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Protection - Part 2

Roman woke up in a panic, the dream leaving him as he gasped for air. It was like breaching the surface of dark waters after swimming upwards in a frenzy for too long. He sat up quickly, a cold sweat glistening over his chest and arms, as his eyes blinked through the darkness.

There was no shooting outside, or sounds of screams in the distance. He was in bed, safe, and everything was silent but for the busy sound of rain on the widow glass. It rarely rained down here, and when it did, it was short and violent. That might have been what had woken him up, and he was thankful for it. His dreams were a sore sight, and there were ever so present. In the past he had been fond of sleeping, always staying in late and welcoming the comfort of his bed every night. Now he dreaded it.

After collecting himself, Roman slipped into a pair of sweats and a black t-shirt, securing his handgun at his waist on his back, and headed towards the main house. He didn't have to take watch until the early morning, but the thought of forcing himself back to sleep had his stomach in a knot. Instead he went around the house, stopping by the surveillance room to check the cameras around the property. There were only a few in important spots: main door, back door, garage door, Mr. Regal's office, and the hallway leading to Emma's room. Roman's eyes lingered on it only for a second, his mind wondering if she was sleeping better than he was.

Since their outing the week before, Roman had accompanied Emma everywhere she went. He enjoyed her presence almost as much as she did his. She was quiet, calm, but when she spoke her eyes would light up with such passion for her stories, her goals, her plans for the future, that he didn't know which part of her he liked best. Her soothing, easygoing presence, or her loud, excited ramblings about a better life.

The more time he spent with her, the more he realized how difficult her father's career path was on her. He would wonder what had happened to her mother, or why her father was making himself so busy instead of spending time with his daughter, or why she took it in silence instead of standing her ground. He would sometimes wish she would just explode, yell, talk back, act on what he knew were introverted feelings of inadequacy towards her surroundings.

Strolling around the quiet house, Roman supressed a yawn and made his way to the kitchen, staring dreamily at the coffee maker. The guys had one in their quarters but it had this burnt aftertaste that made it almost impossible to enjoy. When they left early enough for errands, Emma would offer him coffee with the family's own machine, lending him a traveling mug so he could have it in the car driving her. He would always refuse and she would always insist, smiling joyfully when she finally won.

She always won.

The sound of steps rang behind Roman, and in a flash, he had his hand on his weapon, sliding in out of his pants instinctively. He had his gun point at Rollins' face before he could even register who he was standing next to, and the other man let out a gasp when his eyes met the barrel of the pistol a few inches away.

"Jesus, man, it's me!" he panicked, his hands coming up in front of himself in defense. Roman's eyes went wide before he brought the gun downwards, placing it back where it came from slowly.

"Sorry, brother," Roman apologized, his voice calmer than he felt. He wished his first reaction to anything wasn't to point weapons at people, but he couldn't control it at this point. He was hired to protect, so that's what he did.

"What are you doing up?" Seth asked him, his breath slowing down to a normal rhythm. "I still got a few hours on my shift."

"Couldn't sleep," Roman justified, using a stool by the kitchen counter to lean on.

"Still having nightmares, huh?" Seth inquired, and Roman only nodded awkwardly, his fingers playing with a small crack on the wooden countertop. "Alright then, do you mind if I hit the hay early? I'm beat."

"Sure, no problem."

Seth walked over to his friend, clapping his shoulder lightly as a thank you, before dragging his feet to their shared quarter. Roman watched his disappear behind him before his eyes darted around the room through the darkness. Those were one of his favourite moments working here, being able to spend time by himself in silence whilst also feeling like he was being useful. He got to have moments of calmness where he could focus on his own breathing, knowing that he had purpose being there.

From his sitting position, he had a pretty clear view of the backyard, most of this part of the house consisting in wall-high glass windows where light would peer through during the day. He would be able to see everything that was going on inside and outside of house; Regal working in his office on the right, Mrs. Regal tanning by the pool, Emma reading a book in the shade.

