When he still didn’t say anything after she’d done a sweep of his room and signalled it was okay for him to come in, she decided it was time to hit the issue head on.
‘The guy hurling all that abuse on the pavement was a moron.’
Zac shrugged off his jacket and loosened his tie. ‘Agreed.’
‘So you can ignore everything he said. Like having a female bodyguard makes you look like a wimp.’
‘What?’ A mixture of shock and confusion spread across his face. ‘You think that bothered me?’
Crap, if it wasn’t that … Kat felt a ball of unease settle in her stomach. ‘Something did, because you’ve not said a word all the way here.’ He shook his head, exhaling heavily as he threw his jacket onto the sofa. ‘And you always hang your jacket up.’
‘Jesus.’ He tugged a hand through his hair before heading towards the minibar. ‘Do you want a drink? Someone told me it was one of the perks of living in a hotel.’
She could have murdered one, but she had to shake her head. ‘No thanks. I’m on duty.’
‘I’m here, safe and sound in my hotel room. You’re off the clock.’
‘I’m also driving. But I’ll take a Coke, if there is one.’
He reached inside and drew out a miniature of whisky and a small Coke, pouring hers into a glass and handing it to her before pouring his own. ‘Cheers.’ He perched on the arm of the sofa and gave her a small, tight smile. ‘Here’s to my bodyguard, keeping me safe.’
He was being ironic. Damn it, he was going to pull her up on her mini panic attack. Feeling her hands start to tremble, Kat quickly put down her drink. ‘Just say what you want to say.’
‘I just did.’ He raised his glass towards her. ‘A toast to my bodyguard.’
‘How many drinks have you already had?’
He raised a brow, looking offended. ‘You think I’m drunk?’
‘I don’t know what to think,’ she muttered, taking a big swig of the Coke. ‘But if you’re going to talk in riddles, it’s time for me to leave.’
He sipped at his whisky, his eyes on her, the look brooding and unnervingly intense. ‘He could have had a knife. Or a gun.’
The bottom fell out of her stomach. Any minute now, he was going to tell he wanted her replaced. Slowly she turned. ‘I realise that. And I can imagine how terrifying it must be, knowing someone might want to hurt you.’
‘You think that’s what spooked me out there?’ Suddenly he jumped to his feet and stalked over, putting his hands on her shoulders. When he looked down at her there was an urgency, a roughness to his expression she’d not seen before. ‘Fuck, Kat, he could have hurt you.’
Her heart lurched at the emotion swirling in his eyes. ‘He couldn’t. He didn’t. I’m good at what I do.’ When I’m not distracted. Kat shoved the unhelpful, yet grimly accurate, thought away.
Zac huffed, glancing away for a moment, before settling those stunning eyes back on her. ‘I didn’t think about it before, but now it’s all I can think about.’ His hands shifted to curl around her upper arms and his gaze landed on her mouth. ‘I don’t want you putting yourself in danger to protect me.’
Inside her chest, her heart beat like a crazy thing. Was this all part of his ploy to get rid of her? Or was he worried about the thing he was hiding from them – she wasn’t daft, she knew there was something he wasn’t telling them. Was he worried that might put her at risk, too?
Or, God, the hooded eyes, the parted lips. Was he going to kiss her? Involuntarily, her own lips began to tingle in anticipation. It was wrong, so very wrong, yet part of her wanted it to happen. Wanted to feel that sensual mouth against hers.
This man with his fussy ways and careful words. Dry humour and kind actions. She was getting frighteningly attached to him.
Taking a step back, she forced her mind to focus back on what he’d said. ‘You want to swap bodyguards? Have Mark find you someone else?’ The thought stung.
‘The thought has crossed my mind.’
‘I see.’
‘No, you don’t!’ With a hiss of frustration, he swirled round and smacked his hand against the opposite wall.
Always so measured, so in control, it was a shock to see this other side of him. ‘Zac?’
His back facing her, she watched the rise and fall of his shoulders as he drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. When he turned towards her again, he looked calmer.
‘Sorry. Seeing you in action today, it rattled me.’
