Page 12 of Shadow Warrior
“Is this what you call doing your duty?” His tone was frosty. “Not the time or the place.”
What the fuck? Okay, so we probably shouldn’t be kissing on duty, but that tone … The way he was staring at us … I made to get off Brady, but he held me tighter before standing and gently lowering me to my feet. He didn’t release me, but instead wrapped an arm around my waist.
“Maybe you should take your own advice,” Brady said.
Hyde tore his gaze from my face and fixed it on Brady. “Excuse me?”
My neck heated. Shit, he was referring to my moment in the tower with Hyde.
Brady took a heavy breath. “You know what I’m talking about.”
And from the look on Hyde’s face, he certainly did.
“Hyde, what are you—” Deana appeared on the tower with us. She was dressed in armor too big for her and looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Oh, hello.” She looked from me to Brady to Hyde and then smiled brightly. “Hyde is supposed to be taking it slow.”
She said the words as if they explained her presence here.
Hyde tore his gaze from Brady and smiled down at Deana. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
He was dismissing her.
Her smile fell. “Of course.” She ducked out of the tower.
Hyde took a step toward us. “What happened between me and Justice was a mistake.”
His words were a slap.
Brady’s chest rumbled in a growl that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention. “Mistake?” His lip curled. “You’re lucky she has feelings for you. You don’t deserve her. Touch her again, and I’ll forget you’re my superior and rip off your arms.”
He meant it. Every word.
The fact that Brady was sticking up for me like this was fucking sexy as hell, but Hyde was our tutor. He was our boss, and if he wanted, he could make sure we were put on opposite rotations indefinitely.
I made to step between them, but I needn’t have bothered. Hyde stepped back and ran a hand over his face.
“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t deserve her.” His gaze settled on me. “I came up here to tell you I’m sorry and to thank you for saving my life. That was all.”
He turned on his heel and strode out the door.
Brady relaxed and pulled me into a hug. “He needs to sort out his head, but he is right about one thing. We need to keep the intimacy to a minimum when on duty.” He released me. “I’ll get us some cocoa.”
Alone in the tower, it hit me. I’d been about to tell Brady I loved him. I’d been about to admit it out loud. Love wasn’t something that had ever been reciprocated in my life, and loving someone equated with being hurt. It meant handing over your heart and hoping they didn’t trample all over it.
It always got trampled on.
Classic example, Hyde, although in his case he refused to take my heart, but Brady … Brady was different. For the first time in forever, I knew with every ounce of my being that I’d found someone who would never break my heart.
And I was ready to give it to him.
I just needed to find the right moment to do it.