The rain was growing stronger and Roman could see flashes of lighting before the sky would rumble. The house was all the more humid, and even with the AC, Roman could feel sweat prickling on his forehead.

As he was standing to go pace around, he heard it.

A gut-wrenching scream coming from his right, towards the hallway where Emma's room was located. Roman took off in a run, making it to her room within seconds, his shoulder colliding with her door as he turned the handle and fell through the frame.

His eyes landed on Emma's face, her panicked orbits being the only part visible as she had her covers stretched over herself and up her chin. She was breathing heavily, her knees pressed to herself under the blankets.

"Are you okay?" Roman all but yelled, his stare studying the room to try and see what would be the cause of her trouble.

"I'm fine," her trembling voice spoke, the bottom of her face still hidden behind the covers.

"You screamed," he insisted, searching her face, and finally she let the blanket fall to her thighs, revealing her features full of fear and the outline of a tight tank top. If it hadn't been so dark, Roman would have been able to see her red cheeks full of embarrassment and her quivering bottom lip.

"I'm sorry. I was having a bad dream and I… The thunder startled me," she explained in a small voice, her stare falling to her knees, feeling to shy to hold his gaze. Swallowing hard, she wondered if a day would ever pass by that she didn't present herself as an incompetent child in front of him.

"Oh."

Roman nodded, his shoulders relaxing, suddenly feeling foolish for barging into her room and possibly scaring her even more than she had been. His adrenaline had kicked in so fast at the sounds of her screaming, he hadn't thought for a second it might have been because of something like this.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, feeling small under his stare.

"Don't be. I…" he started, debating whether to share his earlier experience with her. "Thunder makes me queasy too."

His confession brought a smile to her face, the tightening in her chest suddenly looser. The thought that a man like him, as strong and menacing as he was, could share the same fears as her, no matter how irrational, was enough to lift whatever weight had been pressing on her shoulders. It probably wasn't true, she realized, but the fact that he was willing to tell her that, if only to make her feel better, meant a lot.

"It's really loud," she justified, her smile growing bigger, and Roman chuckled slightly, nodding.

"That it is."

A comfortable silence settled in between them, and Emma focused on the windowsill, feeling confident enough to stare down at the storm when Roman was present. She stared out for a moment, until he cleared his throat awkwardly, having been doing the same thing.

"You should get back to sleep."

Emma reluctantly agreed, nodding, as disappointed that he was leaving as she usually was. She basically saw him every single day, but time with him seemed to never last long enough. Just as Roman made a step to walk away, however, another shot a thunder rumbled outside, making her jump once more, letting go of a smaller scream.

Roman's eyes were back on her in an instant, almost like he expected something bad to have actually happened this time, and Emma felt just as embarrassed as she had after he had actually witnessed her fear firsthand.

"Would you stay with me?" she heard herself say before she could even realize it, and Roman's eyes went wide as he struggled to comprehend what she had just asked.

"Uh-what?"

"I mean, there," she went on, point at a chair close to him, resting by the right corner of the room. Roman's eyes went from her face to the chair and back to her, debating the whole thing but feeling mostly uneasy. He felt out of place in her room altogether and tried to go there as little as possible, and there she was asking him to stay with her and basically watch her sleep. He searched her features for a moment and felt a pull at his chest he could barely recognize.

And she won.

Without answering, Roman sat himself on the chair, clearing his throat a few times as he tried to convince himself that this was a good idea. He prayed to all the gods above that Emma's father wouldn't happen to pass by and wonder why the hell one of his men was currently in his daughter's room as she settled herself through the covers peacefully.

Roman debated whether to close the door and hide the situation but settled on keeping it open. He didn't need to explain to anyone why he'd locked himself in her room with her, either.

Emma's shoulders were moving at a settled rhythm and he realized she had already fallen asleep again, barely even five minutes after he had sat down.