‘What did?’ The way I froze, like a startled rabbit? Please don’t say it, please don’t—
‘The way you put yourself between me and that mouthy git.’
He hadn’t noticed her scared bunny impression. Relief flooded through her. ‘If it had been Mark grappling the jerk instead, would you still have been rattled?’
‘No.’
She huffed. ‘So it’s a gender issue.’
He laughed, but not in an amused way. More … baffled. ‘No, Kat, it’s not a gender issue. It’s a you issue. I like you. I don’t want you to come to any harm.’
Deep inside her chest she felt a squeeze. ‘Thank you, but I know what I’m doing.’
‘We don’t know who we’re up against though, do we? We don’t know what they’re capable of.’
He was worrying her again. ‘What are you saying?’
With a shake of his head he walked towards the door. ‘I’m saying I don’t want to be responsible for you being hurt.’ Hand on the handle, he glanced over at her. ‘I’m saying for both our sakes, I hope you’re right when you say you know what you’re doing. Goodnight, Kat.’
Her mind was a whirl of emotions as she rode back down in the lift. He’d hinted at it before, but now she knew. He liked her.
It shouldn’t matter, yet it did.
Did he like her enough to trust her with the information he was clearly hiding though, because she really, really needed him to do that. Only then would she know the true scale of the challenge she was facing and whether she was as ready as she’d promised Mark. Or as capable as she’d claimed to Zac.
Chapter 8
The following day Zac was in his dressing room when he received a call from the police, who wanted to let him know they were working with UK Security and doing all they could to track down his stalker.
Three of the names he’d provided had checked out, they’d reassured him, though they were still trying to trace Hannah. Could he give them a description of her?
And even though their encounter had been between two consenting adults. Even though they’d both got what they’d wanted out of it; her to have sex with a celebrity, him a welcome distraction from a party filled with pretentious luvvies he’d hated every minute of and only gone to because his manager had told him to. Even then, knowing they’d parted amicably, her with a smile on her face, he’d felt seedy talking to the cop. Especially when he couldn’t, for certain, say whether her eyes had been green or brown.
Surprising, because it was often the eyes that attracted him first.
Kat, who’d he’d nearly kissed last night, had eyes that were a deep, luscious brown. Warm eyes, to match her warm soul. Eyes he’d nearly lost himself in.
Frustrated with the way his thoughts were turning, he jumped to his feet, only for his phone to ring again.
It was twenty minutes later before he was able to get back on set. A lot longer before he was able to get the phone conversation out of his head for long enough to focus on the scene they were filming.
‘You were distracted this afternoon.’ Tom, the assistant director, caught up with Zac moments after he’d called a wrap on the day.
‘Sorry.’ Annoyed at his piss poor performance, Zac gave Tom a tight smile. ‘It won’t happen again.’
‘Hey, I’m not concerned, not for the film. You’re one of the most professional actors I’ve worked with. I’m concerned for you. Is this stalker getting to you?’
Zac shook his head. ‘I just had a phone call that threw me for a loop, that
’s all.’ Deciding maybe he could use the excuse Tom had handed him, Zac added, ‘The police phoned to update me on progress so far, or should I say lack of progress.’
Tom gave him a sympathetic look. ‘They’ll catch them soon enough, and in the meantime UK Security will take care of you.’
Which was half the damn trouble, Zac thought as he made his way back to the dressing room. He had a stalker who might, or might not, be related to the past he’d wiped clean, and who might, or might not, want to seriously harm him.
Then he had a bodyguard he liked – really liked – but who he could be putting in terrible danger.
On top of all that, his bodyguard was also a woman who, through professionalism or lack of interest, was determinedly keeping her distance. Hell, he’d nearly kissed her last night, before she’d coolly taken a step back.
Added to that heady mix was the phone call he’d taken earlier, reminding him where he needed to be this weekend.
It was the last place he wanted someone watching him closely.
When he’d finished his shower, he found Kat waiting for him outside.
What was it about her?, he mused as his eyes fell on her trim form, dressed as usual in black. Uniform or personal taste, he didn’t know. Only that the colour suited her, emphasising her luscious dark eyes.
