by Tia Wylder
“I do.” Jen looked curiously at him. “Why does it feel like you don’t want me here?”
“That’s crazy.” Mark flashed her his usual grin. “You know I want you around me always. Hell, if I could wake up with you next to me, that would be ideal too.”
“Watch it, mister,” Jen warned playfully. She checked her watch, popping a piece of her blueberry muffin in her mouth. “I think I need to go now, though. I have an early meeting.”
“Give Xander my regards.”
“Will do.”
This time, Mark was the one who kissed her on her temple, following her out the kitchen. Crystal was standing near the door, close enough that Mark wasn’t sure she heard anything, and when he looked on her face, he wasn’t surprised to see that she gave nothing away. She caught his gaze then looked away.
“See you later, Crystal,” Jen said with a wide smile.
Crystal offered a tiny one back but said nothing. Jen didn’t seem fazed and Mark kept his face straight as he followed Jen to the elevator. She turned to him as they waited for it to come up.
“You still haven’t told me why she’s here.”
“She’s my bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard?” Jen’s eyes widened. “Why do you need a bodyguard?”
“You think a guy with a face like this can walk around all willy-nilly? They’ll mob me, for God’s sake.”
“Be serious,” she said. “What’s happening, Mark?”
“Don’t worry about it, Jen. I’ll tell you what I can, when I can but I’ll be fine, trust me.” The elevator arrived. “Go along now. I’ll talk to you later.”
“You better, Mark. Don’t let me be too worried.”
“I won’t.” He gave her a comforting smile as she stared back at him. Concern bled into her eyes but she didn’t press the topic any longer. She just held his gaze until the doors closed.
Mark let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Suddenly, he was aware that it was only Crystal and him left in the penthouse but when he made his way back to where she stood, she wasn’t even looking at him.
“That was Jen,” he said lamely. Mark cursed himself instantly. Of course, she knew that. They greeted each other, for heaven’s sake! God, he should just put his head in the wall. What had gotten into him?
Crystal looked at him, her eyes expressionless. “I know who she is.”
“Right. Of course, you do.” He cleared his throat. “Back to the office.”
Crystal didn’t answer him. She trailed behind him back to the office where, not too long ago, the air had been charged with such sexual energy, Mark had been willing to throw all his ideals out the window. Now, the air was frigid. Mark wondered just how much of that was coming from the woman who had taken back up position at the door.
Chapter 4
She was right. It annoyed him how much she was right, especially seeing that they didn’t know each other long, but Crystal was absolutely right about him being scared. Mark was terrified, every second of his day filled with uncertainty about the future, wondering what this guy would try next. He couldn’t stop thinking about what that man might have done if Crystal hadn’t interfered when she did. Would he have stabbed him? Threatened him? Blackmailed him? Hurt him in some other way that would keep him from figuring out who was the spy in his company? The fact that Mark had no idea was driving him insane.
It didn’t help that the thought angered him nearly as much. This was his company. He put everything into it, helping to bring it to where it stood now, and someone wanted to swoop in and steal the benefits with some backhanded method? Not on his watch. He would rather die than see this company fall under the hands of their rival. He just had to figure out which rival it was. Which one of them was willing to go to not only the extreme length of planting a spy but trying to stop him from finding out who it was as well? The sheer audacity was maddening.
Mark threw his pen aside, frustrated. It was early in the morning, so early that the sun wouldn’t be up for another hour from now and no one was here but him. He thought it might be a bad idea working at the office so early in the morning, but he couldn’t sleep knowing that there was still work that needed to be done and, unfortunately, the documents he needed weren’t at home. Those documents stared back at him now, waiting to be done but Mark lost his drive. The anger was roiling through him, burning him from the inside out. With an angry grunt, he shot to his feet.
The intensity of his rage … he knew where it was coming from. Even though he was angry at the fact that they would try such a thing, he was even more angry that he was allowing them to scare him. Every shadow that moved, every creak or groan, Mark’s heart palpitated in fright. He glanced at the door, regretting the fact that he hadn’t told Crystal that he was leaving out.
Then again, he was beginning to think hiring her was a bad idea.
The woman was an enigma. He couldn’t read her, couldn’t understand what she was really about. Not even an inkling. Not to mention the fact that she was so damn attractive, Mark thought he might go insane just thinking about her. Did she wear a mask? Or was that how she really is? What was she hiding underneath that calm facade, or was she not hiding anything at all? Mark wanted nothing more than to find out and the fact that it was so difficult was driving him insane.
He didn’t like how she was making him feel, like a man who couldn’t control himself. Mark knew how to separate business and pleasure. Though he flirted often, he would never cross that line because it only brought on unnecessary emotions and issues that hindered whatever relationship they had before. Mark didn’t want to sabotage the relationship he had with Crystal with her as his bodyguard. His life was in her hands and Mark didn’t want to do anything that might make her be hostile towards him. With his track record with women, it was likely and Crystal didn’t seem like the type to be tossed aside.
