I used to think it was a little too much as a child, fearing my friends would think I was from a family of nerds. Now, however, I couldn’t be more grateful to have such a space readily at my disposal. Although there was a nice library in the neighborhood, I’d learned the hard way that being the daughter of a potential vice-presidential candidate made it difficult to maintain privacy. I supposed it would have been different if I was still a child. As an adult though, I was fair game for the press. This had already been the case somewhat when my father was just Speaker of the House, but it was nothing compared to what we experienced now. I could hardly imagine what it must have been like for the families of actual presidential candidates. It gave me a headache just thinking about it, and I certainly didn’t need any more of a headache than I already had, considering I was in the midst of studying for my BAR exam.
Throughout school, I’d always made fairly good grades. Nevertheless, I’d always had terrible test-anxiety, which had unfortunately followed me right into adulthood. Final exams had been a nightmare and prepping for things like the ACT and SAT had been nothing short of torture. There was just something about standardized tests that made me panic and subsequently made my mind go blank. No matter how well I knew the material, being officially tested on it was always anxiety-provoking.
It had been my intention to dedicate several hours before lunch to studying. However, that hadn’t been working out well. My mind kept wandering, thinking over my father’s schedule for the next few weeks. Not only was I his main emotional support system, but I had become his unofficial secretary as well. Granted, it was by choice—I worried about him so much that I became obsessed with keeping track of his whereabouts at all times. Things just hadn’t been the same since our time in Turkey; that explosion had shaken both of us to the core. We didn’t want to be paranoid, but at the same time, we knew it was impossible to tell where an enemy may be lurking at any given point.
Our peace of mind had been shattered.
With a sigh, I leaned back in my chair and stared idly at the opened book before me. The words blurred together and a deep boredom threatened to knock me off my studying schedule for the rest of the day. One too many more days like this and I could kiss my career ambitions goodbye. Frustrated, I drummed my fingers on the table, vaguely aware of my father’s voice droning from somewhere down the hall. At first, I figured he was taking a phone call, but then I noticed an additional voice.
I listened, wondering if I should see who he was talking to. But then I reminded myself that if it was any of my business, he would have called me to join them by now. He knew that I was studying and therefore was not to be bothered unless it was something important. So clearly, whoever he was holding an impromptu meeting with wasn’t important enough to involve me.
Sighing again, I sat back up in my chair.
Focus, Autumn, focus.
Resigning to the fact that my studying wasn’t going to do itself, I reached for the hair-band on the table and tied my hair into a sloppy bun. I then stood up to stretch, getting my blood flowing and hoping it would improve my concentration. I contemplated getting a snack to appease my stomach that had been growling for the past fifteen minutes, but then I figured if I studied for at least a half-hour straight, I could reward myself with a snack-break before resuming.
Reaching for my cellphone, I set the timer for exactly thirty minutes.
“Okay, Autumn. Buckle down,” I said out loud, resettling into my seat. I picked up my book and started reading again, determined to force the material to stay in my head this time.
Yet, my concentration was broken once again when the voices of my father and his visitor drew nearer. I closed my eyes in frustration, wondering why on earth they were so loud. Their laughter rang through the corridors, as did their heavy footsteps. I glanced to the door of the library, wondering if they were coming to see me. From the sound of their jovial banter though, whatever they were talking about didn’t seem serious at all. So if they were coming to bother me, they were doing it for no reason, which was uncharacteristic of my father since he knew I desperately needed to study.
My father appeared first, poking his head through the doorway. “Autumn, sweetheart, I hope you aren’t too busy.”
“Just studying,” I said, stating the obvious. “Why? What’s going on?”
“There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to. Or re-introduce you to, rather.”
Having captured my full attention, I watched as he waved his hand, beckoning someone forward.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Honey, this is Brady Logan, the soldier who helped lead us to safety in Turkey after that bomb went off. You remember him, don’t you?”
My father’s words continued after this, but I could no longer hear him. I was too stunned that Brady, the handsome stranger from Turkey who’d had a one-night-stand with me and then potentially saved my life, was standing in my home.
A deep flush rose over my face and I prayed my father and Brady didn’t notice it—just like I hoped the thoughts running through my mind weren’t being hinted at on my face as I recalled the feel of Brady’s smooth and muscular body beneath and on top of mine…
I clenched my teeth.
Then I realized my father must have asked me something, judging from the way he stared at me.
“Uhm…what?” I said.
“Autumn,” he said, in a reprimanding tone.
“I’m sorry—can you just repeat that, please?”
“I said—I’m thinking about hiring Brady for our security team. He’s perfect for the job. He has an excellent record with the Savage Soldiers. He was a former army ranger of theirs. I’d feel a lot safer if I knew someone like him was watching out for us.”
I blinked rapidly, still trying to wrap my mind around what was happening.
“When I found out he was back in town,” Dad continued, “I insisted he come meet with me so I could offer him a job. “Wouldn’t it be great for him to join our team?” The telephone from my dad’s office rang just in time, saving me from having to respond. “Be right back,” he said. “In the meantime, make Brady feel at home, Autumn. Convince him to work for us!”
My dad winked and then darted down the hall.