It baffled him, really, that she would be this trusting with him. That his presence alone made her comfortable enough to leave herself in his hands as she slept. He didn't understand why a guy like him made her feel safer, when everyone in his life had always gone on about how scary he looked, towering above most at a height of 6'3, tattoos and muscles and all. He didn't mind it before, not until now.

Not until he realized he didn't want Emma to fear him, ever.

When Emma awoke a few hours later, Roman was no longer sitting in his chair. In truth, she didn't expect him to be, but she was disappointed nonetheless. Little did she know that he had only left a few minutes before, realizing he had also fallen asleep watching her.

And he'd slept well, too.

The sun was shining once again, bringing a smile to Emma's lips as she envisioned the upcoming day. She was meeting friends at the beach, and Roman would be coming with her. She felt as though she was walking on air as she got dressed and made her way to the kitchen to get breakfast. Her father was sitting by the kitchen island, sipping on a hot coffee, his robe safely tied around his waist and the morning paper wide open in his hands. Next to him, Maryse was finickily eating a few grapes, scrolling down her phone.

Roman was further away, closer to the backyard sliding doors, avoiding her gaze. Her face fell as she noticed, and she sat on a stool by her father, turning from him.

"Sleep well, sweetie?" her father asked, and she only nodded, forcing a smile. Behind her she heard Roman clear his throat and she turned her head towards him long enough to see him shift uncomfortably at the conversation. "Hope the storm wasn't too much a bother, I know how you hate it."

"Oh, it was fine. I…" She stole a glance at Roman, who was stubbornly looking straight ahead, a flush climbing up his neck. "I barely head it."

"Good to hear," William answered, placing his mug softly on the counter before him. "So, I was thinking that since I'll be busy today, you and Maryse could spend some time together. Go shopping or something like that."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed, looking between her father and his wife. Maryse seemed to be suddenly nervous, and the young woman realized she had been the one to make the proposition but hadn't felt confident enough to say it herself. Instead she'd asked her husband, who was doing a bad job at pretending he was the one to come up with the whole affair.

"Err, I mean," Emma stuttered, caught off guard. She had no idea that her step mother had any interest in getting to know her, none other ever had. "I would've liked that but… I have plans."

Maryse's face fell if only for a second, but Emma couldn't miss the look of sympathy her father gave his wife.

"It's fine," Maryse said in a cold tone. "I was planning on having lunch with Nattie anyway."

Emma was still trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened when Maryse stood and left, frustration evident in her steps. William shared a look with his daughter, silently scolding her, and Emma grunted.

"I do have plans!" she insisted, and William only shook his head as his eyes went back to his paper.

Utterly defeated, Emma grabbed a piece of toast and an apple, eating breakfast in silence. When she was done, she poured two coffees into mugs, nervously strolling towards Roman who had yet to move from his guarding position.

"Hey," she greeted him when she reached where he stood. "I wanted to thank you," she added in a softly voice, low enough that she knew her father wouldn't hear. She handed him the mug, and he looked at it with hesitation before he took it from her.

"Don't worry about it," he mumbled, his eyes more focused on the coffee holder than on her face.

"That's the thing though: I didn't worry, not after you stayed with me. So… thank you, "she pressed on, and finally he looked back at her after she was done, surprise flashing on his features.

"Anytime."

Emma couldn't help the wide smile that spread on her lips at his words, and after a few seconds, Roman smiled too. He took a sip from his mug, letting out a satisfied smile at the unburnt taste, and finally she felt a thousand times better.

"Ready to hit the beach, then?" she added, drinking from her own cup.

"Always."

Emma was ecstatic about finally getting a full day with all her friends. Most of them had busy schedules, or others were away during summer vacations, but after days of insisting, she had gotten most of them out on the same day.

