by Leslie North
What the—?
The door beside her swung open, letting in the warm air and gasoline fumes. The sun was blocked as the man bent to force his way inside.
“I beg your pardon,” Viktoria sputtered, yanking her feet out of the way and fighting her heels on the carpet to keep from getting stepped on. She curled her fingers around her phone in one hand and the tablet in the other, ready to throw the computer at his head, then run. “Who do you think you are to barge in uninvited?”
The man plopped onto the sideways bench seat and shut the door. All the air in the limo seemed to ripple around him and the formerly roomy car instantly felt like a compact. He spread his thighs wide in that infuriating way men had of taking up room, then twisted to face her, further eating into her personal space. And making no apologies for it either. With only inches between their knees, he stilled, and she almost felt his gaze sliding from the top of her head, down her Carolina Herrera sheath dress to the four-inch Prada sandals on her pedicured feet.
Fighting the way the blatant inspection made her nipples strain against her lace bra, she lifted the tablet to throw at the same time he raised his sunglasses to rest on top of his reddish-brown hair.
A gasp wrenched from her chest and she blinked as the most exquisite pair of amber eyes locked onto hers. Little brown and yellow striations radiated out from the pupils. Coupled with the scruff clinging to his jaw, he looked like a jungle cat.
“Lee McCallister,” he answered, his deep, rich voice caressing her like a lover.
A dangerous jungle cat. She swallowed hard. How could she be both turned on and scared at the same time? “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
He smirked. “I’m the head of your new security.” Those gorgeous eyes flicked toward the tablet still raised high. “You going to throw it or not?”
“You cannot be my new bodyguard,” she snapped, lowering her arm and losing the computer on the seat again. Making a show of studying him from head to toe, similar to what he subjected her to, she sniffed at all the dirt now marring the carpet from his boots in order to cover her salivating at the way his objectionable clothes showcased a magnificent physique. “My security is always impeccably dressed.” She motioned to his body, her silver and gold bangles clinking with the movement. “This is completely unacceptable and unprofessional.”
“Your security in the past may have dressed in suits, but I assure you, my team will not.”
“Then you will not be accompanying me on this trip.” She swiped her phone awake. “I need to see some ID and I want the name of your supervisor. This is a disgrace—”
“Let’s get one thing straight.” Lee bent forward, leaving her only a foot of personal space between their faces. Overpowering fragrance usually found in skin-drying soap bars hit her and she idiotically inhaled it a second time. He pulled out a beat-up, brown leather wallet from his back pocket and opened it to reveal a driver’s license with a military ID opposite it. “You are not calling the shots. I am.”
All the hairs on her body rose as she bristled at the high-handed announcement.
“A group of men wearing expensive suits and surrounding a woman just screams ‘the target you’re looking for is here,’ doesn’t it?” He flicked his wrist to make the ID section flatten back into the wallet, then slapped it shut. “Does that sound like a good security plan to you?”
Her lips thinned. No, it didn’t. Damn it. She hated that she couldn’t argue with the logic, but she had to give it a shot. “I have a reputation to uphold. You and your men tromping through executive offices and high-class functions in motorcycle boots and T-shirts will destroy my credibility.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m only delivering you to your father in New York City, isn’t it?” He tucked the wallet back into his pocket, but didn’t move out of her space. “I have a few more things to sort out with the rest of the security team. I’ll come back to get you when I’m ready for you to board the plane.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” She jabbed a finger inches from his handsome face. “I’ve been waiting in this limo for a half an hour already. I’m boarding the plane now. I have too much to do—”
“Once again,” he retorted, his low, icy tone effectively silencing her. “I am in charge. My orders from your father are very specific. I am to bring you to him safe and unharmed, and he’s given me wide latitude to enforce that authority.”
Her jaw dropped and she sputtered, her words tripping over themselves to be heard first. How dare this, this heathen…Father wouldn’t…Why did men seem to think they could order her…She’d earned the right to be on this business—
Before she could rally her argument, he climbed out of the vehicle and instructed the driver to keep the doors locked just as he shut the door.
Glaring at his retreating back, her nostrils flared with her inhale. “You have bullied the wrong woman, Lee McCallister. I’ll show you who’s in charge.”
3
Lee slid his sunglasses back onto his face, fighting to keep the smile from busting free. The fire shooting from those exquisite irises should have burned him to a crisp, but he remained healthy and invigorated.
Adjusting himself to relieve the pressure of the confining denim, he headed for the jet’s stairs. A certain part of him might be a little too invigorated by the woman. That sultry voice blending with the accent that proved English was not her first language stroked his ears and made him want to provoke her just to hear her tell him off in the most civilized way again.
He might *cough-totally-cough* have been exaggerating about how much latitude her father had given him, but he couldn’t resist poking her. Hopefully, they’d be in the air before she could talk to the man. If not, Lee had no doubt she’d let him have it.
God, she was beautiful. And her strong backbone just turned him on even more. He loved warrior women and Viktoria blazed like an Amazon or Viking of old. If he hadn’t fled (er, strategically retreated) from the car, he’d have done something monumentally stupid thanks to her delicious scent, that amazing accent, and those snapping eyes luring him in.
