Shielding Her
By
Kelly Lucille
Text Copyright Kelly Lucille 2018
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER ONE
One thing he could say about his job with Lionsgate security; it was rarely boring.
Well not until now anyway, Eli thought studying the woman Margaret Whitney Baxter, soon to be just Margaret Whitney again.
A beautiful woman, an island run for adult pleasure, and a bodyguard who, if he did say so himself, was not hard on the eyes should be a sure guarantee of the not boring variety, but it took him less than a minute in the woman's company to realize that, in this instance, his job was going to fucking suck. It was almost painful to admit because no one could say that Margaret Baxter was not easy on the eyes.
Not a hair out of place she wore what was probably some classically boring designer that went well with her single strand of sedate pearls. Her skin was barely sun kissed even though she was living on a tropical island, and he had no problem picturing her all covered up and shaded any time she went out into the sun. It was fantastic fucking skin, he would give her that, the kind that spoke of breeding and weekly spa visits, and serious upkeep. All of that said, to him, high maintenance and boring.
She was also too fucking skinny, as if she spent so much time trying to keep her perfect looks that she forgot to live. If he saw her on the street he would look, admire all that classic beauty and then walk right on by. A shame, he thought, because she had fucking fantastic legs. He had no trouble picturing them wrapped around his neck until he took in the cool compact way she moved as if the stick in her ass was firmly wedged and permanent. It burst the bubble of his imagination quite effectively.
This was not a woman at home with her sexuality. This was a beautiful Barbie doll that had probably only ever known one position. Missionary, with the lights off and her nightgown, rucked up just enough to get the deed done. Of average height and on the fine boned side she managed to accentuate her sleek classy curves and still be utterly devoid of sexy. She looked like she could have tea with the queen at a moment’s notice. It was wrong on a few levels to Eli's way of thinking. The woman said very little and had the habit of looking anywhere but in a man’s eyes.
The most irritating part of all was that it didn't matter that she was not his type, and vice versa, he expected a reaction when he met a woman, but she took one look at him, the only one in the room who had made himself comfortable in a chair while everyone else stood and gave her friend Rebecca a look of disbelief and then never looked his way again.
Eli was not a man used to being dismissed by women quite so easily. Six-foot one inch of well-honed muscle topped with a nice head of black hair, a handsome face and Irish green eyes was always worth a second look, or two. Add in a wicked smile and a flagrant disregard for boundaries when he felt like flirting, which was often, and you had a package few women wanted to look away from. Granted his looks were more effective when he wasn't sprawled in a chair wearing his island gear of khaki shorts and a loud Hawaiian shirt, but they were in the tropics, his usual work wear of cargo pants and black t-shirts would just be silly.
If the lady was looking at Lucas, or even Shawn who were the only other Lionsgate males present, Eli would have figured her tastes ran more to the six-foot five golden Viking marauders look in Lucas' case, or the hazel eyed whipcord lean soldier, in Shawn's. Like the rest of them, Shawn might have left the SEAL teams behind years ago, but of all the Lionsgate pack that had served together in the Naval special forces, Shawn was the only one you would look at after all these years and still think soldier first thing. Even Lucas, who was their alpha and had been their commanding officer had lost that rigid bearing like the rest of them. But then Shawn was a hawk shifter and Eli was a panther, Lucas a lion, so maybe it was natural that they moved with the fluid deadly grace of felines, and Shawn was more economical, as if every move were calculated beforehand and no move was wasted. Didn't make the man any less dangerous.
"We'll need to get all the background you can give us on your relationship with your husband," Lucas was saying. His voice rumbled like the pissed off lion he shifted into and Margaret finally gave them a reaction. Just not the one Eli wanted. For the briefest second, she looked vulnerable, but it was gone so fast he thought he might have imagined it. Then the lady shut down even further, and Eli had to wonder if he had imagined that brief look of fragility.
"Of course," she said, raising her chin slightly. Her voice was soft and melodic. His inner cat perked up at the sound of it. She turned to look at Rebecca, who stood at her side, two of her mates, Alpha wolf shifters Jacob Golden and Linc Callahan standing protectively behind the two women like book ends. Not that anyone blamed them. Their mate Rebecca, the short curvaceous brunet with pretty green eyes and sexy as hell lips that they hovered over, was extremely pregnant. As in eight months pregnant and ready to pop any day now. Eli was only surprised Griffin Hale, the Alpha of their pack, and Rebecca's third mate had not joined his enforcers in guarding their female. They might be allied with Lionsgate, but a pregnant mate in a room full of powerful males, even allied as they were, was enough to make any shifter lose his shit.
"You can trust them," Rebecca answered her friend’s unasked question. "Tell them everything you know or suspect and let them take it from there."
Margaret looked from her friend to the three other males. She hesitated. "Do you all need to be in here for this part?" The words came out a little shaky and Eli felt himself go rigid at the implication of this woman showing even that much emotion.
