Chapter Four
I couldn’t stop staring at her.
I didn’t want to.
She was fucking gorgeous, and every second in her presence was testing my professionalism. I didn’t want to just guard her from whatever bullshit she was hiding. I wanted to strip her of her sexy-as-hell slinky dress and manners and see what happened when I got my hands on her. I could practically feel the silk of her hair run through my fingers.
Distracted by the view of her perfect ass, I let her lead the way to the elevator, but then I snapped the fuck out of it. Before she could push the call button, I switched to bodyguard mode and reached around her, hitting the call button with the side of my fist.
Her back stiffened.
Purposely not moving away, having a point to make, I dropped my voice. “Problem?”
“Only if you plan on sneaking up on me again,” she clipped.
“I wasn’t sneaking.” Not even close. But I was being quiet. The Marines taught me my life depended on it.
The elevator arrived, and just like I knew she would, she started to step in.
My hand wrapped around her bare arm. “This is where we start, Princess.”
Trying to pull free of my grasp, she looked up at me, incredulous. “Excuse me?”
Her soft skin in my hand a shock to my system, I fought not to let my fingers wander. “First of all, if I can come up on you, so can anyone else. Stay alert. Second, do you know who’s in that elevator?” Was her security detail even worth a shit? Didn’t they teach her rule number one about charging headfirst into the unknown?
Still trying to pull out of my grasp, her eyebrows drew together. “There’s no one.”
I could have let her go, but I didn’t. “Did you know that when you started to step inside?” I was being a prick, but I didn’t care. Regardless of what name she went by, a hundred million a week made her a target, and now, by proxy, I was one too. The second we’d left Luna’s condo, we became vulnerable. I was done fucking around. I held her glare. “Did you know there was no one in the hall when you left the condo?”
“What’s your point? This is a secure building. Mr. Luna had to let me in.”
I dropped the soft tone to my voice and put just enough edge that said I was demanding an answer. “How did you find him?”
She straightened her shoulders. “I drove to Luna and Associates last night, but he was pulling out. I followed him.”
“How did you know it was Luna?” The vehicles all had tinted windows.
“I saw his picture on his company website and recognized him behind the wheel when he pulled out of the garage.”
“Then you what? Waited all night?” Her arm in my grasp, her body close to me, the thought of her waiting on Luna left a bitter taste in my mouth. One I didn’t want to acknowledge had the possessive flavor of jealousy. Except I didn’t get jealous. Ever. Shaking away the crazy as fuck thought, I made a mental note to tell Luna to watch his six better.
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Of course not. It was after business hours, and he was clearly leaving for the day. I followed him, but then I went home and came back this morning at a more reasonable hour, then phoned him.”
“Sunrise is reasonable?” Jesus, she was beautiful .
“You were up,” she snapped.
Damn, she was hot when she was pissed. Inappropriate thoughts filled my head, and I smiled. “Early bird, Princess.”
“As I said before, do not address me by my title.” Her attitude ramped up. “Now, unhand me,” she demanded.
Reminding myself why I was here, I dropped my smile. “From here on out, this is how it’s gonna work. You don’t walk into a hall, a building, an elevator, your house, a business, anywhere —in front of me again. I go first. Always. Only when I tell you it’s safe to follow do you proceed. Understood?”
There was no mistaking the irritation in her expression, despite a valiant effort to hide it. “May we go now?”
Just to make a point, I glanced in the empty elevator. Stepping inside, I held the door. “Yes.”
Her expression cold, she stepped inside, pivoted and faced the front.
Not moving, I waited.
It took ten seconds before she looked at me. “What are we waiting for?”
I glanced at her feet, at the sexy high heels with her red toenails giving me a peep show, then I dragged my gaze up her luscious curves as I shut my expression down. “What part didn’t you understand?”
“Excuse me?”
I held her gorgeous gaze. “The part where I said I go first always, or the part where I said you do not walk into any situation first.”
She spun in a circle, her hand going in the air to gesture around us. “For God’s sake, this is a secure building with an empty elevator.”
Expression locked down, not moving, I held position. Then I gave her a dose of reality. “The top hatch of the elevator car is large enough for an armed man to drop through. There are half a dozen chemical agents I can think of in the few seconds it takes for me to say this that would incapacitate us at best, and kill us painfully at worst. Turning your back on me leaves you vulnerable to the one layer of protection you have between you and disaster, and lastly? Your blatant disregard for all of these scenarios not only makes my job a hundred times harder, it leaves you exposed.”
She didn’t move. She didn’t even blink. She just stared at me.
“You want my protection, you want me at your side at that party, then tell me you get what I’m saying.”
Her throat moved with a swallow, and she barely lifted her chin.
“A nonverbal response isn’t going to cut it, Princess,” I clipped, purposely using her title. “Is that a yes?”
For a split second, something shifted in her armor-plated expression. A flash of fear took hold, but it was gone so fast, I wasn’t sure that’s what I saw.
Her shoulders squared with an inhale, and she gave me a cool and practiced, “Yes.”
“Then show me,” I demanded.
Making a show, her white slinky outfit hugging her curves, she dramatically stepped back. “Satisfied?”
Not since my dick stirred when I heard her voice for the first time. “No.” I moved protectively in front of her and hit the garage level button. “Why did you request me? The truth.” I looked over my shoulder at her.
Staring straight ahead, she said nothing.
I hit the stop button with the side of my fist, and the elevator went still.
Her eyes went wide, with fear, with shock, I couldn’t tell.
Her voice pitched higher. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting.” Crossing my arms, I turned to face her.
She glanced at my biceps. “For what?”
“Your answer.”
“Mr. Ty—”
“Just Tyler,” I corrected, stepping into her personal space.
A tremor went up her spine, and she moved her purse to clutch it in front of her .
“You’re afraid of something. What is it?”
Her princess-perfect manners cracked. “I’m not afraid,” she snapped. “And there’s nothing specific as to why I chose Luna and Associates other than your video showed up when I googled security firms. You looked like you could fit in with an art crowd without standing out as being obviously hired security, so here I am.”
“Fit in?” I still wasn’t buying it.
Her gaze darting everywhere but at me, she wouldn’t make eye contact. “Young, not old.”
“I’m older than you, sweetheart. Try again.”
She exhaled. “Attractive.”
I lowered my voice. “Do you know one of the first tells of a lie?”
She still didn’t look at me. “I am not lying.”
I tipped her chin and waited until her gorgeous eyes met mine. “No eye contact.”
She didn’t even flinch. “I assure you, I am not lying.”
“You think I’m attractive?” I asked to throw her off guard, but more, I wanted to know.
She blinked. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Yet you chose me.” I liked that a hell of a lot more than I should.
She didn’t budge on her lie, but she also didn’t pull away from me. “You will blend in with the art exhibition crowd.”
I switched tactics. “Who’s after you?”
That made her pull out of my grasp. “No one. This is about jewelry.” Her formal tone returned. “Now, if you will kindly step back and release the hold button, we can be on our way.”
I stepped back, but I didn’t release the hold button. “What’s wrong with your own security?”
“I do not normally attend events with security.”
Nice evasion. “Then why this event?”
“Frankly, Mr. Tyler, I am tired of repeating myself.”
Christ. “You and me both.” I released the elevator. “And for the record, despite how beautiful you are, you don’t strike me as someone who gives a fuck about vanity, or what other people think. Let alone caring about how I’ll fit in.” Her manners were proper as hell, but she didn’t give a shit about propriety.
“What is that supposed to mean?” She sounded affronted.
“Exactly as I said. You had no problem stalking Luna, calling before business hours, and trespassing to get in to his garage.”