Fitting into his ear the comm device Boom had handed him before he left the office this morning, he checked in with the two other men assigned to his detail. “Comm test. This is Lee. Do you read?”
“Loud and clear,” a gruff male voice answered. “Mike checking in.”
“This is Jeff,” the other guard replied. “I read you.”
“Good,” Lee responded, eyeing the fuel truck packing up the hose. “Meet me at the bottom of the steps—”
“Boss,” Mike cut in, “there’s been a change to the copilot. I have the new file.”
Lee’s steps faltered. What the fuck? He’d already read the background checks on all the personnel scheduled to be on board and everyone had been cleared with no problems. “What do you mean there’s been a change?”
A fortyish man with an expanding waistline and a vertical challenge ducked beneath the wing and met Lee near the stairs. He barely came to Lee’s shoulder and the hard edge to his eyes screamed competence and experience.
“Mike.” The guy shoved a hand out and gave Lee a quick grip. Then he offered a thin file.
“I’m Jeff.”
Lee snapped his chin up to find an athletic, blond man in his mid-thirties stopping beside Mike. Both men had on jeans and plain T-shirts as he’d instructed on his way to the airport. It made Lee feel better, knowing that they’d followed his orders. Boom’s ability to hire good men just kept proving itself and he hoped he lived up to Boom’s reputation.
After shaking Jeff’s hand, Lee peered down at the file and frowned. “Who gave you this?”
“The copilot.” Mike thumbed over his shoulder which Lee assumed meant the man was already on the plane. “Said he knew we’d ask for it.”
Lee’s mouth flattened against the red flag waving. He didn’t like it. Boom was very particular when it came to vetting personnel and Lee agreed. Elite Security Services only used their ow
n in-house staff for background checks, not an independent agency like the one whose logo was emblazoned across the front of the file.
Slapping the file shut after skimming it, Lee tapped the edge on his palm. “This is not going to work.” He slid his phone out of his back pocket. “I’m calling Boom. In the meantime, Mike, let the flight crew know we’re grounded until the copilot’s vetted properly, then stay with them. Jeff, keep an eye on anyone out here touching this plane.”
The men split off to their respective assignments just as the sound of a car door opening reached him. The limo door he’d ordered to remain locked. Shifting to evenly balance his weight over his feet, he crossed his arms and stared at the creamy long legs emerging, ending with the sexy-as-fuck high heels.
Viktoria slammed the door shut and Lee lost the moisture in his mouth. His heart rate rapidly increasing to slam against his ribcage, he finally got to see the whole package, and he liked what he saw. No. He worshiped what he saw. Good God. This woman commanded attention, shoving graceful femininity down his throat while exuding confidence and nobility.
Her pale blue sheath draped her hourglass figure perfectly, stopping respectable inches above the knee, and her jewelry called attention to the elegant column of her throat. God, he wanted to swipe that mane of midnight hair to the side and lick the entire expanse of her neck, then trail soft kisses toward those amazing breasts.
Click. Click. Click. Click of those heels drilled into the pavement as she stormed toward him. The closer she got, he realized she almost matched his six-two height thanks to those heels. He’d ask her to leave them on when he wrapped her legs—
Shut it down, Lee, or you’re going to have a big problem you won’t be able to hide.
The scent of wildflowers hit him just as she ground to a halt only feet in front of him. He inhaled and worked to maintain his expressionless face at the sight of her blazing blue eyes. Oh yeah. She was furious and had no qualms letting him know it.
“What is taking so long?” she demanded, lifting her chin.
Muting his comms so Mike and Jeff didn’t get an earful of this scolding, Lee uncrossed his arms and held up the file. “A new copilot has been assigned at the last minute but he hasn’t been properly vetted. All background checks must be performed by Elite Security Services—”
“Let me see that.” She snatched the file from his fingers. After one glance at the business name and logo on the front, she gave a disgusted sigh. “I know this company and trust their assessment.” Waggling the folder, it danced in front of his face. “My father uses them all the time.”
“I don’t know them.” Lee placed his forefinger against her wrist to force her to lower the file so he could see her. Sparks zapped up his arm at that small connection, and he narrowed his eyes at spying her nostrils flaring at his touch. Interesting. She felt it too.
“I help run a multi-million-dollar international company.” Viktoria twisted her wrist away from his finger, but thankfully kept the file low. “Between that and my two PhDs, I believe I am smart enough to make my own assessment about what level of verification I’m comfortable with. This company is trustworthy, ergo, the copilot is trustworthy. I’m getting on the plane.”
“I’m tired of repeating myself.” Lee slowly slid his sunglasses to the edge of his nose. “I don’t know them. And since I’m the one responsible for your safety, we will stay grounded until the copilot passes Elite’s background checks. You will wait in the limo—”
“Listen up.” Her finger jabbed an inch from his chest. “I’m not some little girl you can bully. You may get off on throwing your weight around, but I’ve gone toe-to-toe with men much more powerful than you and I came out on top.”