He had a feeling he was not going to like what she had to say. It also made him study her closer. He did not miss the white knuckled grip she had on the desk she was leaning against. Eli watched them release quickly and looked up to find topaz blue eyes on him. She looked away immediately but not before he caught the slight reddening of those classic cheek bones. He would like to think that it was interest on her part, but he suspected it was more along the lines of being caught giving away the emotions she had such a tight lid on. Of course, the female’s determination to show nothing made him want to do whatever it took to get an even bigger reaction out of her. But he was contrary like that.
"No," Lucas said gruffly. "Eli needs to hear it because he's going to be the one working in close proximity with you." Margaret looked to Eli and then away licking nervously over her bottom lip. Something in her posture made him think she didn’t like that he was in charge of her case. He had no clue why, he had barely said a word since she stepped into the room. "Since the island is shut down for your situation and the upcoming birth we will keep our people on a loose formation. Present, but not necessarily shadowing your every step," Lucas continued. If he noticed her less than pleased reaction to the choice of guard he showed no sign, but then he was the leader of their pack, rarely did he allow anyone to question his orders. The exception to that opened the door just then and walked in, smiling at her mate before she let her eyes take in the rest of them.
Miley Isabella Rose, mate to Lucas Gibbs, was
five feet six inches of delicious female. Curvy in all the right places, she wore her pencil skirt tight. There were whimsical pink flowers on the toes of her two-inch heels, and her pink blouse was both feminine and softly sexy, like everything Miley. Attitude of competence and all business, she walked into the room full of male predators with no hesitation, her hazel eyes taking in everything with a glance. She walked to her mate’s side and took the hand that dwarfed her own. Standing at the side of the towering golden male she managed to look both delicate and capable, as if she belonged at his side. Which anyone with eyes could see she unquestionably did.
As was his way, Lucas pulled her into his side and glared a territorial warning at everyone else in the room, even as his mostly human mate smiled at them warmly.
"I hate to interrupt but you wanted to know when the others arrived," Miley said ignoring her mates growl and the tight hold he had on her. "Cleo just reported that she landed, and they'll meet us in our suite." She looked up at her mate then with both a smile and a warning in her tone. "Ian and Liam tagged along with her, Logan, and Xena."
"Shit," Lucas muttered looking resigned. It made Eli chuckle because they all knew how much trouble Ian could get into on pleasure island, and Lucas was not looking forward to the havoc his seventeen-year-old son could wreak. Add in the slightly younger Liam who was his constant companion since they had basically stolen the kid from his abusive pride, and you have two oversexed teenage lion shifters on the prowl. Though Liam was low key in comparison to Ian, he was still a teenage lion shifter.
Lucas looked back at Margaret Whitney Baxter. "Talk with Eli here," he said motioning to Eli. "He'll handle the background and get the rest of us the information we need to end the threat to you." Then Lucas nodded at the wolf enforcers and Rebecca, taking his mate’s hand and heading for the door. "If you will excuse us, we can catch up and go over the security later. Right now, I need to go and make sure my son doesn't start a pack pride war walking from the heliport to the hotel."
And he was only half joking, Eli knew. If there was a female involved it was more than possible.
Eli looked at the beautiful cold blond he was going to be guarding and smiled his most charming smile. "Your place or mine?"
Lucas stopped half way to the door and turned back. "Eli," he growled. Giving him a warning look. "No."
He didn't have to say anything else, Eli understood exactly what his commander and chief meant with the warning. He was supposed to be on his best behavior. This was a job after all and he had agreed to do it when normally one of the other males would have been chosen. One not quite so prone to starting shit. But they were all newly mated and asking a mated man to guard a sexy blond was a bad idea. Not because any of them would cheat, because none of them would, but because newly mated males would have their focus splintered. One part of a man’s mind was always on his mate, making bodyguard duty a challenge when you had to have one hundred percent focus. So, the rest of Lionsgate that had been called into this job would scatter around the island in twos and watch for intruders trying to sneak onto the island to cause mischief. It was Eli's job to keep an eye on Margaret and at the same time use his computer skills to find out everything on Stephen Baxter.
Eli gave Lucas a shrug which made no promises. He would keep the pretty uptight female safe, but he didn't make promises he couldn't keep and there was something about the buttoned-down ice lady that made him want to break down walls and see if he could force a reaction.
Not that he was going to fuck her, she was not his type, but bat her around and play with her just a little? Well, he was a cat.
Again he caught the looks Margaret was giving Rebecca, a look he was having no problem interpreting. This is who you think should oversee my safety.
Something about Eli was rubbing her the wrong way. Was it the shirt? She turned back to him and met his eyes, her own once again clear of expression.
"You can use this room." Rebecca said. She motioned around indicating the conference room where they stood. "We'll be just down the hall if you need us." That last was directed at her friend. "You can trust Lionsgate to keep you safe. They are the best at what they do."
The dubiousness that flashed across that stunning face did not escape Eli's notice, or Rebecca and her mates, if the humor tinged gaze Jacob turned his way was any indication. Eli fought his inclination to flip him off.
