Page 23 of Take Hold of Me

He swallows, causing his Adam’s apple to bob. The silver chain he wears glints in the moonlight.

As the silence lengthens, I keep reliving our kisses. So much passion. I rub my upper arms trying to figure out a way to reach him. “What about us?”

“Emilie.” He stops, grabs my shoulders and faces me. “There is no ‘us.’ There can never be any ‘us.’”

“But what happened at the club? Our kisses—”

His fingers flex on my bare skin. “Were a mistake. Won’t happen again.” He drops his hands as if the moonbeams scalded him. Turning on his bare heel, he retraces our footsteps.

I do not believe him. They were my lips his were pressed against. Our kisses were many things, but a mistake was not one of them. Everything in my body screams that he is wrong.

“Liar!”

He halts. His spine stiffens to ramrod straight, straighter than any male model on set trying to impress. From a few meters away, he turns to me and says, his tone even and low. “I am no good for you.” Then he repeats, “There is no ‘us.’”

I cross the sand and stop before him. How can I make him see he is so wrong? “But what happened? I was there. I know…” My hand reaches toward him.

Wills catches my wrist before it reaches my destination, returning it to my side. “Everything I touch goes bad, Emilie. You saw that yourself tonight.”

I shake my head. “No, you are wrong. Look at Cole—”

He cuts me off. “Remember Roberto. Remember Jared.” He mumbles something that I do not catch as his right-hand rubs over his heart, squeezing his shirt. Eyes downcast, he says, “You can’t become another casualty.”

“I know I am safe with you.” I need to prove to him that he is wrong. After filling my lungs with salty air, I push ahead. “Come with me to Rio. Be my bodyguard. I need someone who not only knows what he is doing, but who cares about me. Tell me you care about me, Wills.”

His entire body tenses and he turns to look out at the waves.

“You were concerned about the news report on the radio,” I remind him.

“Neil can protect you.”

“I don’t know Neil. I trust you.”

His knees bend, then straighten. Bend and straighten. His hand strokes the back of his neck, the silver chain catching on his fingers. He blows air through his mouth, his eyes searching the ocean as if it contains all the answers. Something moves behind his eyes. A sadness perhaps?

After a long moment, he replies, “Fine. I’ll go to Rio with you. But when we get back, I’ll vet my replacement for the Agency. I have my gym to attend to.” He looks away and mumbles, “My own life.”

My entire body surges as if electrified. My heart reaches out to him, but he is too closed off to let me comfort him. I have the time in Rio to reboot the spark between us. And to somehow show him that he is worth fighting for.

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