Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
What the fuck was I thinking?
The question pounded Wilt’s mind as he ran along the beach in the early morning light. The question had been his constant companion from the moment he walked away from Indigo the previous evening.
He hadn’t been able to sleep, and when he had, he’d been tormented with dreams of him and Indigo doing more than kissing.
Wilt groaned as–like it had all night–his cock hardened. Veering left, he ran into the water, hoping the cold would do the trick and settle his body down.
He inhaled sharply as the water hit his thighs, but he kept going, diving into the gentle waves. His doctor had told him he could swim, and that it could help his shoulder, but all it had done was made it hurt more. But today Wilt welcomed the pain, it took his mind off his stupidity.
What the fuck was I thinking?
If he knew the answer to that fucking question, he might stop thinking it.
The problem was he hadn’t been thinking, he’d been reacting. Wilt flipped onto his back and let the buoyancy of the water hold him.
Indigo had been so close. Her plump lips parted, and her brown eyes flashing fire as they argued.
Her rose scent teasing him, and he hadn’t thought, just acted, as he hauled her close and kissed her.
He groaned and sunk beneath the water. He was on a job, and that job wasn’t bedding the person he was supposed to protect.
What he should do was call Steve and get someone else to take over because of what he’d done, but there was no one else. They were all busy doing a job that he couldn’t do. And if his shoulder kept giving him grief, it would be a while before he joined his team on an active mission.
Wilt began to swim back to the shore, no closer to solving what he was going to do than when he’d entered the water. Not to mention feeling worse, because the reality of his injury wasn’t something he could deny any longer.
It wouldn’t be a good look for Power Security if he bailed after one day. It didn’t matter that Jeffrey was a friend of theirs, they had a reputation for being the best. He couldn’t allow whatever it was that had caused him to kiss Indigo to happen again.
He’d worked plenty of bodyguard jobs and had done what was required of him. Blend into the background, watch the comings and goings of the people nearby. See a threat, deal with it.
That was what he needed to remember when it came to Indigo. He doubted she would want to do anything to jeopardize her job either. Getting involved with the bodyguard wouldn’t be a good look for her.
Wilt rubbed a hand down his arm, flicking the excess water away. He repeated the action with his other one.
He started a slow jog back, his mind a fraction clearer than it had been when he’d started out. By the time he’d reached his bungalow, he had a plan of action in his mind.
Professionalism all the way.
He quickly showered and dressed in chinos and a short-sleeve button-down shirt.
There was no way he could wear a suit, he would stick out like a sore thumb and draw attention to what they were doing—the last thing he wanted to do.
As it was, they weren’t going to be totally anonymous, but at least he didn’t have to look like the hired help.
He had his firearm strapped to his ankle. He would prefer his shoulder holster, but again, that would require him wearing either a waist coat or a suit jacket—none of those items appropriate for one of the main tourist attractions in Western Australia.
Wilt doubted he would need to use any weapons, but it was better to be prepared than to be caught with his pants down.
Satisfied he had everything he needed, he picked up his leather binder with the details of the day inside and grabbed some fruit to eat while he walked to the first shoot location.
The sun was shining brightly, and he slipped on his sunglasses.
He locked his door and scanned the area, noting a few people were out on their bikes, no doubt heading to one of the many snorkeling spots around the island.
If everything went well and they finished ahead of schedule, he might grab his gear and do the same.
It had been a while since he’d gone snorkeling, and he’d packed it on the off chance that there might be an opportunity to do so either here or up in Broome.
Would Indigo be interested in going with him?
He quickly squashed the thought. Not a good idea, and not one he should be having, especially after he’d decided he would be nothing but professional with her. Not to mention he didn’t even like the woman, why was he wanting to spend time with her?
You keep thinking that. If you didn’t like her, you wouldn’t have kissed her.
Wilt shut that voice down. The kiss was a momentary slip of concentration, nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t going to happen again.
Indigo was staying two doors down from his bungalow, so he headed in her direction. Today’s shoot wasn’t far from where they were staying, so they could walk to it. Tomorrow’s was at the lighthouse, which they would be taking golf carts to.
Wilt paused before knocking on the door, taking a few seconds to compose his features into a neutral expression. He rapped his knuckles on the door and took a step back, gazing up at the sky.
It was a cloudless, sunny day. He had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing for a photo shoot. Not that he needed to know, his job wasn’t to work out light filters or angles so there weren’t any shadows in the photos. He was there to maintain the safety of everyone.
He couldn’t hear anything coming from Indigo’s bungalow.
Had she already gone?
The impression he got the previous day was that she hadn’t enjoyed keeping everyone waiting, even though it hadn’t been a huge issue. It would make sense she would want to get to the location early today.
“Okay then,” he muttered. He turned on his heel, heading back down the small path and made his way to where things were happening.
After his kiss with Indigo the previous evening, he’d been restless, so he’d gone and checked out the site again. Nothing had changed between the time he’d inspected it after they’d arrived to then, except it was dark.
There’d only been a couple of places of concern for him, but he’d worked out plans to deal with those.
As he approached, the sound of chatter and laughter reached him. Great, it looked like he was going to be the last to arrive, not a good look for the security detail.
His gaze immediately found Indigo. She was talking with Greta then laughed something she said. Clearly he needn’t have wasted his time in going to her bungalow, but if he hadn’t and she’d been waiting for him, then that wouldn’t have been good either.
Coffee was what he needed, and he spied cups of the liquid gold on a table sitting under a shade pop-up. Wilt headed in that direction, nodding to the photographer as he passed. The guy seemed affable enough the previous day, but now he looked serious and focused on the task at hand.
Wilt stirred in the milk, and took his fill of the surrounding area. There were some people strolling past, looking with interest at what was happening. He expected there to be a crowd by the end of the first session, although the island employees would encourage them to move on.
This really was at least a two or three-man job, and for a normal security company, it would be. But for him, he could deal with it. He’d had to manage much larger crowds of people by himself when he’d been deployed, and most of those people weren’t as friendly as the people on the holiday island.
“Are you always looking for danger?”
Wilt tensed. He hadn’t heard her approach, but he should’ve smelled her. The scent of roses surrounded him, and he breathed deeply, letting it settle over him. “It’s my job too.”
In the early morning light, she looked more breathtaking than she had the previous evening.
Her face was fully made up and her long black hair fell around her shoulders in effortless curls.
She had on a pale pink dress with long sleeves and a plunging neckline.
The garment floated softly around her ankles.
The fabric appeared to be light and almost gauzy, but not see through.
Considering the location, he thought they might put her in swimwear instead of a dress.
“You look stunning.” The words tripped off his tongue. He hadn’t meant to say them at all. It was the least professional thing he could say.
“Thank you, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. The jewelry is the main event today. I’m only the backdrop for the pieces.”
A gorgeous backdrop.
This time he managed to keep those words trapped inside him.
He really needed to get himself under control. He couldn’t be saying this shit to a client. The weird thing was, he’d never said anything like that to any of the other female clients he’d been responsible in protecting.
Neither had he kissed them like he had Indigo.
He was in major trouble.