Noah had spent a couple of years at boarding school himself, when his father was in the diplomatic service. He knew just how rough and tough it could get. You rubbed shoulders constantly with those around you. In class. Homework. Meals. You couldn’t even have a damn shower in peace. If you were lucky enough, you kept good company, but if you weren’t, well, it could be an interminable period of bullying that got worse with lights out. And a gauche orphan would be a prime target. She presented as a self-assured, confident woman, but he wondered if it was an act to protect the vulnerable, lost girl she’d been.
Jessica smiled. “Aunt Jacquie took me in when I had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. I’ll forever be grateful for what she did. Hopefully, one day, I’ll make her proud.” She shook hair out of her eyes. “Do you have any other family?” She threw the ball.
Noah fumbled the ball. “Actually, yes, I do. I have a brother. He makes up for what I lack. We don’t talk much, either. He embraces the artificial world my father lives in. Do you do what you do because of your aunt?” He shot the ball back.
Jessica stumbled and laughed. “A little. Also because I like it. I found that if I knew the rules of the proper way of behaving, it took away a lot of the anxiety about what I was doing, or what I was saying. Like having a blueprint for social and business relationships. No embarrassment, no disappointment.” She grinned, and Noah was fascinated by how it transformed her face. She was beautiful.
“Why do you do what you do? Is it because you get to play with guns and get all physical?” Her eyes held a mischievous glint as she slammed the ball back at him.
“Oomf.” Noah bent over the ball to catch his breath. His eyes narrowed. “Oh, it’s definitely all that.” He grinned. He straightened and pulled his arm back. Her jaw dropped and she squealed as she darted out of the way.
Their sneakers squeaked on the floor for the next few minutes as they tried to brand each other with the ball. Noah laughed when Jessica didn’t turn away fast enough and got hit on her side. He stopped laughing when the ball came flying back and hit him square on the cheek. Damn, she had a good right arm. They both scrambled for the ball.
Jessica managed to grab it first and turned, just as Noah caught up with her. Jessica’s laughter pealed throughout the gym as they both tumbled to the floor. Noah couldn’t help chuckling as they wrestled. It wasn’t until her breasts brushed his chest and her hips rose to meet his that he stopped laughing.
Her body lay beneath his, all soft and compliant. Her eyes twinkled. Her cheeks were flushed. Her blond hair had escaped her ponytail and looked wispy and wild. She met his gaze, and her laughter stuttered to a stop. Her chest rose to meet his with each breath she took. Her floral scent teased him. He could see her freckles. She was sexy, she was beautiful. She was smart. And she lay beneath him with a dreamy smile on her lips and desire in her eyes.
Hunger rose within him. He was tempted to lower himself the last inch, to press his lips against hers, to pull her body close to his, and lose himself completely inside her. He wanted to pull those tight blue jeans off her legs, inch by inch, and kiss every uncovered bit of flesh as he went. His heart pounding, he noticed her breathing had also stepped up in pace. She swallowed, and he watched the movement of her graceful neck, the fluttering pulse in her collarbone. And a peek of pearl at her neck.
The glimpse of white shone like a beacon, and he blinked against the intrusive sight of her refinement. That’s right. She might be dressed down, but she was still the darling of decorum. She may not have been born to it, but she’d been prepped and polished in the same world his ex-fiancée and family honored. Just thinking of his ex, and his father, doused his passion. She was his job. Miss Prissy. And she’d already told him to back off once. But damn, she was tempting.
He heaved himself to his feet, and held out his hand. “We should be going,” he said quietly. His thigh muscles tensed, and he mentally roared at his hormones to get back under control.
For a brief moment her eyes showed confusion, hurt, before she composed her face into a calm mask. “Of course.” She accepted his hand and rose to her feet gracefully. She dropped his hand immediately. “Let’s go.”
* * *
They both halted at her front door. A large bouquet of roses lay on her doorstep.
Jessica folded her arms, as though to prevent herself from coming in contact with the flowers. It was from him. Instinctively, she knew. She wanted to kick the roses. Stomp on them, crush the delicate blooms into oblivion.
“I’ll get them,” Noah said, and bent over to pick them up. He turned the posy around until he saw the note pinned to one of the stems.
“‘Sorry for today. I’ll be better next time. From your secret admirer,’” he read aloud.
Jessica looked at Noah. “Better? What does he mean? He’ll be more threatening, more scarier the next time he’s on air? Or is he talking about a physical attack? Why is he doing this?” She took a deep breath, trying to calm the near-hysteria building inside her.
Noah put a placatory hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Believe it or not, this could be good.” He turned the bouquet to her so that she could see the note. “This is handwritten. We might be able to get a print, some detail about the card stock—possibly even a handwriting analysis. And we would have caught whoever delivered it on tape.” He gestured to the light fitting next to her door. “We have a hidden camera in there.”
“Let’s hope we can find something we can use, then,” she said, thinking of the anonymous fingerprint found on the letter bomb. Every time they seemed to catch a break, the clue dead-ended.
“I’ll check the surveillance footage, and get this over to Detective Carmichael. We’ll get him, Jess. I promise.”
