Cocky Protector: A Hero Club Novel

by Kat Mizera

  Cocky Protector

  Kat Mizera

  Copyright © 2020 by Kat Mizera

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Also by Kat Mizera

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Also by Kat Mizera

  Las Vegas Sidewinders Series:

  Dominic

  Cody’s Christmas Surprise

  Drake

  Karl

  Anatoli

  Zakk

  Toli & Tessa

  Brock

  Vladimir

  Royce

  Nate

  Sidewinders: Ever After

  Jared

  Dmitri’s Christmas Angel

  Ian (coming soon)

  Inferno Series:

  Salvation’s Inferno

  Temptation’s Inferno

  Redemption’s Inferno

  Tropical Inferno (formerly “Tropical Ice”)

  Alaska Blizzard Series:

  Defending Dani

  Holding Hailey

  Winning Whitney

  Losing Laurel

  Saving Sara

  Chasing Charli (2020)

  The Nowhere Trilogy:

  Nowhere Left to Fall

  Nowhere Left to Run

  Nowhere Left to Hide

  Royal Protectors:

  Sandor

  Xander (2020)

  Romancing Europe Series:

  Adonis in Athens

  Smitten in Santorini

  Lucky in Lugano

  Other Books:

  Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Bobbi (Susan Stoker’s Special Forces World)

  Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Delilah (Susan Stoker’s Special Forces World)

  Brotherhood Protectors: Catching Lana (Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors World)

  Author’s Note

  Cocky Protector is a standalone story inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s Cocky Bastard. It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.

  Prologue

  Ten Years Ago

  I walked into the brightly lit ballroom and tugged at the collar of my tuxedo. I hated these kinds of events, but when a state senator who used to be your commanding officer asks you to do something, you kind of have to. Aside from the suit, it wasn’t so bad. The food was good, drinks were free, and there was almost always an attractive woman who might be a fun distraction for a few hours.

  As a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, women were plentiful. I just didn’t have time for them. So once in a while it was nice to get out and do something that wasn’t military related. I worked in intelligence now, so I spent a lot of time alone in front of computers or skulking around the world trying to find bad guys. I got off on the adrenaline rush, but sometimes it got lonely.

  “Lieutenant Ross.” I heard my name and turned, smiling at Senator Wayne Barrow.

  “Hello, sir. Nice to see you.” I shook his hand.

  “I appreciate your coming out tonight.”

  “I’m not sure why you wanted me here, but I’m happy to oblige. My mother drilled it into me that a real man should own and wear a tuxedo on the regular, so you gave me my excuse for the year.”

  He laughed, his eyes crinkling as he did so. He’d gotten older since leaving the Marines, but he’d been sick too. Cancer. Rumor had it he was doing better, but he looked pale to me. “I’m glad to help you score points with your mother. However, now I’m hoping you can help me score points with my daughter.”

  Oh, hell. I hadn’t been expecting this, but I put on a smile and nodded anyway. I owed him my career, so I’d do my best for him. Even if it cost me.

  “How old is Shannon now?” I asked politely.

  “Twenty-one.” He smiled wryly. “I know she’s not…your type. If you could just be nice to her tonight, it would mean the world to me. My wife made her come and she hates these things almost as much as I do, but Samantha thought it would be good for her since she’s too shy for her own good. Just a few dances, Ace. Maybe a drink at the bar. That’s all. I’m not asking you to marry her or anything.”

  “No problem.” What else could I say?

  Okay, I could do this. If she was painfully shy, maybe a few glasses of wine would help. I seemed to remember a girl with Coke-bottle glasses and braces, but I hadn’t seen her since I’d been in ROTC in college and she’d been a teenager. Maybe fifteen?

  I turned, bracing myself, and looked into those same Coke-bottle glasses. But this Shannon wasn’t the awkward, chubby fifteen-year-old I remembered. This Shannon was a grown woman with curves in all the right places. It was a shame her blond hair was pulled back in a tight, severe bun that didn’t do anything for her, and that those big blue eyes were mostly hidden by even bigger dark glasses. Her mouth was full, with a slight bow to her upper lip, and it was delightfully inviting with the sheer pink gloss highlighting it.

  “Hello, Lieutenant.” Her voice was quiet but had a light, airy flair that made me smile.

  “Please. Call me Ace.”

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Senator Barrow said, “I’m going to find my wife.”

  “I apologize,” Shannon said once he was gone. “I know he lured you here tonight to be my date, but you don’t have to. I’m perfectly okay being a wallflower.”

  “That seems like a shame.”

  “I’m used to it.”

