Navy SEAL Bodyguard

by Tawny Weber

  “I really want to do an amazing job with the Alcosta account,” she said faintly.

  Just what he’d wanted to hear. Spence’s smile was slow and just a little wicked.

  “We’ll have to be pretty convincing, then,” he said, glad she was sticking with that idea. By pretending they were a couple, he had the perfect excuse to stay close to her side.

  “Convincing?”

  He took the tablet from her hands and set it on the coffee table, then shifted even closer. Close enough now to feel the heat pulsating off her body. To smell the soft scent of powdered vanilla emanating from her hair.

  He knew the move was questionable from the standpoint of an officer serving under her father, but as the man pretending to be her assistant, Spence felt like he was on pretty solid ground.

  “You told the guy we’re in a relationship. We’d better be able to put on a good show to make sure he doesn’t think you lied to him.”

  “It’s not like anyone is going to be watching for us for public displays of affection,” she pointed out with a breathless laugh.

  “You never know.”

  Both to cement his position, and because the temptation was just too great, Spence reached out to skim his palm along her jaw before sliding his hand into her hair.

  It was like running his fingers through silk.

  Before he could do it again, she jumped to her feet. Her expression wary, she watched him slowly stand until he towered over her.

  “Well, I think we covered everything we need to go over today,” she said, her words coming in a rush.

  “Wait.” He wrapped his hand around her arm before she could move, slipping his fingers down until they curled into hers.

  He could feel her trembling. He stared into her eyes, noting the gold sparks in the whiskey-dark depths, seeing the passion igniting those sparks into flames.

  He could heard the alarms blaring a warning in his mind. He knew this was a dangerous move, one that could jeopardize his mission and, with it, his future.

  But for the first time in his life, he was unable to resist risking both.

  His eyes locked on hers, he lowered his head enough so their breath mingled. He gave it a second, watching her irises flare, feeling her breath come faster. Then he rubbed his lips over hers.

  A single soft whisper of a kiss.

  Swaying just a little, she pressed her hand against his chest to steady herself. Figuring she was anchored good enough now, he took her mouth again.

  This time, he wasn’t as gentle.

  His lips took hers, teeth scraping as his tongue delved deeper into the welcoming, delicious warmth of her mouth. He felt her gasp, tasted it. Welcomed it. More was all he could think as his hands gripped her biceps to hold her still.

  Sliding from tentative to bold in one sweep of the tongue, she met his kiss with the full force of her own passion. The effect on him was instantaneous. So hard that he felt like he’d snap, Spence forced himself to let her go.

  Her eyes were huge, staring at him in glazed wonder. He waited for her to yell, to berate him. To say something. Anything.

  “I should leave,” he finally said, both to break the silence and because, dammit, he had to get out of here.

  Even as he stepped away from the welcoming warmth of her body, a part of him waited—desperately hoped—for her to call him back.

  “You should leave,” she whispered in agreement instead. As if to ensure he did, she took a step of her own, putting more space between them.

  A chill poured over him, seeping into his bones like regret. Whether it was regret for the kiss, or that it had ended, was up for debate.

  Yeah. He’d better go. Before he did something even stupider than kissing her. Like telling her the truth.

  Pausing only long enough to grab the stack of files she’d made for him, he headed for the exit.

  “Spence...?”

  He knew what she wanted to ask, and figured the least he could do was save her the words.

  “It was just part of the act. Practice, in case we have to prove anything,” he assured her, pausing at the edge of the entryway. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Right. The act.” She managed a hint of a smile before grabbing her tablet and hugging it to her chest like a shield. “For the account. For the job.”

  “Right.” He took one last look before heading for the door. “The job is what matters.”

  Chapter 6

  “So, I dug deep on Alcosta. Dude’s a dirtbag, for sure. His records are clean, but there’s plenty that isn’t in the records. A lot of travel, which could be reasonable given he’s a real-estate mogul, so he has business all over the place. But these trips? These trips carry the stench of bad business.”

  That was something Steve Miggins, better known as Smidge to his friends, knew plenty about. Spence had served with Smidge his first year in the Navy, before the other man had been booted out for hacking into the Navy’s personnel database for a home address and marital status of a pretty little blonde he’d wanted to hook up with. Now Smidge wrote code and designed algorithms for a huge online store, and kept his hacking to the occasional favor.

  Which was why Spence had tapped him. He figured while Cade was searching on the high road, he’d dig into the low road. Smidge had no compunction about circumventing legal channels to dig for information. That, and because Spence needed someone to alter his own records. After that first night, he’d realized that Mia might, and Alcosta would, check into his personal and professional history. Cade ordered knowledge of his military service to be off-limits, so Spence had tapped Smidge to create a false career trail, heavy on the security work. Now, thanks to Smidge’s talents, Spence’s fake work history would not only stand up to a basic internet search, but to all but a high-level background check.

  It paid to have friends in low places.

  “So, you didn’t find anything solid? Nothing I can take to Cade to prove that the guy is dirty?”