‘Straight home?’ She winced. ‘Sorry, straight to the hotel?’
‘Unless you have a better idea.’
She pursed her lips. ‘Well, it’s a lovely evening. Shame to spend it cooped up inside when you could be strolling along the river. Perhaps ending up in a pub with a …’ She considered him. ‘Gin and tonic?’
It sounded like heaven. But. ‘Are you with me in this scenario?’
‘Well, I’m on duty, so the G&T would need to be a Coke, but otherwise, you bet.’
This was part of her appeal, he realised. She didn’t wait for life to happen, she grabbed at it. ‘And if I’m recognised?’
‘You’ve got some shades?’ When he nodded, she added, ‘I can lend you a baseball cap.’
‘Sold.’ Feeling his mood lift, Zac followed her down the corridor towards the car park.
Twenty minutes later, he was walking alongside the River Thames with Kat, watching the sun glisten off the water. The evening was warm and still, the only sound the gentle chug of a river barge as it eased its way downstream.
He sucked in a deep, life affirming breath, only to catch her smiling at him. ‘What?’
‘You were really wound up when I first saw you. Now you’ve relaxed.’
He eyed her speculatively. ‘Is that why you suggested a walk?’
She gave him a smug smile. ‘Of course.’ They walked in silence for a few minutes. ‘Is there anything on your mind? Anything I can help with?’
Find the stalker so I don’t have live in this awful, twisted fear not just for my own life, but yours. Words that would shatter the peace. Unfair words, too, because it wasn’t her job to work out who was following him. ‘I’ve got to attend a family function on Saturday.’ He kept his eyes forward, his body language deliberately casual. ‘My mother holds this annual charity ball. It’s a private party, in my parents’ house, which is in the middle of nowhere.’
‘Is that your way of saying you don’t want me or Mark there?’
He gave her the cocky smile he was famous for. ‘I knew you’d see it my way.’
‘Oh no. No, no, no. And in case you misheard it, I’ll repeat. No.’ Those brown eyes flashed darts at him. ‘Vision Films are paying us to guard you 24/7. The only reason we’re not camped outside your hotel room is because Collier is happy with the security arrangements of a hotel with a private floor.’
‘Fine. You or Mark can drive me there, drop me off and pick me up later.’
She blinked. ‘That’s not how this works. I decide how to handle your security, not you.’
‘Of course.’ He forced himself to smile. ‘It just seems overkill to take a bodyguard to a charity event held at my parents’ estate. The stalker is hardly going to be invited.’
He wasn’t sure what was at the bottom of the assessing look she gave him. Only that he found her scrutiny uncomfortable. ‘In the last note you received, the stalker asked if you were avoiding them, so would it be fair to conclude they’re watching you?’
‘Possibly.’
Kat gave a huff of annoyance. ‘You’re deluding yourself if you think there’s any other explanation, but let’s explore this further. Your biography states you were brought up in a manor house in West Buckinghamshire, so even you have to admit anyone determined enough can find out where your parents live. As for the stalker not having an invitation, the Queen didn’t invite Michael Fagan into her bedroom at Buckingham Palace, but she still found him there.’
Frustration bubbled. ‘Come on, Kat. The worst thing that happened to the Queen was the country got to know what type of nightie she wore.’
‘Only because the security staff got lucky. It could have been so different. Fagan could have had a knife or a gun.’ She levelled him a look. ‘I suspect someone lost their job over it.’
He laughed in disbelief. ‘You’re really going to use that argument?’
She shrugged. ‘I’ll use whatever it takes.’
He knew when he was beaten. Knew too, that if he protested any further, she’d start to wonder what he was hiding. Still, if he had to have an escort, he’d at least make it on his terms. ‘I’ll accept a protection detail, as long as it’s you.’
She eyed him suspiciously. ‘Why?’
‘Because if I’m bringing someone, they’re coming as my date.’
‘Oh no.’