Linc spoke up, his eyes on Margaret over Rebecca’s head. “Despite the clothes, and the…” he seemed at a loss for words as he looked Eli over briefly then turned back to her. “attitude, Eli is good at what he does. We would not trust your security to anyone other than Lionsgate.”
Margaret nodded and visibly blew out a breath, as if she could force the nerves from her body.
"Trust me," Rebecca said with emphasis. Right before her mates pulled her out of the room and shut the door. Leaving Margaret alone with Eli.
Margaret Whitney Baxter kept her eyes on the closed door for a long moment before she turned back to face him across the large conference table. She huffed out a breath when she found his knowing eyes still on her. She licked her lips nervously before she finally stepped up to the table and sat down across from him. Unlike his sprawled out form she kept her knees locked and her back ramrod straight. "What do you need to know?"
He smiled his crooked smile and for a moment she looked worried before that too was hidden behind her ice princess demeanor. Her chin raised in unintentional challenge.
"Well," he said laying on a thick southern accent and upping the wattage of his smile. "How about you start with the problems you had with your husband and progress from there. Leave nothing out. You never know what will be important in this type of case."
She blinked looking shocked. "I was married for three years. 'Everything' could take a while."
"Then best get started darlin,'" Eli said, getting comfortable. "The sooner you get started, the sooner I can take care of this little problem for you."
"Little problem?" Margaret said under her breath as if she was tasting his choice of words and found them bitter. Her eyes flared with the unexpected heat of anger for a moment. A moment that had the predator in Logan perking right up and taking notice. Though, his satisfaction at getting a reaction from her with his word choice was short lived.
"Fine," she gritted out and then took a deep breath and brought herself back under tight control. "Should I start with the first time he sabotaged my job because he didn't want me working, or the first time he ruined a friend’s life to teach me a lesson?"
Eli knew the smile was gone from his face at her words but her next ones had his blood heating and his cat ready to rip out of his body and hunt.
She took a deep breath and Eli saw raw pain flash across that amazing face before she went cold as ice. "Or how about when I had the gall to rescue a dog at the shelter he did not want me to work at and he killed her, right in front of me? Then financially destroyed the shelter so no one could work there?" She met his eyes, and he could feel the frost bite from across the room. "Where would you like to start? With my little problem?"
CHAPTER TWO
"What do you think of Margaret?" Cleo asked musingly. Her eyes on the surveillance window up on one of three computers Eli had running at his newly set up work table. He had fired up his lap tops within seconds of meeting them all back at the main suite they had been provided in the hotel. Eli briefly let his eyes go to the female in the small window at the top of his screen before he forced them once again back on his work while Cleo continued her musings. "I'm having a hard time deciding if she is truly cold or just shy around strangers."
The introductions had been short and stilted with Margaret making her escape as quickly as possible. Not that he blamed her, she had just given him basically the history of her fucked up marriage and then walked out into yet more strangers who were going to be in her business. Now she was ensconced across the hall from them trying to do her job as office manager with surveillance and shifters watching her e
very move. That could make a person close off.
"Hot," Eli said without looking up from the computer screens. Not addressing the rest because he was wondering the same thing. He had seen glimpses of true feelings behind her cold Lady of the manor facade but that could have been nothing but wishful thinking on his part. The only thing he knew about the lady for sure was that she was drop dead gorgeous, uptight to the extreme, and had a shit heel soon to be ex-husband.
"Smoking." Ian agreed. Leaning over the table to get a better look at the lady. His blue eyes on the small video screen.
Liam just grunted in agreement. While Ian Gibbs was still a few inches shy of his father’s height and massive muscular build it was not by much. So, at a newly minted eighteen he made the sixteen-year-old Liam, who was just starting to fill out around the shoulders and was still under six feet, look downright scrawny. Eli did not think it would last long though. Liam might be primarily a tech geek, the reason he had his own computer space set up on the other side of Eli, but he was still a lion male. And no one joined Lionsgate without knowing how to handle himself, so he was also training, as only SEAL teams knew how to do, right along with the rest of the youngsters, which now numbered four when you added the absent Crow and little Roxie to the mix. Five, Eli thought with a smile thinking of Clytie's Christmas news. He was really going to have to make it a point to look her and Demon up soon. Knowing that the two of them were somewhere on the island enjoying their honeymoon made him just itch to say hey.
"You don't think she's may be a bit uptight?" Cleo asked, brow raised. Eyes still on the perfectly put together woman on the tiny screen.
"Extremely,” Eli agreed bringing his thoughts back to the subject of Margaret Whitney, He refused to think of her married name again. If he had his way she would be Margaret Whitney in actuality, and soon. Even now as he allowed part of his thoughts to wander he was working his way through firewalls and acquiring data but if there was one thing Eli could do it was multi task. "Needs some serious banging to loosen her up, but she's got that whole Grace Kelly thing going on. Fucking beautiful, but untouchable. Makes me want to bite her."
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