  “A beautiful woman should never get used to being alone.” I hadn’t meant to flirt, but the words came out anyway.

  “You don’t have to say things like that, Ace. We both know I’m anything but beautiful.”

  “I beg to differ.” I cocked my head. “Despite your great attempt to hide them, you have gorgeous blue eyes. You have pretty features, a sweet smile, and I imagine there’s more to you than you let on.”

  This time her smile was genuine, though there was a faint pink tinge to her cheeks. “Well, I think the truth is somewhere in between those two things.”

  “Which two things?” I asked, chuckling.

  “The sweet smile and what you’re imagining.”

  “Shannon, dear.” Samantha Barrow approached us as if she were on a mission. “Come. It’s time for dinner.”

  “Okay.” Shannon smiled at me over her shoulder. “Goodbye, Lieutenant.”

  “Bye, Shannon. Hello, Mrs. Barrow.”

  The older woman gave me a stiff smile. “Hello, Andrew.”

  God, I hated when people called me by my first name. No one, not even my parents, had called
me that for years. Mrs. Barrow knew that, since I’d met her on many occasions while I’d been under her husband’s command. So she was just being a bitch and I had no idea why.

  Whatever. The bar was calling my name.

  After dinner and a couple of drinks I was cornered at the bar by a busty blonde who told dirty jokes and laughed at them herself. Normally, she would have been a perfect target for a night of no-commitment sex, but tonight I had another woman on my mind. I wasn’t sure why either, because as her father had said, she wasn’t my type at all. But every time I caught sight of Shannon, she shot me an almost pleading look, and I was torn.

  Senator Barrow had asked me to look out for her, while his wife had made it clear she didn’t want her daughter associating with me. I didn’t know which way to go with this, but Shannon was currently on the dance floor with some suspender-wearing dweeb who kept stepping on her feet and it was obvious she was miserable.

  Oh, hell, in for a penny, in for a pound.

  I excused myself as the song came to an end and approached Shannon with a smile. “Excuse me, is the next dance free?”

  “Oh, yes, thank you.” She all but turned her back on her current partner and gave me a grateful smile.

  Luckily, the next song was a popular but slow contemporary song and she moved into my arms easily.

  “Well, hello again,” I said.

  “Hi. Thank you for saving me.”

  “My pleasure.” I looked down into those gorgeous eyes and it was on the tip of my tongue to ask her to take the glasses off. That might offend her, though, so I didn’t. I just wanted to see them better.

  She moved easily in my arms, light on her feet. I wasn’t a great dancer but I could hold my own and Shannon seemed perfectly content to go where I led her.

  “So, are you in college?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “Yes, at American University here in D.C. Mom didn’t want me to go away. Something about peer pressure and unplanned pregnancy.”

  I couldn’t see for sure, between her glasses and the dim lights on the dance floor, but I could have sworn she rolled her eyes.

  “What are you studying?”

  “Teaching.”

  “Why am I not surprised?”

  “Mom is mortified. It’s the equivalent of going on welfare, in her opinion.”

  “Your father isn’t like that, is he?”

  “No, but Mom rules the house and he gets to escape to work, so mostly I’m stuck with her.”

  “You’re not close, I take it?”

  “We used to be, but once she realized I’m not the daughter she expected me to be, we drifted apart. She doesn’t understand that I’m twenty-one now, and just because she wants to marry me off to the first doctor that’ll have me, that’s not what I want.”

  “What do you want?” I asked curiously.

  Her smile turned shy. “To fall in love. To find my own personal Prince Charming, who sweeps me off my feet and takes me away.”

  “So the white picket fence and two point five babies?”

  She shook her head. “Not necessarily. A high-rise condo in London or a shack on a beach in Tahiti—it’s all the same to me as long as the man I’m with loves me unconditionally. And I refuse to settle.”

  Wow, she was sweeter than sweet and cuter than hell. Too bad I wasn’t anyone’s knight in shining armor. “Bet your mom will take issue with the hut in Tahiti,” I quipped, grinning down at her.

  “I’m an adult, though she always reminds me I live under her roof.”

  “Not when you’re in college, though.”

  She sighed. “I commute every day. She wouldn’t let me live on campus.”

  “Damn, honey, that sounds awful. Are you a senior?”

  “A junior. So a little over a year until I’m free.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then I’m going to walk up to the first cute guy I see and kiss him.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “How come?”

  She blushed again. “I have to start somewhere and I’ve never kissed anyone before.”

