For His Protection by Amber A Bardan Page B

your
leg.” She pressed a hand to his chest. “Oh fuck, I’m so sorry, I should have
known better.”
    Lines on his forehead deepened and he rubbed his shin. “It’s
fine—I’m all right.”
    “No it’s not fine. I never should have pushed you like
that.” Her fingers curled into his T-shirt and her eyes burned. “Goddammit, I’m
so demented. I knew I should have stayed away from you…”
    His eyes snapped open and he let go of his leg, sliding it
to the ground. “No, it’s not your fault. I’ve trained harder than that, believe
me.” He stared up at her, his velvety eyes dark with pain. “We all have
weaknesses. Sometimes mine still get the better of me.” His head dropped back
against the grass. “Now this is a sight I remember.”
    Her pulse paused for a beat. His gaze skimmed to her chest,
to the skin exposed above the neckline of her tank top, as though he could see
the havoc raging inside. He reached out, briefly brushing his fingertips where
the fabric ended on her bust. She twitched as though his touch were filled with
static electricity.
    “I’d happily suffer,” he whispered, gaze rotating back
toward her. “To hear one more promise.”
    Sensations rushed over her and drew her in. Drew her through
time, drew her toward the man staring at her.
    “Tell me you need me, Brooke,” he said.
    The words were there, hovering right on her lips, curling
her tongue. I need you, Ty. Ready to pour out. Ready to explode along
with other crazy confessions. She blinked. Confessions or lies. Lies
that form fantasy—something imagined not real.
    She sat back on her heels. “We better go ice that leg before
you end up hurting more than you already are.”
    Ty’s expression slammed closed as if she’d hit a button on
his remote control. She rose to her feet and held out her hand to him. He
ignored her and rolled to his side then stood and collected the dropped tire.
    “Leave it. I can pack everything away.”
    He placed his arm through the center and bent to grab a
smaller tire with his other arm, carting them to the equipment shed with only
the slight shift of weight to his right leg betraying any discomfort.
    * * * * *
    They arrived at Ty’s apartment in silence. If he was still
in pain, he did a brilliant job of hiding it. Or maybe he was too pissed off to
focus on something as insignificant as a physical ache. Brooke followed Ty
inside, quickly scanning the area for risk. With a private foyer and secure
entrances perched high above the ground on the top floor, his home offered both
security and entrapment. Hard to get in but fuck-all options for escape.
    “Where’s your freezer?” she said. “We should get ice on that
leg.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I can look after myself.” Ty walked
through the large living room decorated in shades of whites and grays. Long
windows spanned the rear wall and ran around the corner, revealing a view
almost overwhelming in scale.
    “Looking after you is my job,” she said, noticing the
kitchen peeking around a corner of the L-shaped, open-plan-living apartment.
“Will you allow me to do that much?”
    He stared at her then sighed. “If you must.” He led her to
the kitchen and took a long, pale-blue ice-pack from the freezer.
    He gestured to a hallway off the kitchen. “You can put your
things in the guestroom across from mine.”
    Brooke nodded but slid her bag to the ground and rummaged
inside for her first-aid kit and pulled out a bandage. “Leg first.”
    Ty took the ice-pack to the couch then propped his foot on a
padded ottoman. Brooke sat next to his foot and tugged off his shoe then rested
his foot on her lap.
    “How did you end up a bodyguard, Brooke?”
    She placed the ice-pack against his leg, holding it in
place. “I guess you could say it was my boss, Connor, who got me into the
business.”
    “Because you were friends?”
    The cold of the gel kicked up a notch, sending chills into
her bones. Their friendship wasn’t one you’d want to