‘Oh yes,’ he insisted. ‘I take a bodyguard to a private charity function, people will think I’m a paranoid tosser or an arrogant prick.’ He let his eyes skim over Kat’s bewitching face. The angles that shouldn’t work, but did. The eyes that held him hostage. They were by the river, in the setting sun, with nobody watching them. He was damned if he was going to waste the opportunity. Deliberately he softened his voice. ‘I take you, and people will think I’m a lucky bastard.’
***
Kat almost swallowed her tongue. Good God, what did she say to that?
‘You’re flirting again. We can’t.’
‘I’ve not seen any rule to that effect.’ His eyes danced as he trailed his forefinger gently down her cheek, causing a flurry of sparks to race across her skin. ‘Or any rule stating I’m not allowed to kiss you,’ he murmured, those magnetic green eyes skimming over her mouth before lifting to meet hers. The hunger she saw, the intensity, made her breath catch.
‘Please,’ she croaked, her pulse racing at what had to be a million beats a minute.
‘Please, you want me to kiss you?’
His voice had lowered an octave and she felt herself slowly drowning under the power of his sexuality. ‘No,’ she managed, before she went under.
A frown appeared between his eyes. ‘Are you sure, because your body is telling me something else.’
‘My body can’t be trusted.’ With herculean strength, she tore her gaze from his. ‘Please don’t make this hard.’
His lips quirked and he glanced down. ‘Well, it’s not hard yet, but it’s getting there.’
With a growl of frustration, she pushed at him. ‘I’m being serious.’
Sighing, he rubbed at the back of his neck. ‘So am I.’
‘What do you mean?’
Placing his hands in his pockets, he took a step away from her. ‘I’m very attracted to you, Kat.’
She swallowed, her heart beating erratically. ‘Thank you. I’m flattered, I really am.’
‘Are you attracted to me?’
Oh shit. ‘How could I not be. I mean, look at you. All those shiny good looks—’
His jaw muscle twitched. ‘Cut the crap.’
Beneath his annoyance, she saw a vulnerability she’d not expected. Yet she couldn’t be seduced by it, or by him. She just couldn’t. ‘Look, whatever seducti
on routine you’ve got going on inside your head—’
‘Seduction routine.’ He jerked backwards, shaking his head. ‘You think I’m that cunning? That I planned this? You’re the one who suggested the walk.’
‘I know, I’m sorry.’ Agitated, she glanced towards the river, watching a group of ducks as they glided serenely by. ‘What I’m trying to tell you is, if you want to seduce me, it will work.’
He stilled. ‘It will?’
‘Yes.’ As his mouth started to curve into that sexy small smile, she added, ‘But I’m asking you, please, not to.’
His answering sharp exhale sounded like a clap of thunder against the tranquillity of the setting. As she held her breath, waiting for him to reply, the air between them hummed, like power lines from an electricity pylon. The more he stared at her the more she knew, without doubt, that if he decided to kiss her anyway, she’d melt against him.
Damn, that pissed her off. She didn’t want a man to have that sort of hold over her again. The sort of hold that would lead her to forget right from wrong, sensible from stupid, and just give in to what her body wanted.
Maybe, further down the line, to what her heart wanted.
‘Am I allowed to ask why I can’t seduce you?’ he said eventually.
‘Sleeping with the client is tacky and unprofessional. I don’t want to be that person.’ She swallowed, focusing on keeping her voice steady, her emotions on lockdown. ‘More importantly, it’s a distraction. And distractions can get you killed.’
He gave a little shake of his head, as if he didn’t believe her. But then a guard came down across his face and he stared towards the riverbank. When he spoke again, it was as if the whole conversation hadn’t happened. ‘I believe you promised me a gin and tonic.’
She told herself she was relieved he hadn’t pressed it. Relieved he hadn’t kissed her, even though her lips felt deprived of his touch. ‘I promised you a pub. You’re responsible for your own drink.’
A twitch of those delicious lips. ‘Who said having a bodyguard is no fun?’
They started to walk again, an underlying … tension was too strong a word for it … a sizzle, an awareness between them that, while it had always existed, she’d been able to push to the back of her mind. Now she’d have to find a way to cut through it, so she could get them back on the polite yet friendly footing her equilibrium desperately needed.
Up Close and Personal Page 7