As she lay on her towel, down on her stomach, her toes curling through the sand, she couldn't help stealing glances at Roman as he sat far behind. He wore a normal white t-shirt with a pair of jeans, insisting that his job wasn't to hang out with her but to look out for her. And that's what he did.

He stayed back, surveying the area, his eyes on her at all times. It made her uncomfortable, being as she wore nothing but a bikini all day, but eventually she was able to focus on her friend's conversation more than the mysterious man she liked so much. He was always in the back of her mind, though.

"Don't ya get tired of it?" Tyler, one of her friends, inquired as he lay close to her. His handsome face was hidden behind a large pair of sunglasses, his light hair falling in front of his eyes, his features tinted with confusion.

"Of what?"

"Of havin' some dude following you all the time," he explained, glancing at Roman before he looked back at her. "I mean, look at him. He looks like he's about to jump somebody."

Emma scoffed, unable keep her eyes away from the Samoan man. Sure, Roman looked menacing, but she'd grown to know him as a sweet person. He was mostly serious, and he did look tense most of the time, but he certainly wasn't violent. Not to her, anyway.

"He's nice," she argued, resting her hands under her chin.

"He doesn't look bloody nice."

Emma rolled her eyes, holding in a laugh at Tyler's worried face, his comments made all the more comical with his strong British accent. Him and their friend Pete were exchange students from England who were now continuing college in the states.

"Ok Tyler," Emma laughed, amused.

"He doesn't look bad at all," her friend Alexa interjected as she sat cross-legged on the other side of Emma. "I'd let him guard my body, if you catch my drift."

Alexa wiggled her brows dramatically and Tyler burst out in a fit of laugher, and Emma's eyes went wide, blushing. She stood, wiping sand off her legs as she did.

"You've got a dirty mind," she teased her friend, walking towards the water to escape the subject. The comment had her cheeks warming up at the thought, and she needed some cold water to snap her out of it.

"As if you haven't thought about it!" Alex shouted as Emma walked away, trying her best to ignore it. She stuck her tongue out at her as she went before reaching the water, and ran through it in a rush.

Behind her Roman still stared, and inside her desire still burned.

Back at the house, Emma had feigned feeling too tired to stay up and locked herself in her room. She had not been able to escape the innuendos Alexa and Tyler had thrown at her for the remainder of the day, multiple emotions unraveling every time.

She took a cold shower, emerging from her own bathroom in only a towel, and slipping into loose clothes. Once in bed, she tried to focus on anything else, but couldn't. Her mind was only filled of Roman's defined arms as he carried her bag towards the car, the sigh of his abdomen peeking through the bottom of his shirt as he wiped some sweat off his forehead, the way his Adam's apple boobed as he gulped down half his water bottle in the car…

She shuddered at the thought, feeling suddenly too warm, and took of her sweatpants, now only in a wide t-shirt and some boy shorts.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to go to sleep, trying to think of unsexy things; bugs, her grandma, Maryse's night skincare routine and even the old creepy guy at the beach. After some time, she drifted off to sleep, but was awaken a few hours later by a strange sound by her window. Emma's eyes snapped opened, ready to scream and bring Roman to her rescue again, but her voice got stuck in her throat as she saw a dark figure emerging behind the window glass. It had gone dark outside, and her body froze as the stranger brought his hand up and knocked on the window three times, trying to get her attention.

"Emma, it's me, Pete," a gruff voice announced, and she felt herself relax all at once. Opening the window slowly, she finally saw him, sitting by the windowsill, one leg hanging off the wall.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma snapped, her voice angry but in a strong whisper, not wanting to alert anyone. He looked unfazed by her outburst, and instead smirked at her devilishly. She grabbed at his collar, pulling him inside the room without ceremony before he could protest, and closed the window behind him.

He opened him mouth to speak but she shushed him, instead listening through the quiet house, making sure no one had heard anything. After a minute, she felt satisfied that no one had noticed, and she faced her surprise visitor with a clenched jaw.

