Illicit Temptation (Astoria Royals #3)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Trace

W ho am I worried about? Me, for one. And what I want to do to this woman. What I’ve always wanted to do to her.

Rhys called me insane for holding on to a boyhood crush all those years. I’d not pined for her openly, just gotten drunk at a pub one night and spilled my guts. Twenty years and an ocean between us kept my obsession in check. Then I was in the same hotel with her and my walls crumbled.

Fuck, I’m her husband and crazy about her, but I’m not the right bodyguard for this job.

I will act irrationally if Crest, Scava, or anyone, tries to touch her.

I will sacrifice myself at the drop of the hat.

But will I survive being this close to her again if she figures out a way to divorce me before all the pieces of my game fall into place?

Now that I’ve been drawn into this emerald gaze of hers and see how she still wants me, too, I’d have to be dragged onto a plane in chains to stay away from her.

“Everyone’s a danger in some fashion,” I say and back out of the bathroom. “Keep breathing in the steam, I’ll make you some breakfast.”

Downstairs, I take my time going through Shea’s refrigerator pulling out eggs, cheese, and vegetables. Spotting a deep-dish cast iron skillet, even my mouth waters for a fried egg scramble. Cooking isn’t part of my job, but it feels complete in my bones to care for her like this.

A noise behind me spins me around, as I reach for a knife .

“It’s just me,” Shea says, her hands raised.

Her hair back up in that messy bun, she stands there in a fluffy white robe.

Robe...

Is she naked underneath? Is everything I want just the loosening of a terrycloth belt away? Christ, I have to stop these thoughts to keep my head clear enough to protect her.

“What are you doing down here? Did you take a shower already?” I ask, torturing myself.

“I did.” She shifts from side to side. “I feel much better.”

“Good.” I turn away, ready to put my hands over a flame and burn my fingers to a crisp to keep them from tearing off that robe.

“That’s not part of your job, in fact, Lachlan might not approve—”

“I’m not afraid of Lachlan,” I say, even though I am a little.

And only because he’s got six brothers on his side, and I only have one. Five actually, one O’Rourke brother is currently at Dunbar Valley, the torture prison camp in Ireland on the border of Waterford.

“Are you working every day? Soren hardly took days off.” She sits at the raised counter. “Which is probably why his marriage was in trouble.”

“I’m all yours, princess. You’re already my wife, so there’s no one to compete for my time.” I crack and scramble a half dozen eggs.

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” she asks softly. “We don’t have a real marriage.”

I glare at her. “Dearest Wife, do you think I’d say the things I’ve said to you, or straddled you, letting you feel my hard cock between your thighs earlier if I had a girlfriend?”

The color drains from her face. “So... I didn’t imagine that?”

“How hard you make me? No.” I fire up the gas burner and cook the eggs and veggies until they’re fluffy.

She hops off a stool and waves her hands. “Okay, what is this?”

“These are eggs.” I add a layer of cheese to melt nicely all together.

“I mean, you flirting with me like this. It’s unprofessional.” She’d have a point if I was only her bodyguard.

“You’re my wife, we’re not strangers, Shea-Lynne.” I plate the eggs, putting one dish in front of her, and then take care of myself.

A smile quirks her lips. “Exactly. And no offense, a stranger would make a better bodyguard. Why don’t we talk to Lachlan together...”

My withering stare stops her from speaking. “A stranger won’t care about you the way I do. A stranger won’t take it fucking personally if someone tries to hurt you. A stranger will, for a split second, consider his own safety over yours, it’s human nature.”

And I need to stay here if I’m going to impregnate her so she can’t divorce me.

“And you’re not human?” She challenges me, ignoring the food.

I pick up a fork and stab the eggs. Holding it in front of her, I demand, “Eat a bite, before it gets cold.”

Her eyes sparkle and when she reaches for the fork, I pull it back. “Let me feed you.”

After an exhale, her lips part and I swear I see my cock sliding past those rosy lips.

With the food in her mouth, I grip her throat gently. “Chew, taste all the flavors, feel the warmth in your mouth.”

Her eyes flash to mine, getting my dirty metaphor. Putting her hand over mine, she says with a mouthful, “It’s good.”

“Now consider this question carefully. Who would you trust in a dire situation where your life was on the line? One of your properly trained, properly behaved bodyguards, or your brother Lachlan?”

She stops chewing for a second and then swallows. “That’s an unfair question. Lachlan loves me and—”

“My point exactly.”

“Wait. No, you don’t...”

Fuck, I went too far. “Let’s hope neither of us finds out what I’m willing to do to protect you, yeah? Can you behave and follow my rules?”

“What are the rules?” She keeps eating the eggs. “I’m curious. Not that I’ll follow them.”

I laugh. “If you don’t follow them, you’ll be punished.”

“Punished how?”

Adrenaline surging through me, I lean in and ask, “How is your breathing?”

“Fine,” she answers cautiously. “Why?”

“You just challenged me.” I unzip my nylon jacket and toss it on a chair, my body heating. “Now you need to be taught a lesson.”

“A lesson in what?” She folds her arms.

“What happens when you scare the living shit out of me.”