The Phoenix Agency_Her Uncommon Protector

by Kate Richards

  Buckling under her friend’s imposing presence, Penny pulled out her phone and sent a group message announcing office hours had changed due to circumstances beyond her control—she stopped short of saying Hurricane Jules—and then slid the phone back into her pocket. “Okay, but I’m warning you, it’s a long story, but boring.”

  “But, luv,” protested her erstwhile fiancé, “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “Then maybe you should tell it,” she gritted out, already sorry for her brilliant idea of being engaged. “If you’re quite done stuffing your face.” Although, it was a very nice face. His short, neat beard and mustache made her reconsider her preference for clean-shaven men, and his auburn hair swooped off his forehead in a wave she longed to run her fingers over. And the suit! He would have to dress more casually if he was going to hang out on campus, but the gray, tailored ensemble matched with narrow pattered tie and white shirt made her feel like she was having lunch with 007.

  Jules chuckled. “Aww, the lovebirds. If I had any doubt, that caps it. Nobody would talk to a man that way unless they had a ring. Where is the ring?”

  “It’s right here in my pocket,” he said, patting his jacket.

  “What?” Penny sprayed broth across the table. “Sorry, Jules.”

  “Just a moment.” He drew out a set of keys and unhooked the ring. “I planned on giving it to you later, but why wait?”

  Almost forgetting their lie, she held out her left hand, trembling while he slipped on the band, old gold, worn thin. “I know it’s really a wedding band, but I thought you could pick out the diamond one yourself at the jewelers later.”

  She stared at her hand cupped in his, filled with an emotion she couldn’t name. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

  “My mother’s,” he murmured. “She would be so happy for you to have it.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, forgetting herself in the moment. “I didn’t know your mother died.”

  Jules stared from one of them to the other while he protested. “No, my darling. I would have told you if something happened to Mum. This is her ring from me Da, God rest his soul. She gave it to me when she remarried.”

  “Well, kiss her, then!” Jules broke into the moment. “You can’t slip a ring on her finger and not kiss the girl.”

  Panic infused her, but they had gone too far to stop now, so when Clive leaned across the table and cupped her chin, she tilted her head obediently to meet his kiss. Her heart shouldn’t have been pounding so hard, her lips trembling, anticipation building inside her far faster than it ever should kissing someone she’d just met who was technically a contractor hired to perform a job. Who she’d known for less than an hour.

  This was not the job. When their lips met, all nerves disappeared in the rush of flames from the point where their lips fused through her entire body. She still trembled, harder, and her arms circled his neck without her intending them to.

  She’d kissed more than a few men, but oh god, it was never like this. It was the first time but like they’d done this so many times. She was lost in the spicy taste of the tea he’d sipped, the scent of a subtle cologne with woodsy and citrus notes, his warm mouth, velvet tongue...

  “Okay…guys? Penny?” The words pierced the haze surrounding her, and they broke apart with a gasp for air. “Whew. Makes me want to get engaged myself. But maybe don’t do a lot of that on campus, at least outside your office.”

  “Huh?” She opened her eyes, almost surprised to see the restaurant with its dishes and food, although there wasn’t much noise for the number of people present. Probably because most of them were looking in their direction. Heat flooded her cheeks. “Oh, this is not good.”

  “To the contrary,” said her “fiancé” in a low tone. “I think it’s very good.” He stood and, grasping her hand, pulled her up with him then wrapped an arm around her waist. “The eminent Professor Penelope MacKay has accepted my proposal.” He turned her and gave her another firm kiss on the lips then lifted his head. “And you’re all my witnesses! No getting out of this, luv. You’re all mine.”

  Caught up in the moment, she beamed at him before remembering it was all a game. What a shame. He was probably good in bed, too.

  Shut up, Penny. Don’t be an ass. It’s a game. Keep smiling.

  But they were surrounded by students, other faculty, and the restaurant staff, congratulating them and wishing them happiness. If the gossip trio missed anyone, this should do it. Everyone would know she was in the company of her adoring husband-to-be, and no one would think it odd to see him around campus. Or at her house.

  He’ll be staying at my house. Why was the first image in her mind him in her bed, naked, with a sheet drawn up to his waist? At least he had some coverage! Then he didn’t, and her face flamed again. Maybe exhaustion from the trip and worry about being stalked has made me lose my mind.

  When Jules had hugged them and returned to the kitchen and everyone else drifted off, she sank into her seat, still stunned by the entire experience. “So…”

  “I think that went well,” he said. “You’re a good actor.”

  “Not usually, but I guess I have my moments.” Her heart still beat a rapid tattoo, but her breathing was coming under control, at least. “I have office hours to get to. Did you have enough to eat?”

  “Ample plenty, as Mum likes to say. Best meal I’ve had in quite some time, in fact.”

  “So, it’s true, English food is bad?” She rose and smoothed her clothes. “I thought it was a stereotype.”

  “Nothin’ wrong with our food. Mum is a terrific cook and a loyal subject of the Crown, so don’t ever let her hear you disparage our grub.” Like she’d ever meet his mother. He tipped back the last of the tea and waved her on. “To your office, then. If you need privacy to meet with a student, I can wait in the corridor.”

