The Protector

by Cristin Harber

  “It is.” She unbuckled and scooted closer to his window. “This is Chance Evans, Gigi’s newest addition.”

  “I see,” Sal said, not moving to let them in. “And the truck? Is that some kind of stunt?”

  “No—”

  “Because we’re all supposed to be on the same page when Mr. or Mrs. Th—”

  “No, Sal. I promise. It’s not. Everyone’s out of town, and Chance took me to play in the mud.”

  “I see.” Sal crossed his arms, still unconvinced. “What’s the phrase I’m looking for?”

  “Enjoy your night?” Chance offered.

  The man smirked. “Let’s try… Not a snowflake’s chance in hell.”

  Jane grumbled. “Sal, I have to pee. Let us in.”

  He shook his head. “Careful, Jane. The paparazzi lounging across the street will start sniffing to see who the hell you are.”

  “So let us in,” Chance suggested.

  Sal scoffed. “If your truck dirtied the Thanes’ street…” He clucked. “That’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

  Chance found an enormous amount of humor in the guard’s reasoning. “I thought the Thanes have a ‘Risk it all’ motto?”

  Jane and Sal groaned simultaneously.

  He looked incredulous. “Syria’s okay, but mud isn’t?”

  Sal pinched the bridge of his nose. “You have a lot to learn.” But then he pointed toward a small enclave of staff parking. It was cordoned off by a protective layer of hedges. “Park in our lot and don’t tell a soul.”

  “Thanks, Sal.” Jane grinned. “Appreciate it.”

  Chance threw the truck in reverse and pulled into the hidden lot. The manicured landscaping barely hid his truck in the farthest spot. He stretched and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Ready?”

  Jane gave him a shy but sly smile. “I think so.”

  His eyebrow arched, watching as she fidgeted with the hem of her shorts. “What?”

  Her chin dipped. “I’m ready so long as…”

  “What?”

  Jane met his eye, tugging her lip between her teeth. It took a moment, but she finished, “So long as we pick up where the Marlboro Man interrupted us.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Chance faltered, double-checking that his mind hadn’t dubbed over her actual words. “The Marlboro Man?”

  The look in her eyes—a mix of uncertainty and lust—assured him that he hadn’t. “I didn’t catch the man’s name.”

  His throat tightened. The visceral memory of her on his lap rocketed across his skin. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he could trust his voice. Tension filled the truck as Chance slowly lifted his chin. “We’ll pick up where we left off.”

  “Great.” Jane jerked away and jumped from his truck, her nerves leading her retreat as she slammed her door shut.

  “But we’ll wait until you’re ready.” He found himself smiling and shaking his head.

  She rounded the corner of the hedges, not glancing back, and he hustled to catch up. He’d never run after a woman before—until today—but waved at Sal as he loped toward Jane.

  Jane slowed when he reached her side. Chance took her hand. As his fingers knit with hers, he could feel the anxious tension melt away. “The neighborhood’s kinda nice. If you like this kind of thing.”

  She snort-laughed, ambling as they rounded a corner. “Who likes award-winning architecture anyways?”

  Hand in hand, they followed a winding road of perfect lawns and well-appointed homes. Chance wondered how many normal houses could fit between the neighborhood’s mansions. Finally, they turned down the Thanes’ street. The neighborhood was eerily perfect. Not a single blade of grass or manicured flowers was out of place. The homes rarely showed signs of life. It was summer, but the sound of kids playing and laughing didn’t fill the air. The warm night didn’t hold the scent of backyard grills. What was the point of their rigorous standards when Chance didn’t see a soul enjoying it?

  He didn’t know but knew he wanted to spend his time with people who appreciated life more than furnishings. “Even if I were a billionaire, I wouldn’t live here.”

  “Same.” Her phone dinged from the back pocket of her shorts. It quickly dinged again and served as a reminder: this neighborhood was simply their job.

  Jane retrieved the phone. Her warm expression shifted. The corners of her lips pinched as she read the screen, and Chance didn’t need three guesses to know who it was.

