Page 13 of Nemesis
A memory from that pivotal moment rose unbidden and I closed my eyes from the force of it, completely forgetting where we were.
Stolenglances and touches yielding under a burning passion. Lips mere inches apart after an argument. Fingers tracing lines of a body as if they’d spent hours memorizing it.
A strong hold at the nape of a neck, a forehead dropping to another before a whispered, “I need to kiss you,” was brushed against lips. And without waiting for an answer, they crashed together.
I joltedout of my daydream and the previously stuck air escaped in awhoosh, my chest compressing with the weight of shared memories.
Cold seeped into my skin as I noticed him studying me closely, the oxygen getting trapped on its way out. I almost averted my gaze, but I needed him to believe in the disguise I spent months,yearscrafting.
I had to act as if we were strangers, but this time while carrying the memories of him, of us. I had imagined seeing him again, imagined our reunion countless times.
But not now, not before all of this is over.
Panic swelled in my chest and it took everything in me to keep a neutral expression when everything inside me was strung tight, threatening to snap. I wanted to take a moment to recover from his presence, but none of that was a possibility. So I steadied myself, straightening my spine and standing a little taller than before.
He opened his mouth to continue, but whatever he was about to say was lost to the sound ofmy husbandloudly clearing his throat. That’s when I realized I had moved farther away from him, my hands now limp at my sides.
“Sofia?” Victor repeated, a hint of irritation in his tone.
As if in a trance, my soon-to-be bodyguard ignored his question, keeping his eyes fixed on me, the weight of his stare feathering a light touch against my skin.
Everything around us buzzed with a dangerous hum. As ifmy husbandfinally sensed the change in the air, I felt him move from the edge of his desk before he snaked an arm around my waist, fitting me back against him.
This might come across as a loving gesture, but Victor was an expert at that,loving and attentive illusions, when in reality his fingers were digging into my hip, reminding me of who I supposedly belonged to. But I didn’t care that his fingers were making the scar on my hip itch with the promise of revenge because my eyes were still glued to our guest.
Victor tried to interject once again after failing to break our connection the first time.
“Mr. Alvarez, this is mywife,Olivia,” my husband said, putting an emphasis on the word wife. Just another reminder to everyone in the room that I was his property.
But all I could think of was that he’d just confirmed once again that this was really Theo.
My Theo.
For a split second, something flickered in Theo’s gaze. It was fleeting,barely there, but I didn’t miss the stiffness in his shoulders and the clench of his jaw at the wordwife.It quickly disappeared, leaving a controlled tightness in its wake.
Once he slipped back into his rehearsed stature, he stepped closer with his hand extended.
Victor’s mouth flattened for the briefest second, then he schooled his expression into a politically correct one and plastered a wide smile in return. Victor shifted slightly as Theo approached us, placing his body in front of mine as if to block me from Theo’s view.
He then grasped his hand, giving it a firm shake.Men.
Unfazed by the subtle show of possessivenessmy husbandshowcased, Theo removed his hand from Victor’s and turned his attention back to me. He moved his hand in my direction, and I instinctively leaned in to take it, feeling a strong gravitational pull to him.
My breath hitched alongside my heartbeat when the warmth of his skin connected with mine. His familiar fresh and heady scent washed over me, sending an intoxicating thrill down my spine.
Our gazes locked and lingered for a moment longer than necessary. His body was slightly angled toward mine, his chest rising and falling in a rhythm that matched my own.
The clearing of a throat pierced through our daze, our connection slowly dissipating. I blinked twice, trying to force my attention back to the man I’d married.
I was reeling my emotions back in while Theo slightly loosened his hold on my hand.
“Olivia, this is Theodore Alvarez, your new bodyguard.” Victor’s voice boomed in his office, cutting through the tension roaring around us.
Beneath his calm tone lay a razored edge, sharp enough to cut. His grip tightened once more around my hip, sending sparks of pain reverberating down the length of my leg.
Right when our hands disconnected, Theo’s thumb lightly brushed against my bare wrist, a whispered touch I thought I’d imagined.
Until our eyes briefly met again and I watched his pupils dilate ever so slightly before he averted his gaze and settled it back onmy husband.