"My father will kill you if he sees you in my room," she told him, her voice just as sharp as it was before. Pete only seemed to find it amusing, however, and his eyes traveled down her body hungrily instead of speaking.

He and Emma had almost had a thing during their final school year, having gone on a few dates and had a few make out sessions here and there. Emma always cut it short, however, insisting that she didn't want a relationship at this point in her life. She planned to move for college had start fresh there. Plus, Pete didn't strike her as boyfriend material. He was more of a hook-up kind of guy, and that's not something she wanted either.

"I wanted to see ya," he admitted, his eyes still roaming her body. "I was bummed I couldn't make it today."

"You could have texted me," she argued, her voice growing stronger. "We could've planned something. You can't just barge into my room in the middle of the night!"

"Why not?" Pete laughed, taking a step towards her, his right hand catching the bottom of her shirt swiftly. "This is nice."

Emma's eyes went to his hold on her shirt and suddenly felt very aware of her state of undress. Pete had been aware all along, and seemed very pleased about it too, as he took another step forward, his other hand landing on her hip.

"Pete, I don't think-" he cut her off by pressing his lip to hers, his strong hands pulling her body against his. She was momentarily startled but decided to kiss back, having missed the contact of someone around her.

It didn't hurt that Pete was also an extremely good kisser, and she was reminded as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, his fingers grazing her thigh as he tried to slip past her shirt up her body. She pulled away instantly, slapping his hand away, and he chuckled breathlessly.

"So difficult," he laughed, kissing her again but keeping his hands by her hips this time. Almost imperceivably, he led her towards her bed, laying her down so they could resume their kissing as he hovered above her. Their kisses were growing hungrier, Pete's hand were getting busier, and Emma realized she had to bring this to a stop very soon before it got to far. She pulled away from him, silently urging him backward with her hands on his chest, and he watched her as he breathed heavily, his lips swollen from all the attention.

Not too far away, Roman was resuming his duties as night guard before being replaced by Ambrose in a few hours. The weather was calmer than the night before, but his thoughts were busy with images of Emma by the beach, hanging out with her friends, being happy.

It was one of the few times he saw her interact with other people, and the drastic change in her demeanor had left a strong impression on him. He didn't like that she wasn't this happy every day.

As he tried to focus on the night before him, he swore he heard some noise coming from Emma's hallway again, and he stood hesitantly as he walked towards that direction. He listened for anything out of the ordinary and heard nothing, but decided to hang around the area nonetheless. It was only a few minutes later that he heard some more, like the sound of something heavy falling in a thud. His mind wondered on what it could be, since Emma was too small to create such a sound by herself.

"Pete, come on, you have to go," Emma insisted as the Englishman had his lips on her necks, biting and kissing his way to her shoulder. His body was pressed against her and she could feel his erection through his pants, only signaling her that he seriously needed to stop.

"I thought you liked it when I did this," he spoke, leaving a few kisses by her collarbone. She did, in fact, enjoy this very much, but not enough to jeopardize his life or her freedom by keeping this going. She welcomed his attention, since it was the only thing that had kept her mind off Roman all day, but she knew she had to do this.

Roman. Now that her mind was on him, she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop imagining what it would be like to have him above her like this, begging for her attention. She felt her body heat up, a thousand times more than it ever did with the actual man in front of her, and couldn't help but moan as he grinded against her softly.

"I do, you know I do, that's not the point," she insisted, as Pete's face hovered above her once more, leaning forward to kiss her again. She obliged, letting him explore her mouth, her body responding suddenly as her mind flashed with thoughts of her Samoan bodyguard. Her sudden change in demeanor only egged Pete on, however, and before long his hand was under her shirt and she didn't stop him this time.

Pete growled as his hand touched her breast, and the first thought Emma had was that he was being far too loud.

And she was right.