Oh, did he enjoy that flash of fantasy. “Viktoria, you’ve never gone toe-to-toe with a man like me, but I like your dirty mind. By all means, come on top of me anytime.”
Red tinged her cheeks and her irises flashed. “You are absolutely the most inappropriate, unprofessional, socially stunted…heathen I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.” He grinned just to see if he could push her to lose it completely.
Sparks spat from her eyes and her muscles turned to granite. “I have already lost most of the morning,” she continued, her voice husky with rage and sexy as hell. “I cannot have any more delays eating up the rest of the day. It is imperative that I board the plane so I can connect to my company’s server. The Wi-Fi doesn’t reach to the limo and turning my phone into a hotspot isn’t working. I’m working on a deal that will shape my company’s policy for the next ten years. Is it really so essential that you keep me from my work so you can redo a background check that has already been done?”
Lee could understand her predicament but her safety came first. He opened his mouth but she barreled ahead.
“I have a presentation to finish and a video conference call with the department heads that has to happen before they leave for the day.” She glanced at her watch and grimaced. “That’s in less than an hour thanks to the time zone differences. If this is just some power trip for you—”
“I’m going to stop you before you really get on a roll.” Lee crowded her space. Yanking his sunglasses off, he reveled at looking her straight in the eye without having to crane his neck. “Your safety comes first. Period.”
She lifted her chin and met his stare unflinchingly. He lost track of how long they stayed locked in the contest. She didn’t seem fazed by his exotic eyes, or intimidated by his muscular physique, or cowed by his intensity. In other words, she was goddamn perfect and absolutely infuriating at the same time.
Disappointment and victory ripped through him when she blinked and looked away quickly, then back. “Would you please call your boss and have him expedite whatever background check he thinks is necessary?”
Since that jived with Lee’s plan, he nodded and reluctantly took a step back. Wildflowers were messing with his head and if he didn’t get control himself, his other head would start getting involved. “For the sake of us each making concessions, would you please stay in the limo until I give you the all clear?”
A war raged over her face within a blink of an eye, but she didn’t say a word. Just dipped her chin like he had, slapped the file against his chest, then pivoted and marched back to the car.
Ripping his eyes off her amazing ass took more willpower than he wanted to admit, but he focused on his phone and called Boom.
Six minutes later, he swiped his hand over his face and hung his head. There’d be no living with her once he imparted Boom’s verdict. Elite would run the background check on the copilot, but they couldn’t expedite the thorough vetting and still stay on Viktoria’s planned schedule. She’d been at the airport too long already, and Boom wanted her in the air to play it safe. His boss confirmed the company that ran the copilot’s background was reputable and reliable, so Lee had been ordered to take off and keep an eye on the copilot until the vetting was complete. Boom hoped to have something by the time the plane stopped for fuel.
Steeling his spine, Lee closed the distance to the limo and prepared himself for the smug expression surely to fill her beautiful face. The only plus side he could think of was that she probably looked stunning when she smiled.
4
Viktoria slapped the mouse button, ending the conference call with the department heads and slumped against the plane’s soft leather chair. Staring at the ceiling, she fought her eyes attempting to drift to the man sprawled in one of the middle-fuselage seats. She had given up on working on the presentation almost immediately after the jet started climbing into the air and instead attempted to host a production meeting once the plane leveled out, but that had failed to fully engage her concentration, too. She couldn’t fault the chartered jet—it was set up perfectly for all her needs with an office area set up right outside the small bedroom that had its own bathroom, a seating area with recliners and tables, and finally the main cabin bathroom and galley outside the cockpit. The internet connection was topnot
ch, and she barely experienced the typical pixelating issues that made video chatting tough.
No. She blamed The Heathen. Every time she blinked, the memory of their battle of wills broke her concentration. Those amazing amber eyes willing her to capitulate, something she never did. But for him, she had. The very thought of it haunted her. That he withstood her iron stare, wasn’t intimidated by her strong backbone, and didn’t try to belittle her for being a woman standing on equal ground with a man, rattled her. In fact, she got the impression he liked that she refused to be cowed.
Biting her lip, she stared at him from the corner of her eye. He’d dropped his sunglasses into the cup holder and swiveled his chair to face the aisle, giving her a modicum of privacy but still keeping an eye on her. A hint of a tattoo peeked from beneath the edge of his short-sleeve shirt. It had been driving her crazy with the urge to see the whole design. Not to mention the way his developed muscles corded every time he moved. Like right now. His brows furrowed as he read something on his phone, and a bolt of lust slammed into her all over again.
Stop it, Viktoria. He’s the polar opposite of an appropriate man. He’d never fit into her corporate world. The Heathen tracked dirt everywhere, wore inappropriate clothes, said improper things, and…and he was bossy…
In other words, he refused to let her walk all over him.
Unhooking the charging cord from her phone, she shot to her feet and jabbed redial. She had to get some real work done and stop obsessing about Lee McCallister.
“How are you feeling, Aleta?” Viktoria asked her assistant, crossing her fingers the woman would be well enough to work.
“This dry, California air is helping, I think,” Aleta answered and Viktoria exhaled in relief at how her assistant sounded as healthy as her words claimed.