“If I remember correctly, I was the one who kissed you,” Sven said. When Geoffrey still didn’t look up at him, he put his hand under Geoffrey’s chin and gently tilted his head up. “So fucking worth it all.”
A hint of a smile finally tugged at the corner of Geoffrey’s mouth, but he fought it and shoved away from Sven. “It’s not worth it if you get fired, you idiot,” he murmured. He walked back over to the glass door and stared out, his phone clenched in his hand.
Sven stared at the phone, his own frown returning. “I don’t think he’ll fire me.”
Looking back over his shoulder, Geoffrey glared at him. “But?”
“He may take me off your case.”
“No!”
“If I can’t keep my mind on work, if I can’t protect you and keep you safe, then I have to be taken off.”
“You can keep me safe!”
“I don’t know!” Sven shouted back, his own fears getting the best of him. He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth and jerked back several steps. He never yelled. He never lost his temper. But the idea of not being able to keep Geoffrey safe absolutely terrified him.
“I’m so sorry,” he said when he could finally bring himself to speak. “I-I shouldn’t have…I never…” he stammered. He couldn’t pull his thoughts together.
“For what? Shouting?” Geoffrey said, then snorted. “I shout all the time. It’s not a big deal.”
“But I can’t. I scare people.”
Geoffrey stared up at him for a moment, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind—and maybe he finally had—and then busted out in loud, doubled-over laughter. “Are you kidding me?” Geoffrey gasped. “You don’t scare me.”
Sven slumped into the chair he’d just vacated and closed his eyes. His head was swimming from the nonstop ups and downs he’d experienced in the past several minutes. Gentle hands tenderly cupped his face, tilting it so that he was looked directly into deep blue eyes.
“You don’t scare me.” Geoffrey paused and brushed a soft kiss across his forehead. “You have never scared me.” He placed a kiss to the tip of his nose. He moved lower, his breath dancing across Sven’s lips. “And you will never scare me.”
The kiss was so sweet, so tender, Sven nearly whimpered when Geoffrey pulled away. That soft touch went straight to his heart, bulldozing every wall he’d erected to protect himself. He was so hard, so fast, he knew he didn’t have a shot in hell at catching himself before it was too damn late. Geoffrey’s every outrageous comment, his hidden sweetness, his vulnerability, his…his everything was wrecking Sven.
A sharp vibration from his back pocket caused him to flinch and Geoffrey smiled, releasing him. The house was quiet enough that he could probably hear the text notification. Sven didn’t want to look, but he had to. He didn’t even need to key in the password. The text flashed on the screen as he held up his phone.Rowe:
My house. One hour.Sven wasn’t surprised his boss already knew. He just wished he’d been able to tell him. Admit to his mistake. He had a hell of a lot of respect for his boss. He deserved to be told by his employee that he’d fucked up. Not to find out through social media.
“You won’t just disappear, will you? If he takes you off the case?”
Grabbing his hand, Sven pressed his battered knuckles to his lips. “No. I promise I’ll be back. Even if I’m not on your case, I’ll be back. No matter what happens. I’ll figure something out. I will come back.”###
Standing on the front porch of Rowe’s modest ranch house in Kentucky, he wiped his sweaty palms on the legs of his jeans. The air was so hot and humid. No breeze stirred the air and clouds hung low, threatening to dump rain on the city. But for now, everyone held their breath and waited for the relief from the heat.
Sven couldn’t remember ever being so nervous when faced with the man who founded and established Ward Security as the premier security in Cincinnati. It was ranked as one of the top ten security companies in the nation. He was proud to work for Ward. He was proud to be included in the Ward Security family.
And it did feel like a family of sorts. He might not talk much and he didn’t hang out with his co-workers often after hours, but he did feel a deep sense of camaraderie. If any of them contacted him in need of help, whether with a job or something personal, he’d always jump to their side. And he knew they felt the same way.
That’s why he was drowning in guilt. He let his friends down. It didn’t matter if Ward’s COO had been involved with a client, regardless of the fact that he was engaged to the man now. And it didn’t matter if Rowe was involved with one of the bodyguards.