Absolution (Honor Guard 1)

He glanced behind himself and then shut the door before leaning against it. “Oh, I need a shower, too, and I decided to check for any missed clothes of mine. But, it’s empty.” He pointed over his shoulder. As if the place he spoke of were in question.

She sighed. “I threw them out the window. Remember?”

“Not really. All of them?”

His eyes grew comically wide, and she couldn’t help but grin. She had known he would be upset at the thought of his clothes gone forever. It was why she’d done it. She hadn’t been fond of him at the time. And still wasn’t.

She cringed at the mental oversight that had slipped through. She already thought of her anger in past tense. It wasn’t a promising sign. Each second spent in his company chipped free a mental brick from the wall she’d erected out of tears. “What else should I have done?” Her voice rang a bit sharp, but she did not bother to soften her tone. “Keep them as a shrine to you or pass them on to my next lover?”

“What lover? Who is he?” He frowned at her and flexed his jaw.

She smiled and leaned against the wall. “What’s it matter? I’m not your concern anymore.”

“Bullshit you aren’t. How many have there been? One? Two?”

“None of your business!” She shook her head at his audacity. “What about you? I’m sure you’ve been far from celibate yourself.”

“It’s different. I don’t want to kill people who have touched me. You, however, I find myself very protective of.”

“Pft. That’s a double standard if I’ve ever heard one.”

He sighed and rubbed his eyebrow. “Fine. You want to know my number? Zero.”

She burst into laughter. “Yeah. Real funny. And I’m Mother Teresa.” He didn’t grin in response, and she sobered. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, you’re the guy who wanted sex at least twice a day. Sometimes more. This is you.”

“Yeah. It was me. With you.”

He refused to meet her questioning stare, and she sensed he’d been embarrassed by his spur-of-the-moment confession. She, damn it, was heart-warmed. And flattered. And optimistic. All of which were bad in a the-world-is-ending-and-you’re-going-to-die kind of way.

“And the stripper. Let’s not forget her,” she said in a rush. She wondered if she was reminding him, or herself.

“How could I? She split us up. And I’ve never been more pissed off about anything in my entire life.”

His gaze crashed with hers, and she tried to look away, but something in his voice called to her, spoke to her of his vulnerability. Of his love. And, damn it, she believed him.

“You’ll never know how angry I get when I think about that night,” he said. “I’m sorry you got hurt. I am. But you have no f**king clue what is really going on.”

Excuse me? She had every single clue nailed down to perfection, thank you very much. Asshole.

“I know you feel b—”

Joseph tackled her to the floor, knocking the air from her lungs, just as a gunshot rang out. She hit the wood hard with Joseph’s weight pressing into her. Another bullet whizzed overhead, and she screamed.

Joseph rolled off, sitting up and drawing his gun in one smooth motion. Aiming, he fired and jumped up to chase after the man who’d stood in the bedroom doorway moments before. Eva lunged to her feet and followed but found Joseph, swearing and kicking the doorjamb. How in the world had they both missed the intrusion? Had they been so caught up in each other they’d missed the sound of the lock being jimmied? She had no idea how much noise picking a lock would make—but shouldn’t they have heard something?

It seemed unfathomable.

Joseph gave Eva a once-over, and he replaced his gun in its holster. Then he rushed to her and gathered her into his arms. For the first time since he’d returned, she didn’t fight him or object. She couldn’t believe what just occurred. Someone had fired a shot at her. She had to be the dullest person around. Teacher by day, single woman by night. Her most exciting evenings consisted of a girl’s night out—where she got home by ten. Why would anyone want her dead?

Oh, right, because of Dad. Shit.

She rested her cheek against Joseph’s speeding heart. Thank God he was okay. “Don’t ever put yourself in front of a bullet meant for me again. Are you insane? You could have been hurt.”

His chest shook with laughter. “Of course I could have been hurt. It’s kind of the point of protecting you. Speaking of which….” He pulled his phone from his pocket and punched in numbers faster than she could watch.

“Who are you calling?” she asked and then frowned, realizing who it must be. “Don’t call my dad. He’ll only worry, and it’s bad for his heart.”

Ignoring her, Joseph released her to pace a distance away, presumably seeking privacy. “Sir?”

Oh, hell no. She followed him so close that when he stopped, she bumped into him. He shot her an aggravated look, and she arched a brow, putting a hand on her hip. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Sir, we’ve been attacked. Someone broke into her apartment and took a couple of shots at us. I’m removing my charge to a remote location. I’d like two additional men to accompany us for eyes outside.” A slight pause. “Yes, sir. Right away.” He hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m an assignment? I thought you were here to help, not because you had to be.” She walked away from him, more upset by this revelation than she cared to admit.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. She almost reached her bedroom, but he grabbed her elbow, maneuvering her so her back hit the wall, and placed his hands on either side of her head. He crushed his lips to hers and rubbed his torso against her erect ni**les. With a moan, she curled her arms around his waist and trailed her fingers to his ass. She’d always loved his ass.

His erection nudged her belly, and she wrapped her leg around his thigh. His hands parted her robe to caress her br**sts. Cupping them, he toyed with her ni**les, rolling them between his fingers.

The phone rang, causing her to jerk from his arms. She stumbled until her back hit the opposite wall, and she leaned against it for support. With her heart pounding in her ears, she fought to catch her breath. Joseph never took his gaze off her while she adjusted her robe to cover her bare chest.

“This isn’t over,” he warned.

“Yes, it is.” She took a shaky breath and shook her head. “A momentary weakness. It won’t happen again.” Even as she spoke, she knew she’d lied. God, she wanted him. Here. Now. Wherever. What a traitorous bitch her body had turned out to be.