  “Probably won’t be an issue, today. I expect mostly administrative visits, but we’ll see. Onward.”

  Clive took her hand, the one with the ring, and lifted it to his lips. As he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, she heard a collective sigh from the coeds.

  “They’re all jealous I hooked such a good-looking man. And the accent…”

  “Like the accent, do you, luv?” He held the door for her and followed her out, keeping hold of her hand the whole time. “And you think I’m handsome, too. It’s a good day for me.”

  “Not just another day at the office?” A breeze had sprung up, and her hair blew around her face.

  He brushed it away, leaning in close. There’d be no personal space in her near future. “Hardly an ordinary day when a woman accepts a man’s proposal of marriage.”

  Personal space is highly overrated.

  Clive sat on the sofa in Professor Penny’s office for the next few hours while a string of students came and went. Most wanted to discuss assignments, maybe request extensions. One wanted a letter of recommendation for graduate school. She asked each one if they minded her fiancé being there, but none did. Rather, they included him in the conversations as if he was a professor himself, someone whose opinion they sought. Not a thing occurred that should raise any kind of alarm, not that he’d expected it to. Her problem was related to her other job, so unless the warlord wanted to send his people onto campus and take action in front of witnesses, they’d be waiting to get her alone. Easy when she lived alone on a mountainside.

  A lot of details required clarification. For one thing, why would they be so determined to get her in particular? If she wasn’t there, the rest of her team would go on, wouldn’t they? Was it merely vindictiveness…a man who was willing to risk sending his goons onto US soil to take her down after she’d already completed her task? She wouldn’t be going back to that village, probably.

  She currently sat at her desk with a pair of young men across from her, discussing an internship she’d set up for them. Her sincere interest in the details of their first week on the job made her even more animated, lovelier somehow. Her dark hair, golden skin, and blue eye
s had captivated him the moment he’d seen her, but as she became more animated, discussing water systems, pipes and valves, and other bits and pieces he had never heard of, she sparkled. The students mentioned a difficulty they were having with flow of some kind, and she jumped up and drew on the white board behind her desk. They joined her and, within moments, were laughing, in full understanding of how to resolve their problem. After they left, she faced him, still full of energy.

  “Well, that’s it for my job for today. Shall we go?” She gathered her things and smoothed her hair back from her face. “I’m such a mess. And everyone on campus is probably talking about our make-out session by now. I’ll probably be called into the dean’s office and given a good talking to.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s all your fault.”

  “I can’t help it if women fall into my arms.” He followed her toward the door.

  “Women?”

  “All of them.” He reached past her to flip off the light. “Can’t beat them off with sticks.” He breathed in her fragrance of roses and jasmine and tried not to kiss her again.

  “That will have to stop,” she murmured, “now that you’re an engaged man.”

  Their lips met. He’d take full responsibility for it, if asked, but who would ask him? And why did she have to feel so warm and soft in his arms?

  He’d been remiss in his duty already. Although he’d been given a great deal of information from both his lordship and Dan Romeo at Phoenix, there were many details to fill in. Her plans for the upcoming week or two, any ordinary security measures she took. For example, did she have an alarm system in her home? Did anyone else have access to it, like a housekeeper who might be convinced to help an evildoer or who might have their key stolen?

  It was hard to be the protector he needed to while kissing her. Summoning the will to pull away, he stroked her cheek and took a shuddering breath.

  She licked her lips, and it was all he could do not to go in for another…but he didn’t, although her next words made it—and him—much harder. “I hope you don’t believe in long engagements.”

  “With you, luv, no.”

  They both laughed, but the forced sound held no merriment. They were in over their heads. When Lord Henry told him about meeting Lady Amelia, he’d said they were attracted to one another almost right away.

  Not a bit of “almost” here. What future would they have? His life was thousands of miles away, where his mother’s health had begun to fail, and he had to be there for her. His siblings had taken the responsibility when his da had been ailing.

  Professor Penny’s life was based here at the university. And she worked for an organization based in the US so far as he knew. How could she pull up roots and follow him to the UK? And what about when she did go on her missions? He didn’t see himself as the type to sit home and worry over his woman.

  And why was he even considering asking a woman he’d known one afternoon to move in with him?

  “Ready to go?” she asked softly, bringing him out of his ridiculous thoughts. “Or did you want to make out in the janitor’s closet?”

  This time their laughter was real and helped put his head right. She was a beautiful woman, smart and willing to risk her life to give fresh, clean water to people who had no champion. Any man with half a brain and a cock would be attracted to her. That’s all it was. Admiration. Attraction. Maybe a twinge of infatuation.

  Back to business. “Let’s go.”

  He’d complete a new client interview later, tonight, at her house.

  Naked.

  He was going to be in so much trouble if he didn’t get his head out of his zip.

  Chapter Four

  Penny finished loading the dishwasher and wiped her hands on a tea towel. She’d had so much Gondola food left, they’d both been able to make a meal from it. If Clive stayed very long, he’d learn cooking was not in her skillset. But she was excellent at takeout, so they wouldn’t starve. And day-old Gondola food was better than most other food anyway. Like Cindy, she’d worked at the restaurant during her undergrad days and had a whole secret menu in her repertoire. She could order things with the best of them. Many days, she stopped by the Wharf before leaving campus and bought soup or a salad to take home with her.