  ***

  “Oh, boy.” Jane frowned at her phone. Gigi’s text messages popped onto the screen, one right after the other. The first ones were silly ones, asking that Jane double check the sprinklers went off at the right time and reminding Jane that Gigi’s man-candy pool guy would be there on Tuesday.

  The last one, though, threatened to ruin her night with Chance. Jane re-read Gigi’s text message: Lark can’t stay in the main house tonight. We REALLY need to give the appearance that we’re at home. Please spend the weekend in the main house.

  She understood Gigi’s concern. For whatever reasons, the Thanes were trying to keep their super-secret trip as on the down low. Jane hated to stay in their massive house when she was all alone, though… she glanced at Chance. She wasn’t alone.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  Before she could reply to Chance, another text came through from Gigi: Hello? Are you there? I’m not sure why you’re ignoring me.

  “Oh, good grief.” Jane rolled her eyes and held up her phone for Chance to see. “Ignoring her? It’s been less than a minute.”

  Another text pinged through. Jane glanced at the screen. Gigi sent a row of praying hands and heart emoticons followed by: Please. We’re sorry if you already had plans elsewhere. Just turn some lights on and off. Pretend you’re playing house. Just keep the paparazzi off our tails.

  Another text pinged.

  Jane, stop ignoring me!!!

  Jane snorted, and Chance read over her shoulder.

  He let out a slow whistle. “She can be a little manic?”

  “Yeah.” But that wasn’t what bugged her. She still didn’t understand why the attention-hungry Thanes wanted to lay low. That could be a mystery for another day. Before Gigi could send another text, Jane responded: That’s not a problem. Enjoy your vacation.

  They started toward the Thanes’ again. Jane’s thoughts raced. Would they care if Chance stayed with her in the main house? They wouldn’t know if he spent the night in her pool house—her stomach flipped. Spending the night was insanely presumptuous. Except, between the interruptions in the kitchen and his truck, Jane had made assumptions. Tonight, they could be together and alone. It didn’t matter when he would leave, or if they spent the night together in her cottage or the main house. Once they were behind closed doors, Chance would touch her again.

  Her heart skipped a beat. She would touch him too. They’d kiss. They’d undress. His body would press against hers. Into hers. Despite the warm summer night, a chill rolled down her spine, and heat spiraled up Jane’s neck. They’d be intimate. That’s what she wanted, wasn’t it? It better be. That’s what she told Chance she wanted in his truck.

  Jane fidgeted but then turned. Where was Chance supposed to be staying anyway?

  Their trek finished, and they stood at the bottom of the Thanes’ large cobblestone driveway. She bit her bottom lip and twisted to face Chance. “Did they tell you where you were staying? Security doesn’t usually stay on the grounds.”

  Security rarely ran twenty-four-hour shifts, per Gigi’s requests for privacy, and they rarely stayed on the grounds. But their property could house guests and staff. Two guest houses faced the opposite side from Jane’s poolside cottage. There was an apartment over the garage, or maybe they planned for Chance to use one of the guest rooms.

  He shrugged. “Lark said she’d get back to me, but I haven’t heard from her.”

  “Hmm. Lark was supposed to stay in the main house, but now she can’t.”

  “Did I mention how Lark seems
like such a nice person,” Chance muttered.

  Jane laughed though her nerves still jittered. She felt like a schoolgirl asking her crush on a date. Where had her bravery gone? Jane shuffled her foot. “Since I have to stay in the main house, later, if you want, you could stay there with me.”

  Chance offered a closed-lip grin.

  She couldn’t read his silent answer. Was that hesitation? “Or don’t. There are guest rooms and guest houses like mine.” She grimaced. “Actually, forget I even mentioned it. We’ll hang out and then—”

  “Jane.” He took her hand and led the way toward the front door. They stopped on the porch, and before she could let them in, he spun her to face him. “Do you always think the worst?”

  When it came to someone spending time with her… “Maybe?”

  “Why?”

  Her parents was the easiest answer. They’d taught her to distrust before she knew how to walk. “You gave me a weird look a minute ago.”

