her belongings. Sawyer snagged her towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. “You deserve far more than most men could give on their best day. One day, the right guy will come along, and you’ll know that.”

CHAPTER TEN

Angela still shivered, though she hadn’t been cold in hours. Sawyer had left her to sit in the sauna. After she was sure he’d left the pool area, Angela relocated to her suite, where she soaked in her tub. The entire time, she’d been thinking—and shivering. Emotionally, she was tapped out. Physically, her goose bumps were like a low-humming adrenaline jitter that she couldn’t shake. But she wasn’t sure if her inner trembling came from the drama with Paul and her mother or from baring her secrets to Sawyer.

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