  My mouth nearly fell open. “But…”

  “I know. Believe me. It’s just never been worth the hassle. Teenage boys were…gross. I tried once during a game of spin the bottle and it was not worth risking my mother’s wrath. And now that my dad’s a senator, well, I never know what a guy’s intentions are. I want my first kiss to be for me, not them. I don’t know if that makes sense.”

  Holy shit. A sweet, smart, sheltered little virgin. I was falling in love right here on the dance floor.

  “I’m a little surprised, but it makes total sense.”

  “I was embarrassed my father asked you here tonight to be a kind of unofficial date for me, but I’m glad now. You’re not what I was expecting.”

  “I had no idea you father had an ulterior motive, but you’re not what I was expecting either. And I’m glad too. Want to get a glass of wine?”

  “Absolutely.”

  We talked and danced for the next couple of hours. She was the kind of woman who made me wish I wasn’t leaving for the Middle East in a couple of days. My job in intelligence was going to take me all over the world and I was the last guy a girl like her needed. I indulged in a momentary fantasy, though, imagining being the man of her dreams. Because she was special. A delightful breath of fresh air that made me yearn a little. Just a little.

  “It’s almost midnight,” she said, bringing me back to the present.

  “What happens at midnight? Do you turn into a pumpkin?”

  “Mother says nothing good ever happens after midnight, so a lady should take her leave.”

  This time I rolled my eyes. “Your mother is a pain in my ass.”

  “You have no idea.”

  We laughed together, but I grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, following me.

  “Here.” I’d found a small alcove earlier, when I’d gone to the restroom. It was the perfect spot for us to be alone for a few minutes.

  “What are we doing?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Nothing,” I said softly, looking into her eyes. “I wanted a moment alone with you to ask for a tiny favor.”

  “O-okay.” She looked a little nervous, but my intentions were mostly innocent.

  “Can I look at you without your glasses?”

  “Oh.” She blinked. “Sure.” She took them off without hesitation and my whole body seemed to tense with arousal. Not the sexual kind, believe it or not, but the kind of excitement you feel when you look into someone’s soul. I’d known her for four damn hours and she made me want things I couldn’t want.

  I could pretend, though. For one moment in time, I could pretend I was just a regular guy who wanted to fall in love and live a normal life. A life that didn’t include the CIA and all the dangerous missions in my future.

  “Ace?”

  “Hmm?” I was so caught up in the blue depths of her eyes, I had to snap back to the present.

  “I want it to be you.”

  “What?”

  “My first kiss. I want it to be you.”

  “Shannon.” I put my hand on the side of her face. “I leave for Iraq the day after tomorrow. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” I paused. “If I’ll be back.”

  “I knew you were special.” She didn’t seem at all daunted. “A literal knight in shining armor, out to save the world. Just the man for my first kiss.”

  “Oh, baby.” I leaned in, one arm circling her waist and drawing her close. She didn’t need to ask me twice. I wanted to kiss her more than I wanted to breathe, and when my lips touched hers, it was more blissful than any other kiss ever. Her mouth opened under my guidance and I slid my tongue against hers easily, slowly, savoring the taste of her. She was exquisite, and when I deepened the kiss, she was right there with me.

  I kept it gentle, regret twisting through my gut as I realized this was the one and only time I’d ever touch her. Damn, I wanted more and she
did too. The little whimper that escaped her made me so hard it hurt.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, drawing back. My forehead was pressed to hers, our bodies close together. “In another time and place…”

  “It’s okay.” She smiled, that sweet, guileless smile that reached right into my heart and wrapped itself around it. “You made one of my dreams come true. I’ll cherish this always.”

  “Shannon! Shannon, are you out here?” Her mother’s voice made us jump.

  We shrunk into the shadows, biting back laughter as her mother blew right past us, oblivious.

  “Be safe, Ace.” She pressed her fingers to her lips and then put them against mine.

  I leaned into the warmth of her skin. “Thank you, sweetheart. Be well and stay true to yourself. I’ll keep this memory right here.” I touched my fist to my chest, brushed my lips across hers, slipped out of the alcove, and strode toward the exit without looking back.

  Chapter One

  Sometimes life has a way of kicking you in the face, and getting called into your boss’s office when you worked for the CIA was kind of like getting called to the principal’s office in high school. I had handlers who gave me assignments and monitored my missions; getting called into the big man’s office could only mean trouble. I figured I deserved it, but I’d also given nineteen years of my life to my country so I hoped he’d cut me a little slack.

  “Close the door, Ross.” The director of my department, a stern-faced man who looked like he had something perpetually stuck up his ass, was named Alton Mourns. That was his real fucking name, which always made me want to laugh, though I managed to keep it in check on the rare occasion I was around him. Today, I was probably going to struggle with that.