Page 14 of Fake Fiancé, Real Wedding
I’d like to pluck those fairy wings off your body.
“Del?” Lachlan’s deep voice rumbles behind me. Worry cuts the single syllable.
Lifting my head, I scan the dark garden. The party is winding down. There’s just the string of fairy lights slung between poles and trees and the gazebo lighting the area. Some stragglers wander away, wings and heels dangling from their fingers. Someone has even silenced the music.
“Del?” he murmurs, stepping in front of me. “What’s wrong?”
I look up at him. Swallow. “I…”
An air of tension crackles around him. His jaw knots. “What’s spooked you?”
I drop my stare to my phone. To the text there. It’s from the fan who somehow got my phone number, and it’s on an entirely different level from their previous all-capsOMG I LOVE YOUR WORK.
Why didn’t I block their number? Why did I think ignoring them was the way to go?
Because you were worried about losing a follower. Idiot.
Lachlan takes my phone from my hand, his long fingers gentle. “Can I see?”
He skims the screen, and a low growl tears from him like a threatened predator. “This from the Instagram follower invading your privacy?” He’s closer to me now. When did he do that? I didn’t see him move.
I love that he has. I feel safer.
“I think so,” I answer. If I bury myself into his strength, will he hold me?
Do it.
His eyes find mine, their gray depths charged like an upcoming storm. “No way I’m leaving your side now. You know that, right?”
I lick my lips and let out a weak, wobbly chuckle. “So your room or mine?”
His nostrils flare. “Ourroom. Now.”
Chapter Ten
Lachlan
If anyone is following Del—and I can only assume they are, given the knowledge in their text—they don’t show themselves as we walk back to the suite the Staffords gave me.
Wise move. If anyone came near my girl?—
Gritting my teeth, I narrow my eyes at the sweeping shadows and smooth my hand over her back just below where the fairy wings are attached to her corset.
I flick her a look, finding her frowning at the night around us. She’s not cowering, nor does she seem scared. There’s ferocity to the way she’s holding her chin, a challenge almost. Approval wars with something far more primitive within me. She’s fierce, but I can feel the tension in her body, and the thumping of her heart vibrates through her body into my palm.
I draw her closer, until she’s tucked into my side, her fairy wings patting the back of my shoulders.
“So…” She lets out a hiccuppy laugh. “Big, scary commando man, do you hire yourself out for bodyguard work?”
“You’re my future wife,” I reply, forcing a light chuckle into my words. “No hiring required.”
What I want to say is she’s my girl and I will end anyone who tries to hurt her.
She laughs, the sound less strained this time, and a thin sliver of relief ribbons through me. “Ah, now that’s an unexpected perk of this unexpected engagement.”
“That’sthe perk?” I give her a sideways grin. The tension in her body is fading. Good, I never want her stressed or on edge again. “Not my impressive muscles and tight butt?”
“Tight butt?” She arches an eyebrow at me and twists a little as if to check out my arse. “Hmm, yeah, I can see that.”