But, then again, Mark didn’t particularly like the thought of tossing her aside either. He perched on the edge of his desk, staring out the window but not seeing anything. He wanted a taste of her. There was no doubt about that. And Mark had wanted a taste of many women. It was one of the things he was known for. He had women, then when he grew bored of them, he left them behind. He would tell them how it would be from beforehand, so he could tell himself he wasn’t the bad guy. Yet something told him he wouldn’t tire of Crystal easily. Perhaps a few times with her would do the trick. Get it out of his system and her out of his head.
“No.” Mark got to his feet, suddenly noticing that the sun was rising. “Not going to happen. Not going to happen. Not going to happen.”
He repeated it a few times in his head, drawing closer to the window as he watched the shadow of light cast over the sky. He had to prepare for her and he didn’t want what happened yesterday to happen again. They almost kissed, and if Jennifer hadn’t come in right then, more might have happened. “Not going to happen,” he said again.
“What’s not going to happen?”
Mark gasped, whirling to the voice. Crystal stood at the door of her office, arms crossed, dressed in black from head to toe and looking sexy as hell. She cocked her head to the side, raising a brow in question.
“What the hell?” Mark didn’t even try to keep the surprise out of her voice. “Where did you come from?”
“I went to your penthouse,” she stated, crossing her arms. “You weren’t there.”
“This early?”
She merely blinked, once. “Don’t you usually rise this early?”
“I do but—”
“What were you talking about just then?” She came forward but stopped way too far for his liking. “What’s not going to happen?”
“That’s none of your business.”
She blinked again, slow and languid as a cat. “You’re in a cranky mood today, it seems.”
“I guess now you know I’m not a morning person, then.” Mark sank into his seat, facing his papers again though he wasn’t seeing a single thing. He was overly aware of Crysta
l, who was coming over to him. Every step she took made his heart beat a little faster and he picked up a pen, gripping it tightly though he had no use for it.
“That’s fine,” she said, coming to a stop behind his chair. “Are you still working on the spy thing.”
“The spy thing? That’s what you’re calling it?”
“What should I call it then?” She bent closer and Mark was crossed between going nearer to her heady scent or pulling away. It was making it hard to think straight. “What are all these?” she asked.
“Employee files.”
“All of them?” She sounded slightly surprised. It almost made Mark look up at her but he held back. He wasn’t about to risk getting drawn in by her beautiful eyes. “You have about a million employees, don’t you?”
Unable to help it, Mark looked at her. “A million?”
She looked at him then, as if she was just noticing what she said. “You know what I mean,” she said, looking back down. “There’s a lot. Are you really going to go through every single one of them? And by hand too?”
“I’m trying to broaden my search,” he explained. Good, he thought. This was a good topic, something to keep his mind off the fact that her breasts were right next to his face and that she smelled glorious. “Right now, I keep hitting a dead end.”
“I wish I knew what to do to help you.”
That surprised him for some reason. He leaned back, putting whatever distance he could between them. “You’re interested in this sort of stuff?”
Crystal looked at him coolly. “Not even in the slightest.”
“What are you interested in then?”
She paused a bit before she responded, giving him an odd look. “What do you think?”
The corner of Mark’s mouth twitched, amusement rushing through him. “Are we going to play that game?”
She sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Alright fine. I’ll play along.” He ran his eyes down the length of her, slow, letting his gaze graze her tenderly. Crystal didn’t even move and it intrigued him even further. “You’re interested in yourself. Not selfish per se, but you go through life not caring about anyone else. Maybe a select few get through. Everyone else can go shove it.”
He was delighted to see her eyes light up a bit. “You’re good at that.”
“It comes with the job,” he couldn’t help but boast. “You don’t go into big meetings with important men without learning how to read them beforehand. Things like that could make or break you.”
“I can only imagine. Well, you’re right. I don’t care much for people. And that’s how it should be.”
Mark found himself wanting to know more. The feeling irked him. He normally didn’t care. The less he knew about a potential sexual partner, the better it would be for them when they parted ways. But Crystal wasn’t a potential sexual partner, he reminded himself. She was his bodyguard. And if they there were going to be working so closely together, it might pay to get to know her a bit. “Your parents are in that mix, I assume.”
“Not my dad,” she said. “Dad’s dead.”
Mark was taken aback by the nonchalant way she said that. “I’m … sorry about that?”
“Why?” she asked. “You weren’t the one who killed him.” She perched on the edge of the desk, her tone light as if she was merely telling a bedtime story. “Apparently it was a hit and run situation. He was on his way back home one night and a drunk driver ran him over. Mom said he was probably drunk too, so.”
“You don’t seem to care much about that.”
“I didn’t know him,” she said matter-of-factly. “He died when I was three. My mom gave me everything I needed anyway so it wasn’t like his presence was missed in any way.”
“Didn’t your mom miss him? Wasn’t she sad that he died?”
“Let’s just say he wasn’t the best partner. They weren’t married, weren’t in love. Only with each other because of me and suffering as a result. My mom said she grew to hate him over time so when he died, she was sorry there was only one person around to take care of me, but other than that, his death didn’t mean anything to her.”