Her door swung open without warning, Roman's large body entering her room in a flash, similarly to the night before. His eyes landed on them; Pete on her, his hand in her shirt, her face flushed and her hair messy, and his mouth fell.

Emma pushed Pete off her with force, and the young man landed on the floor on his back, startled. He stood angrily, his gaze focused on the intruder as he chest heaved,

"Who the bloody hell are ya?" he yelled, facing Roman with foolish determination. Roman's face went from shock to confusion, and finally to anger as he squared his shoulder and stared down at the younger man.

"Who the hell am I? Who the fuck are you?" he questioned back, his voice lower than she'd ever heard it. Pete seemed taken aback by the answer, trying to hold his ground even though he made it obvious that he was afraid of the other man.

"Pete! Just go, okay?" Emma interjected, suddenly feeling very worried for her friend, and not wanting to be responsible for anything that was building up to happen between the two of them.

Pete gaze went to her and he hesitated, clearly not wanting to seem like he was running away from Roman, but finally nodded when her eyes insisted. He made his way to the window reluctantly, staring down Roman the whole time.

"I'll call ya tomorrow," he told Emma whilst keeping his eyes on his rival, and he let himself fall downwards, disappearing in the night.

A long silence filled the room as Emma brought her bedsheet forward to cover herself, Roman's dark eyes still focused on where Pete had gone. Her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour as her heart pounded in her chest, having no idea on what to say to make this all go away. She just wanted to close her eyes and have this not have happened at all.

"You had no business coming in here," she finally said, and as the words left her mouth she knew she was being a hypocrite. Only the night before was she thankful for his presence, but tonight she wished with all her might that he would have stayed away.

"Are you serious?" he snapped, looking just as angry as he had talking to Pete. She was taken aback by his tone, feeling even smaller than she had. He'd never spoken to her that way. "I heard noises. I thought you were in danger. I was hired to protect you, for your information, so that's what I'm doing."

His tone was sharp and left no room for discussion, but as he spoke she felt anger rise inside her stomach like never before. He was talking down to her as though she was a child, and the hurt and the humiliation of the situation only tripled as she realized that.

"Protect me from what, huh?" she snapped. "Getting a boyfriend?"

She wasn't helping her case at all, answering him with this unattractive attitude as though she was a teenager all over again, but she couldn't help it. At one point she realized she wasn't upset about his barging in as much as she was about him not caring that she was with a guy, but she didn't care. He only wanted her to be safe because it was his job.

"Really? That guy?" Roman's feature danced between disappointment and disgust as he pointed at the window where Emma's friend had gone.

"Yeah, that guy," she challenged him, widening her shoulders in determination.

"Trust me, sweetheart, you can do a lot better," he said, and both of them froze as though neither of them were sure about what he'd just said.

Roman looked suddenly very uncomfortable, his eyes going to the floor instead of staring down at her like he had been doing so far. Emma hesitated, the warmth in her cheeks coming back slowly.

"Yeah? Like who?" she heard herself say, and Roman shifted awkwardly as he danced from one leg to the other.

He didn't answer, instead cleared his throat and passed a hand behind his neck, cursing himself for saying something to stupid and weird. He had no idea what had pushed him to say it, he just knew that he couldn't picture someone like Emma with a bum like that guy.

"Just… Next time, just don't bring your boyfriends around at night, a'right?" he finally said, and before she could say anything, he had walked out of her room and slammed the door behind him.

As her room settled into calmness once again, Emma face fell into her hands as she tried to take in the events of the night. She had no idea if she should feel upset with Roman for barging into her room and talking down to her, or apologize to him for snapping at him and being a little brat.

She felt confused as to how the hell no one in the house had heard all the commotion before she remembered her father and Maryse were out for dinner and the only other guard on the premise was Ambrose, who slept like a log. Of course it had to have been Roman that night, and not some other guard she didn't care about.

He probably hated her now. Emma's chest tightened at the house and she let herself fall backwards on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

She never should have opened the damn window.

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