  Food…was not what it was about right now, though. How about the fact a man who could kiss like a house on fire—sorry, Chief Mac. Their family patriarch who still had not stepped down from his position as chief of the Cedar Valley Fire Department didn’t appreciate fire jokes. But, no matter how she considered it, Clive Harrington turned her on more with a simple, maybe not so simple, kiss than any man who’d gone much further.

  And he was her first fiancé, as well. Fake fiancé, but maybe they could call it fake fiancé with benefits.

  Penny!

  “Well, I’ve had a look around the place for security issues.”

  She jumped. “Where did you come from?”

  “England, luv.” He flashed her that cheeky grin. “I thought I told you that.”

  “I mean now, and you know it.”

  Taking the towel from her hands, he hung it on the hook by the sink and led her out of the kitchen. “Let’s sit in the lounge and talk.”

  Lounge…UK speak for living room. She loved his turns of phrase. Penny, suddenly interested in all things English, stopped him long enough to brew some tea, apologizing for the bags and learning many people in his country, including her current guest, used bags most of the time. Then, as he’d requested, they moved into the living room and settled on the sofa. The fire he’d built while she reheated their dinner crackled and popped in the stone fireplace. She cradled the mug of orange pekoe between her palms and settled into the cushions with a sigh. “It’s been a long day.”

  “For me, too.” Clive lay back in the opposite corner of the couch from her, making her wish she had the nerve to scoot over there and join him. “Feels good to sit by the fire.”

  “Yes…oh, your day had to be tiring. How long was your flight?”

  “Long. But I didn’t mind.” He sipped his tea. “You brew a proper cuppa.”

  “Thank you. I am a coffee girl, but in the evening, tea just seems like the right thing to have. Cookie?” She nudged the plate of Oreos on the coffee table closer to him. “I opened the package myself.”

  “Quite the homemaker.”

  Her cheeks heated. “No, I hardly cook, have a weekly housekeeper, and I’d like to grow a garden but I travel too much to keep anything alive.”

  He nodded. “Well, that answers the first question I planned to ask. Does anyone else have a key to your home besides the housekeeper?”

  “No…well, a cousin or two. And my mom and dad. Why? Nobody I don’t trust.”

  “Your family is probably fine, although I don’t know them and haven’t had them checked out yet.”

  “What?”

  “It’s just procedure.” He picked up a tablet and typed in a note. “How long have you known the housekeeper?” He’d carried his duffel and briefcase in and changed to jeans and a sweater before dinner. The man looked amazing in anything.

  “Several years.”

  “Even so, I want you to give her a little vacation while we deal with whoever is stalking you. I don’t want anyone coming up here while you’re not home. For several reasons.”

  Setting her cup down, she blew out a breath. “Okay. Want to share them with me?”

  “Of course. First, she could be someone who they could use to get to you. She could owe money to someone or have a child or spouse who does. She could just be glad to get some money.”

  “She’s not like that,” Penny protested. “She’s very nice, she—”

  “She could be in danger, too.” The words hung there for a moment before he went on, the firelight playing on his face, adding even more drama to what he was saying. “With all the trees out there, and shrubbery…have you considered getting a gardener, since you don’t have time to do it? It’s like a jungle. An entire army could be l
urking in the brush and trees when she comes to clean your house, kill her—sorry, but they could—take the key and wait in your house to kill you.”

  A pang hit her below the breastbone. She’d been so worried about herself. What about others? “Oh no. I’ll text her right away and tell her not to come until I ask her to. I’ll pay her so it doesn’t hurt her family budget.”

  “And we’ll change the locks anyway. Too many keys out there.”

  She started to protest then realized it was pointless. After requesting help, she needed to accept it. “I can probably get a locksmith out here tomorrow.” As far out of town as her house stood, she’d be lucky to get one at all, but maybe Chief Mac could convince the guy if he didn’t want to make the long drive.”

  “Unnecessary. I’ve got it covered.”

  “What about the rest of my team? What if he sends people after them? I should let them know.”

  “No. Don’t contact them. If he hasn’t found them, you might be leading him to them. Your organization is working with Phoenix to make sure they are protected. I can’t tell you more; it’s need to know.”

  “That’s okay. If something happens, it’s better if I can’t give them away.” This was spiraling out of control. “It’s so weird, though. I always felt danger while on our missions, but home, well, home felt safe. Now it might as well be a war zone.”

  “You don’t—”

  Suddenly, the living room was flooded with light. She stood and banged her knee on the coffee table as she raced toward the window. “Ouch!” She hopped the rest of the way. “What’s going on out there?”

  Clive followed Penny across the room. How could a woman with a nearly perfect safety record in war zones and areas controlled by violent warlords and drug kingpins be so foolish? He put his arm around her waist and supported her where she peeked through a crack in the curtains.

  “First, don’t you ever rush to see what’s going on like that again. At least on my watch.”

  “Oh.” She let the curtains drop and rubbed her knee. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”