Bewitched & Betrayed snippet with Raine & Vegard

Okay, for all you ladies who are on the verge of forming a third team -- Team Vegard -- this snippet's for you.

When I was dressed and armed to my satisfaction, I went to the door and tried the knob. Surprisingly it was unlocked. I opened the door. Not surprisingly, the space on the other side was filled with a big, blond, overprotective Guardian.

"Afternoon, Vegard."

My bodyguard nodded once. "Ma'am. Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

I glanced down the hall. There were a pair of burly Guardians at the other end. Not an easy escape scenario, but I could get past them if necessary.

I knew the drill. Mychael had ordered Vegard to keep me here. When confronted with familiar tactics, go with the direct approach. If that didn't work, then I'd come up with something sneaky.

"I'm plenty rested," I told him.

Vegard looked at me with a combination of concern and guilt, but mostly guilt. I knew he felt responsible for what had happened to me. When would everyone accept that my own trouble was my own fault?

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Really."

His expression was carefully neutral. "I'm glad to hear that, ma'am."

"Vegard?"

"Ma'am?"

"What happened wasn't your fault; it was mine. Yes, you're my bodyguard, but I'm a big girl with a mind of her own . . . a stubborn mind of her own."

At least that made him smile a little. "Yes, ma'am, you are. You're also my responsibility, and--"

"Vegard, I--"

"Ma'am, please let me finish."

I shut up. Yes, it's possible.

Vegard's pale blue eyes were steady. "If you had been killed, I would have never forgiven myself. It's my job to keep you not only alive, but safe. It's become more than my job." He clenched his jaw and looked away, but not before I saw a faint glisten in his eyes.

Way to go, Raine. You're about to make a grown Guardian cry. Maybe I should have taken the grappling hook Phaelan had left me and gone out the window.

"If someone kills you, they might as well cut a big chunk out of me while they're at it." His words came in a rush. "Or hell, just finish me off. I don't have a sister, but I'd like to think if I did, she'd be like you."

Oh great, now I was going to cry.

I laid my hand on his forearm. "Okay, Vegard, I'll make you a deal. At least I'll try really hard. I can try to stay away from trouble, but trouble's not going to stay away from me."

"I know."

"Actually, trouble's chasing me right now, a lot of it. Hell, there's a line."

"I know that, too. But ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"All I ask is that you let me be at your side when it catches up to you."

I squeezed his arm and bit my lip against my own case of the misties. Vegard gently covered my hand with his huge paw.

"Deal," I managed. "If it's in my control, you'll be with me. We'll get slaughtered together."

He grinned. "A man can't ask for more than that."