  Chance grinned. “I forgot my bag in the truck.” He chuckled. “You left, I followed. We walked all the way up here, and I didn’t bring a thing.”

  “Oh…” She laughed, covering her warm cheeks with her hands. “So, you want to stay with me?”

  “Tell me one reason why I wouldn’t stay with you.”

  In that calm demand, Chance seemed so intent and true, set on reminding Jane of every kind and sentimental word he’d shared. “I don’t know.”

  He wrapped her to him and rested his chin on the top of her head. Silent laughter rumbled in his chest. “I won’t even complain if you force me to sleep on nice sheets.”

  A calm grin curled on her lips. “Oh, I will.”

  With renewed conviction, she pressed the security code on the keypad next to the front door. The locks clicked, and she threw open the doors. “Welcome back to crazy town.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  The second time in the Thanes’s home was no less impressive than the first. But Chance didn’t care. Finally, they were alone.

  Then Jane’s phone blew up with another round of messages from Gigi. Between the quick responses, Chance decided to jump in the shower and let Jane deal with her—their—boss.

  He walked around a bathroom that was the size of his house in the Shenandoah Mountains. The bathtub was like a swimming pool and the shower had a number of heads, all pointing in strategic locations. As he programmed the hot water to turn on, Chance decided he would avoid the main house whenever he had the opportunity. But not tonight.

  He’d said he’d spend the night with Jane and he’d meant it, however uncomfortable his surroundings made him. Opulence was a reason he didn’t like Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Yet here he was, in a guest bathroom with technology to rival NASA.

  Chance splashed some water on his face but didn’t dare touch the fluffy white towels. He didn’t know a shade of white this bright and clean existed. Jared Westin had been right. The Thane mansion was his worst nightmare.

  “Chance?” Jane knocked.

  He dried his hands on his shirt then opened the door.

  Jane held a stack of clothes. “I found these and thought they might fit.”

  “Thanks.” He took the pile. Their hands touched. If Jane had been any other woman, he wouldn’t have noticed. She didn’t flirt or do anything special, yet desire twisted in his chest.

  “Let me know if you need anything.” Jane stepped from the door threshold.

  Chance tossed the clothes onto the counter and reached for her hand. “Wait a sec.” He pulled her close and shut the door. The steamy air surrounded them when her body drew flush against his. “Where’re you going?”

  She looked up at him with her big eyes, her lips parted. “I thought you wanted to shower.”

  His eyes searched her face, her hair, and all of her pretty features—each one he desperately wanted to explore at length. “I do.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands, letting his thumb slide over the soft skin. “With you.”

  Chance held her against him, savoring Jane’s hold as realization dawned. He hadn’t just said the words. His desire had electrified the air. His heart thumped with a mind-numbing yearning, and he was positive another word wasn’t needed to clarify the depth of his hunger. I want you. I need you. Every conceivable variation he could imagine felt trite.

  His hands slid down her jaw. At the base of her neck, Chance relished Jane’s strong, racing pulse. She licked her bottom lip. The tiny pink flick of her tongue drove him to the edge. He hooked his fingers under the straps of her tank top. Jane’s eyelashes fluttered. The pink hue of her cheeks deepened.

  Slowly, he slid the straps from her shoulders. His mouth dipped to the corner of her neck, eliciting her shiver. His lips curled, and Chance parted them. His tongue swept over her skin, and encouraged by her sharp breath, he nuzzled and kissed his way to the soft spot below her jaw.

  Jane leaned her weight into one of his arms. The more pliant she became, the deeper his need burned. His cock throbbed. Jane swayed against him until his mouth took hers. She opened for his kiss, letting him nibble, suck, and explore. Steamy air swirled around them, and with his eyes closed, Chance mapped her mouth and memorized her reactions as though nothing in the world could interrupt them.

  His hands reached her waist, and his eyes opened to meet hers. Their lips parted, and she didn’t look away as he lifted her shirt, slowly exposing her stomach and then her bare breasts. Her tight, dark nipples reached for him, and Chance dropped to his knees.

  Surprised, Jane leaned back. His hands remained her waist, and he stilled her, watched her, promised without a single word that he would make her feel like heaven. A second passed. Then another, and when she relaxed, he buried his face in the valley of her breasts.