  And more to the point, use to cut short this mission so he could move on to his new career. Somewhere far, far away from the temptation that was Mia Cade.

  “Nope. I got lots of hints, but nothing solid.”

  “What are the hints pointing to? Something about his traveling?”

  “He goes to a lot of hot spots, you know? Places where drugs and crime rule the day. These trips are supposed to be tied to real estate deals, but he’s not buying anything. Just traveling.”

  “Does anything pop up after a trip? Money moving through his bank account? New crimes associated with anywhere he visits? Anything like that?”

  “What do I look like, a rank beginner? If something that simple had popped, I’d have said so. Still, there’s no way the guy smells this bad for no reason. It’ll just take me a while longer to figure it out.”

  Resigned, Spence leaned against the lamppost in front of Alcosta’s office building as he spoke to Smidge on the phone and considered the mission. Cade wanted his daughter safe from Alcosta. Which had nothing to do with whether the man was dirty or not.

  So as far as Spence and Mia went? Temptation or not, they were together until she finished working for the guy. Together, pretending to be a couple whenever they were around the guy. Couples were friendly. Hugging, kissing, sexing.

  Mia’s face flashed in his mind, the appeal of those huge eyes, the taste of that wide, mobile mouth. The feel of that lithe body pressed against his.

  Four more weeks working with her, ignoring the desire that wound so tightly in his gut that he couldn’t think of anything else? Pretending he didn’t imagine her naked half of the time, and coated in whipped cream the other half.

  “Go wide. Look deeper into Alcosta’s family. Anyone he’s connected with. Grudges, conflicts, feuds toward him, and toward anyone he’s close to,” he decided. “Any information is useful information.”

&
nbsp; “Aye-aye, sir,” Smidge retorted before laughing. “So, you’re buddying up with Cade’s daughter?”

  “I’m protecting Cade’s daughter,” Spence snapped. “On his orders.”

  “Right. Orders.”

  “This is my shot, Smidge. A chance to work with Aegis.”

  “Dude, Aegis is huge. After you mentioned them, I did a little research. Founded last year by a former SEAL, the company offers security on par with the military. Comprised completely of former Special Ops personnel, it’s run by Lucas Adrian,” Smidege recited, obviously reading the information from his computer. “That’s big shit, man. You know who Lucas Adrian is, right?”

  “Navy SEAL, lieutenant in Naval Intelligence who flushed out an on-base blackmail ring running ops on everyone from captains to ensigns on three separate naval bases. He led his team in five separate strikes on enemy bases in Afghanistan and took out numbers two and six on the President’s hit list,” Spence recited.

  “Good man, you did your homework.”

  No homework necessary. Lucas Adrian’s fabled reputation had made the rounds long before Admiral Cade had waved the guy’s company like a carrot on a stick.

  “Still, seems like a crazy assignment,” Smidge assessed. “You’re what? Covering a potential target by playing secretary? That’s gotta make the ole ego smart.”

  Maybe a little. But one of the first things he’d learned as a SEAL was that ego had no place on a mission. The only thing that mattered was the target.

  “I want a spot on the Aegis team. This assignment is my job interview. Get me information,” he repeated. “Any information I can use to nail this down.”

  “You got it,” Smidge promised.

  Spence hung up and shifted, his body on full alert.

  Target sighted.

  And damn, that target looked good.

  Her form was long and lithe in a traffic-stopping red dress that hugged her waist before flaring into a fifties-style skirt that showed excellent legs. Shiny black heels with skinny straps matched the bag hooked over her shoulder. Nearly as dark, her hair spiked this way and that around her gorgeous face. Despite sunglasses that covered half that face, he could tell she was looking around.

  For him?

  Damn, he hoped so.

  “Gotta go.”

  He shoved his phone into his pocket and strode across the street to meet Mia.

  She looked even better up close and personal.

  “Good morning,” she greeted, those amber fairy eyes glinting through the lenses as she gave him a long, intense stare.

  He could feel the questions hovering in the air between them as she studied him. A dozen responses came and went unspoken, because none mattered.

  Telling her the truth would blow the mission, destroy his chances of a career with Aegis and seriously piss off the admiral.

  Telling her he’d keep his hands to himself was iffy. He didn’t plan to touch her again, knew it’d be the stupidest thing he could do. But everyone knew what road good intentions paved.

  A long night of consideration told him that apologizing was probably the smartest choice. But he couldn’t. Not because he wasn’t willing to add yet another lie to the list he was feeding her. But because he was pretty sure any words that implied he regretted kissing her would freeze on his lips.

  So he took the only option possible. He waited to see what she’d do.

  “So, this is it,” she finally said, giving him a tentative smile. “Ready to take me to the meeting?”

  He could think of a dozen places he’d rather take her, but given their current circumstances, they were all off-limits.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. Need any help with that?” he asked, indicating the large portfolio-style case she carried.

  “Nope.” She shot him a bright smile. “I’ve got this. I’m ready to rock this presentation. I had a lot of energy to burn last night, so I went through it all again, polished it up and added some great elements.”