She took a deep breath and unlocked her door. They were just words, but Noah spoke with an intent that couldn’t help but give her some small comfort.
Jessica turned to him once they were inside her apartment. “I’m going to take a bath before I turn in, so I’ll say good night.”
He nodded as his phone rang, and she heard him greet Drew as she left the room. She walked down the hallway to her room, keeping her head high and her shoulders back. Until she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Then she slumped against the door and tilted her head back against the timber frame. She closed her eyes. What was she doing? What was she thinking? She’d really enjoyed the class tonight, but it had been eclipsed by the time she’d shared with Noah afterward.
He’d finally talked to her. Really talked. No grunting, no growling. Complete sentences. And she’d shared details with him that she hadn’t shared with anyone. She hadn’t even talked with Ellie, or Oliveria, about her relationship with her aunt. She sighed. She guessed, on some level, her timid caution normally prevailed.
She straightened from the door and crossed into the shared bathroom. She closed the door to Noah’s room and locked it. He could use the toilet in her laundry, if he needed to.
She turned the taps on in the bathtub, and fiddled with them until she had the temperature just right. She reached for perfumed bubble bath and splashed a liberal amount into the pooling water.
She waited for a moment, watching the water froth and foam, and took a deep breath. It was her special scent. That one she saved for when she wanted to feel sexy and beautiful, in her own little space. Her mouth turned down at the memory of Noah playing with her in the gym. She’d thought he was about to kiss her. She’d hoped he was about to kiss her. But something had stopped him.
She sighed and went back to her bedroom. She slowly undressed and placed her clothes in the hamper. Slipping her arms into her dressing gown, she crossed to her dressing table. She sat down to use the cold cream and removed all of her makeup. She removed her jewelry. Her gold earrings, her watch, the ring that was the only piece of jewelry she owned that had belonged to her mother, and the pearl necklace her
aunt had given her when she’d graduated.
Her lips curved as she placed it in its velvet-lined box. She remembered the day her aunt had given it to her. For the first time she’d felt she’d finally done something right for her aunt, had finally made her proud. Her aunt had been polite, and perhaps slightly awkward, but she’d also been pleased, and Jessica cherished that memory. And she continued to try to make her aunt proud. Or at least, not regret providing a home for a ragamuffin niece.
Thinking of her family brought to mind Noah’s remarks about his own. There was obviously some hurt buried there. She was surprised he’d shared it with her. She was also pleased. She’d really enjoyed getting to know Noah. Look up the strong silent type in a personality manual, and you’d find his picture. Maybe that was why she’d felt so comfortable talking to him, and being brutally honest about her relationship with her aunt. She knew it wouldn’t go any further. It wouldn’t be exchanged as gossip at a party, or used for leverage in a business negotiation. She trusted Noah.
Her hand stilled, and she met her stunned gaze in the mirror. She’d treated him like a friend. A confidant. She trusted him, not only to keep her safe, but also to keep her secrets. She’d never done that before. She’d been teased mercilessly at high school and then at college for being the unsophisticated country bumpkin. While she considered Oliveria and Ellie her best friends, and they’d provided a buffer for much of the teasing, she’d never shared with them so easily the information she’d shared with Noah tonight.
And then she’d wanted to kiss her smoking hot protector.
She placed her brush down on the dresser with a clatter.
She was falling for the bodyguard.
Her cheeks bloomed with heat, and she rose from the table, rubbing her hands as she entered the bathroom. No. I can’t be. Not only would that be unprofessional and inappropriate on so many levels, but he didn’t feel the same way about her. He hadn’t kissed her, no matter how much she’d craved the touch of his lips against hers. He’d made several references in the past about her work, her world…and none of them were in a positive light. She couldn’t possibly fall in love with a man who didn’t respect what she did for a living. And he didn’t. Not really. He thought she was a fake. That everything she did was an artificial presentation to disguise the truth.
She slipped out of her robe and hung it on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. No. This wouldn’t do. She would take a bath, calm herself, look at all of this rationally. She lit several scented candles and stepped into the bath.
Her breath escaped in a hiss as the warm liquid enveloped her. She closed her eyes and lay back until her head rested against the rim of the bath. Oh, yes, that’s lovely.
She took a deep, calming breath. She was getting carried away. So what if she’d told her bodyguard some personal stuff? So what if she hoped he’d throw her down on the nearest horizontal surface and show her just how hot his “warm milk” moves could get. She had a crush, that was all. And she’d get over it.
Her brow wrinkled. Even though he believed everything about her was a lie, she knew, deep down, that her feelings were sincere.
Oh, no. She really was falling for her bodyguard.
Her eyes flicked open at the realization and she stared up at the ceiling. That was when she saw the message.
She screamed.
Chapter Twelve
Noah’s blood ran cold at the sound. He dropped his phone and the flowers and ran for the bathroom. He pounded on the door.
“Jessica. Open up.”
She screamed again. The sound was cut off with a gurgle.
He rattled the door handle. Damn. It was locked. What the hell was going on in there?
He took a step back, then threw his shoulder at the door. He ignored the searing pain that spread along his arm at the hit.