Mark could hardly imagine that. As much as he and his father were constantly butting heads, he loved him dearly. He was close with every one of his family members, including his oversized extended one, and he didn’t know what he would do if anything were to happen to them. Crystal’s mom, though, sounded like an older version of her.
Crystal looked at him closely. Mark went on high alert and had to resist the urge to sit up straighter. God, this woman was driving him insane and she wasn’t even doing anything except existing. “You know,” she started. “I’ve never said that to anyone.”
“No one?” That surprised him. “Not even your closest friend?”
“Jane is my closest friend and I didn’t even tell her. She found out about it on her own.” Her gaze grew curious. “It’s weird that I told you all that.”
“How about I tell you something about me so it isn’t so weird anymore?”
She perked up a bit. “Okay, shoot.”
“My father has been hounding me about finding a wife for months now. Not too long ago, he actually told me that if I didn’t find one soon, he would hand the company over to my cousin.”
“I can’t imagine you were very happy about that.”
“I was livid. But then, now that this spy is bothering us, he told me that he’ll stop pestering me about it if I find them the mole before too much damage is done.”
“So that’s why you’re so determined to find this guy.”
“I have to protect the company,” Mark said. “But not having to worry about my dad breathing down my neck about getting married is an added bonus.”
“So what were you going to do about it? Before he told you he would stop hounding you?”
Regret slammed him into him like a truck. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought that up. Should he lie and not bring up the fact that he had asked Jennifer to marry him at all? He shouldn’t care but for some reason, the thought of telling Crystal that made him uncomfortable. But why? That was the past and he owed nothing to Crystal. “I asked Jennifer to marry me.”
Crystal blinked once. This time, it wasn’t slow and languid but sharp, her eyes boring into him. “What?”
“She’s my best friend,” he explained without a second thought. “I thought that if I was being forced to get married, I should do it with her, seeing that we’ve been best friends for years. Made sense at the time.”
“But she’s with someone else.”
“Which is why she turned me down.” Mark looked out the window, distracting himself from Crystal’s intense gaze. Reliving the emotional distress he went through when he poured his heart out to Jen wasn’t on his list of things to do today. He’s just managed to get over it, but maybe he wasn’t as okay with the outcome as he thought it was. His chest was fast-growing tight and with Crystal there to witness it wasn’t making him feel any better. “It’s a good thing she did though,” he rambled on against his better judgment. “We would have driven each other insane.”
“You two look like you could be a pretty good married couple,” she said.
Mark looked at her. It’s a pity she didn’t know that had been his exact thought a few weeks ago. “I doubt that,” he said instead.
“Why don’t you want to get married?”
“I didn’t say I don’t want to get married.”
“Do you?”
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve never really entertained the idea for myself. I like to take life each day. If marriage comes, then hey, it comes.”
“ But you doubt it will.”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“You didn’t have to. Your tone makes it as clear as a day.” She folded her arms. “I think you would make a good husband.”
“Wow, is that a compliment from the ice queen herself?”
Crystal rolled her e
yes. “I know how to give an occasional one here and there. Don’t get used to it.”
“I’ll look forward to it, instead. Getting another compliment from you would make my day.”
Crystal only stared at him, eyes blank. Mark cursed himself for flirting without even realizing what he was doing. He was about to say something to clear the air before she shot to a stand, her arms falling to her side. “I need to use the bathroom,” she announced, eyes out the window.
“Okay…”
Crystal didn’t wait for him to finish. She was darting out of there, slamming the door shut behind her. Mark watched her go, bemused. It took him a moment to realize that his heart was hammering, but for what reason, he had no clue.
**
Crystal paused outside the door of Mark’s office, glad that his secretary wasn’t in yet. It gave her all the privacy she needed to clutch her chest, bracing her hand against her rapidly beating heart before it beat itself right out of her chest. Her stomach was hot, her face was hot and she was feeling things down where she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Quickly, she fanned herself, trying to calm herself down. There was a bathroom on this floor, for the secretary, and Crystal took off towards it, heading straight to the mirror. Just as she suspected, her face was unnaturally red. She didn’t even know she could blush like that and sight both embarrassed and marveled her. What was it about Mark Gooden that was making it so hard to be her usual self? She didn’t feel like the Crystal Fey that she was used to right now. She felt like a foolish, inexperienced girl speaking to her first crush.
She liked him.
The realization hit her square in her chest. Crystal stared at herself in the mirror, wondering when this woman showed up. How could she have developed a crush on her new boss? Mark Gooden? Known womanizer? That was a recipe for disaster. Yes, he was attractive. There was no denying that and Crystal didn’t even attempt to convince herself that she wasn’t turned on by him every time she saw him. But this went deeper than being sexually attracted to him. She felt nervous, her palms sweating at the thought of going back in there yet eager to do it all the same. She found herself picturing herself in his bed, sated from a round of sex, talking about their dreams and their future. Crystal had never felt this way about anyone, ever. She never allowed herself to develop feelings for anyone else. It was a distraction.