  He’d used his excess energy in the gym, beating his body into submission.

  “Anything I need to know?”

  “Nope.” She shook her head as they stepped into the cool, airy office building. “I went over it twice with Jessica and it’s perfect. We’ll hold five events over the course of four days, culminating in a Monte Carlo–themed dinner gala and auction that’d make last weekend look like a country dance. We only have a little more than three weeks to prepare, but I’m sure we can do it. It’s going to be great.”

  Mia gave their names to the receptionist. While they were escorted up to the twelfth floor by a snooty woman whose hair was wrapped so tight it stretched her face, Spence digested that.

  Three weeks. Five events. Four days.

  Pure hell.

  Spence’s only consolation was that after today, Mia should have little reason to be in Alcosta’s company. She wouldn’t need babysitting; he’d be busy pretending he knew what he was doing on her other events, and they would have little contact.

  There it was, the cloudy silver lining.

  Holding tightly to that, Spence followed Mia into a set of plush, overdecorated offices.

  “Please wait here for Mr. Alcosta,” their escort said before sliding through a set of heavily carved walnut doors.

  After taking one look around the room, with its curvy velvet couch, gilt picture frames and thick rugs, Mia didn’t seem as sure of herself as she had downstairs.

  Spence leaned against the wall next to the exit, watching her take a deep breath. She pulled out her presentation outline to review it, opened the portfolio, shuffled the papers, clipped them together, added her business card, took it off, then put it back.

  “You nervous?”

  Mia looked up with wide eyes.

  “I usually thrive on presentations. On painting my vision for clients to see and convincing people that they did the right thing by taking a chance on me. I love the rush of it.” She blew out a slow breath and, since apparently talking helped more than shuffling papers, shoved her report back in the bag. “But there’s a lot riding on nailing this series of events. And Alcosta has a reputation.”

  Yeah, he did.

  But Spence didn’t think they were talking about the same thing.

  “What kind of reputation?”

  “According to Jessica, who should know, since she works for him, Señor Alcosta is extremely picky,” Mia explained. “So as comfortable as I am with pitching events, as sure as I am that I have some great ideas that’ll really work, I am a little concerned about getting it just right.”

  “From what I’ve seen, you’re damned good at the event side of what you do. I’m sure you’re just as good at the pitching side.”

  “Thank you.” Surprised pleasure sparked in her eyes as Mia reached out to take his hand and give it a squeeze. There was so much gratitude in the gesture that it practically dripped from her fingers. “I’m so glad you’re here, though. I know your ideas for security will really make an impact.”

  Spence knew that, once accepted, missions left little room for a crisis of conscience. So he only allowed this one a few seconds before squashing it like a bug.

  “I’m glad you think I’ll make a difference. I promise to do my best.”

  “Actually, Jessica didn’t think it was a good idea to bring you. She said it might change the dynamic, perhaps even shift Alcosta’s focus.”

  Since he’d seen just what parts of her body Alcosta was focused on at the party the other night, Spence didn’t see that as a bad thing.

  “When I was adamant that you’d attend, she suggested that you wait out here while I meet with him,” she admitted slowly, rolling the corner of her lower lip between her straight white teeth.

  No.

  First, she needed to stop biting her lip. It was just too tempting for him.

  A
nd second, she wasn’t going in there alone. Spence’s orders were to guard her from Alcosta at all times, and he couldn’t do that unless he was in the same room.

  “So, what? You’re letting your roommate call the shots when it comes to this particular client?”

  “No,” she denied in a snappy tone. “I’m considering my roommate’s suggestion based on her knowledge of this particular client. Professionals don’t bring their boyfriends to presentations.”

  “That sounds like a quote.”

  Her lips twitching with humor, the irritation faded from Mia’s eyes.

  “Okay, it is a direct quote. Still, Jessica is Alcosta’s assistant. She knows the man’s mind and understands how he works. I shouldn’t ignore that.”

  “You said you wanted to integrate security elements into your pitch,” he reminded her. “A guy like Alcosta is going to want to know he’s safe, right? Which means you need me to give him the details.”

  As excuses went, Spence figured that was pretty lame. But it got him what he wanted, since after another indecisive second nibbling temptingly on her bottom lip, Mia nodded.

  “Okay. That’s a good point. Let’s keep the focus there. I’ll introduce you as my security expert and use the incident at the Forever Families charity ball as a presentation point.” She went on to outline the other points she wanted him to make, along with suggesting that he stay far in the background so that Alcosta would see him as wallpaper. The decisive way she gave those orders emphasized that she was in charge and would be calling all the shots.

  He wasn’t sure why the admiral was so dismissive of his daughter’s skills as a businesswoman. As far as Spence could tell, she had one hell of a handle on getting things done.

  “Be invisible, speak when spoken to, pay attention and look competent but not intimidating,” Spence summed up when she was finished. “No problem.”

  “You actually mean that.” She leaned back in the chair and studied his face, surprise creasing her brow. “No male ego, no power tripping, no condescending knowledge that your superior skills should be front and center since security is obviously more important than petty party planning?”