The door crashed inward. Jessica screamed again.
Heart pounding, Noah pulled the gun from his belt holster and held it up in front of him. He scanned the bathroom. Water sloshed over the rim of the bath as Jessica jerked in the bathtub.
“What happened?” Noah asked sharply.
He couldn’t see any sign of a threat. He strode up to the window and looked out. Just darkness. No sign of a threat. He ran to the door to her bedroom and scanned the darkened interior. Nothing. Something had spooked her, though. He kept his gun raised as he stepped back inside the bathroom, and finally looked at Jessica.
Hot damn.
She stared at him in shock, but it was the terrain south of her face that drew his attention. Soap suds sporadically covered her body, but not with any effectual concealment.
Her pink nipples glistened in the candlelight. He could see her narrow waist, her long slim legs and the thatch of golden hair at the junction of her thighs.
He swallowed.
Hot damn.
It took him a moment to realize she was pointing upward. He reluctantly tore his eyes from the view and looked up. He swore.
Red paint, or something worse, had been used to scrawl a message across the white ceiling.
Anywhere, anytime.
A thumping at the front door had him turning around, but not before he noticed Jessica startle and splash more water from the tub at the noise.
He ran out of the bathroom, raising his gun again. He’d almost made it to the front door before it was kicked in, and Drew came crashing through.
“What’s going on?” Drew yelled.
“We have a situation,” Noah said, and jerked his head in the direction of the bathroom. He stopped. No way was he taking Loverboy Michaels down the hall to see Jessica all wet and naked and glistening and beautiful and…He shook his head. Just, no way.
“Stay here,” he muttered, holding up a hand.
He turned as Jessica came running up the hall, tying the belt of her robe securely about her waist, her eyes wide and her face pale.
She gasped as she looked past his shoulder and saw Drew. And her broken front door.
“Miss Pennington,” Drew said, nodding politely, his interested gaze wandering from her head to her toes. Noah noticed his friend’s perusal. His jaw clenched. Her robe was sticking against her wet skin in patches, leaving little to the imagination. He shifted to block Drew’s view.
“I think you might want to get changed.”
Jessica lifted a trembling hand to her head. “But what about—” she began shakily.
Noah shook his head. “At least dry off,” he grated. Hot damn, the woman was sexy, and she had no idea just how much he wanted to touch her, and more, right now, Drew be damned.
His eyes dropped to her chest. Her nipples jutted at the silky fabric.
Jessica looked down. She clapped a hand to her mouth and ran down the hall to her bedroom.
“What happened?” Drew asked, looking around. “I heard the scream, and then I couldn’t get you on the phone.”
Damn, he’d dropped the phone. Noah looked around the living room until he located the dark object on the floor and picked it up.
“He’s been here,” he told Drew, gesturing to the bouquet on the floor. He jerked his head toward the hallway. “This way.”
He made sure the door to Jessica’s bedroom was closed before showing Drew the writing on the bathroom ceiling.
Drew wrinkled his nose. “I hope that’s paint.”
Noah shrugged. “I don’t know. What stumps me is how it got there. I checked the alarms when we came in. There was no intrusion, no break in the signal.”
“Hmm. Did you hook up cameras?”
“Of course, but not in the damn bathroom.”
Drew rolled his eyes. “I meant outside. If anyone entered the premises, they should be on film.”
Noah nodded. “We thought he’d just delivered flowers. If we’ve recorded him break
ing and entering, that’s a whole new level of offence.”
A movement to his right caught his eye, and he turned to look. Jessica. He hadn’t heard the door open.
“How many cameras have you put in my home?” she asked. She’d changed into casual gray sweatpants that made her legs look long and slim, and she wore a baby-pink fluffy sweater that screamed touch me.
Noah shoved his hands inside his trouser pockets. “Only on the exterior of your apartment, at all possible entry points.”
“Oh.”
Drew climbed onto the rim of the bath, pressing a hand to the wall to keep his balance. He got up close to the ceiling.
“Uh, I don’t think this is paint, guys,” he remarked.
Jessica gasped, and her gaze met Noah’s.
“Tomcat,” she whispered. “Where’s Tomcat?” She took off running, calling frantically.
Noah cursed. “Jess, wait here. Let me look.” Damn. He didn’t want her to find a dead cat in her home somewhere. That would be too much, even for his stoic Jess.
It took them nearly fifteen minutes, but they eventually found him. The fat cat was wedged underneath an armchair. Noah sighed with relief as he pulled the hissing feline out from beneath.
He stood and scratched the disgruntled cat behind the ear as Jessica hurried over to him. He didn’t like cats, but this one was beginning to grow on him.
“Us guys have to stick together,” he whispered against the cat’s head, before handing him over to his worried owner. She clasped him to her chest and closed her eyes in relief.
“Oh, thank God,” she cried. “I was so worried, Tom.” She cuddled him close, and Noah put his arm around and squeezed her shoulder.
He looked up in time to see Drew watching them from the doorway. His friend arched an eyebrow, his lips twitching.
Noah dropped his arm. Jess was the target. She didn’t need his comfort. She could get it from her mangy cat.
Guarding Jess Page 13