  Chance released her waist. His hands skimmed up her back then along her side until he cupped her tits in the palms of his hands. She trembled, breath shaking.

  He took his time, licking and kissing each mound, rolling his hot tongue over the perked tips. He let the stubble on his cheeks graze her creamy skin.

  Jane’s fingers gripped his shoulders. Her nails dug into the muscle, urging him on, and when her hips swayed, he took that as a sign to finish undressing her.

  Her shorts fell away. His fingers traced up her calves and up her legs. Still dressed and on his knees, he’d never felt more in control of and responsible for a woman than he did at that moment. “Fuck me,” Chance whispered reverently. His hands drifted from her thighs, and he stared in appreciation. “You’re beautiful.”

  “I’m naked.”

  He grinned and took his time standing. “Naked and beautiful.”

  “You’re dressed,” she murmured, her voice rich and lusty.

  “Not for long.” Without any fanfare, Chance pulled his shirt over his head and unfastened his jeans. Her eyes widened. Desire made their hue richer than he could recall seeing. “Beautiful and strong and smart, and…” He didn’t fucking know enough words to explain why she made him harder than steel. “You’re everything.”

  That was a hell of a thing to say. Undefinable. Unexplainable. It just… was.

  He pulled a condom from his wallet then kicked away the last of his clothes. Steam swirled around them, and Chance breathed it in as he reached for her. Their naked bodies meddled tighter, and with an absurdly chaste kiss, he backed Jane into the shower and placed the condom next to the shampoo.

  Hot water wrapped around them. Her face nuzzled against his chest, and she hugged their slick bodies together like they were slow dancing in a warm rain. He wanted to slide back onto his knees and bury his face in her cunt. He wanted to taste Jane, feel his tongue inside her, to know he was between her legs when her orgasms hit.

  Jane shifted, reviving him from his trance. Her hand wrapped around his shaft, and he sucked in a deep breath.

  Her chin tilted up. “Is that okay…” The pad of her thumb slid along the thick head of his cock.

  His molars clamped, and he trembled under her touch. “Carte blanche per
mission, babe.”

  She laughed, grinned, and sank to her knees. She covered the crown of his member with her white-hot mouth. His eyes shut. A ravenous thrill coiled in his back muscles and ripped through his frenzied limbs. Hot water beat on his back and his chest, and her tongue teased and tormented him until she made his toes curl.

  How did his plan go haywire? His orgasm loomed, but hell if he would come anywhere but inside Jane. “I need to—”

  She drew away. “So do.”

  Chance teetered dangerously on the vicious edge of climax. He broke away, breathless. “I can’t.”

  Uncertainty listed in her dark eyes.

  “Jane.” He commanded her gaze and dared her demons to ruin their moment. “I want more than your mouth. I need to be inside you.” His words and racing breaths mixed. “Tell me you understand me.”

  She nodded, and Chance lifted Jane onto her feet.

  “Promise me. When it comes to you, you will not doubt me.” His lungs hammered, and to hear him, he sounded angry. But he wasn’t. Not at her. Maybe the rest of her world. Maybe because a powerful climax begged for release. But never Jane.

  Her lips parted. “You’re amazing—”

  “Jane.”

  “I’m naked. Let’s have sex.” She pushed onto her toes for a kiss.

  He didn’t know what boiled deeper: the need to come or her wavering trust. Tension ticked in his jaw. Sanity and pleasure battled.

  Painfully, he side-stepped her kiss and vowed to set her straight. “You were worth finding, and you’re worth waiting for. I don’t want your body. I want all of you. That includes every scar and layer that came before we met.” He inhaled and held it until he had the strength to back away.

  “You want to have sex with me…”

  He didn’t know if that were a question or an understanding left unfinished.

  Jane pressed her palms to his chest. His heartbeat slammed under her touch. “I want that part of you that you hide. That you refuse to show anyone.” He took her chin and inched it up until her eyes settled on his. “And, I gotta tell you. That scares me to death. But I’m good with it.”