Brady looked right at me and smirked. He winked, mimicking my father.
I sat and stared at him, dumbfounded. The book I’d been attempting to study slid from my lap and onto the floor.
“So we meet again,” Brady said, moving farther into the library. With his hands nonchalantly in his pockets, he looked around, taking in the scenery. “Nice place you and your father have here. Big. I bet you know all sorts of ways to sneak boys in without Daddy knowing, don’t you?”
Brady stood right in front of me, looking down and continuing to give me that cocky and over-confident smirk of his. He was just as good-looking as ever, causing me to remember that I was in yoga clothes with my hair tied sloppily on top of my head.
Not at all like the vixen he’d seen upon first meeting me.
“Maybe you’ll give me a private tour once your daddy is done showing me around?” he asked.
“Excuse me?” I said, incredulously. Annoyance rose through my shock at the blatantly sexual insinuations he dared to make while my father was literally around the corner.
Brady’s expression turned into one of mock-innocence. “What?”
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Coming here. You knew I was here.”
He gave a low whistle. “Mighty high opinion you have of yourself.”
My face flushed again. “I-I didn’t mean it like that, I—”
“Relax,” he interrupted. “You should have a high opinion of yourself. I certainly do.” His eyes roamed my body as if he could see it right through my clothes. I swallowed and suppressed a shudder, not wanting him to know just how uncomfortable—and hot—he was making me. Once again, memories of that passionate night we’d had together started drifting through my mind in ways I wished it woul
dn’t. But there was no use denying it—I hadn’t had a night like that since leaving Brady back in Turkey and my body was dying to re-experience it.
And based on the way he stared at me, he knew it.
I shook my head. “This is unacceptable. If you’re going to be working for my father, our relationship has to be purely professional. Nothing else. Got it?”
“We’ll see about that,” Brady said, still grinning.
God, his confidence was infuriating! Just as a retort was about to spring from my lips, my father returned. “How’s it going in here?” he asked, smiling.
“Great,” Brady said, his devilish grin instantly turning polite.
“Excellent,” Dad said. “So I hope that means you’ll accept my offer. Did Autumn tell you how much we both appreciate what you did for us back in Turkey?”
“She surely did,” he said, a barely concealed laugh evident in his voice—or at least to my ears. My father didn’t appear to notice anything unusual though. Brady cleared his throat. “She was actually very welcoming and accommodating to me back in Turkey. I’m glad to have met you guys back there. I guess it was fate, huh?”
I pressed my lips together and gripped the edge of the table before me, not at all liking Brady’s word choices about me being welcoming and accommodating. The nerve of him. I couldn’t believe he dared to be so brash in front of my father.
However, my dad remained utterly oblivious. He smiled wider. “Wonderful. Autumn and her sister mean everything to me. Ever since their mother died, they’ve been my saving grace.”
“Well, sir,” Brady extended his hand to my father, “now you have me too.”
Dad positively beamed. He clutched Brady’s hand enthusiastically and gave another jovial laugh. “That’s just what I want to hear! Welcome to the team, son!”
I swallowed, knowing that trouble was clearly on the horizon.
The guy who had given me the best sex of my life was going to be our new security detail.
FUCK.
CHAPTER 6
Brady
When I relocated to the United States, Speaker Harper had already been on my mind. As the months passed, I never forgot his promise that if I returned to the U.S., I would have a job. So I wasn’t entirely surprised when the Savage Soldiers headquarters told me they’d received a call from him, but I was still pleased nonetheless.
Sure, Speaker Harper seemed like a respectable guy, and I hoped he actually would become Vice President of the United States. If I was being perfectly honest, I thought the man might even possess the character and qualities needed to make a good President. And who didn’t want it on their resume that they had once worked for the President?
In all honesty though, it wasn’t just Speaker Harper’s credentials that I was impressed with.
His daughter was a big part of it too.
Autumn Harper was a natural beauty that I just couldn’t get out of my mind no matter how I tried. I had wanted her from the second I laid eyes on her, and I had wanted her again every passing second after that. I didn’t want to be superficial and say that it was her looks that had me so enthralled, even though her looks definitely couldn’t be ignored.
There was more to her than a pretty face though. That much, I was sure of.
Nevertheless, she was the kind of girl who kept me on my toes. When Speaker Harper announced that he wanted me to be head of security, responsible for protecting his daughter, I initially had cold feet and wondered what I had gotten myself into. I was used to protecting people, so it wasn’t a matter of my ability to do the job.
The real issue was my ability to keep my professional distance.
The sex with Autumn had been so delicious, it made me feel as if I’d been missing something special my whole life thus far. Sure, there were other women in my past—plenty of them. Yet, none of them had ever left me feeling the way Autumn had, and I was still trying to figure out why that was.
While I hated to admit it, there was something mildly intimidating about Autumn, which became abundantly apparent after I’d made a complete fool of myself when Speaker Harper reintroduced us in the library of their home.
I’d had my heart broken one good time back in my day, and the affects had been long-lasting. In the aftermath, I had frankly become somewhat of an asshole. It was a defense mechanism. Whenever I encountered a woman who caught my attention, I fell into my bad-boy routine—rude and over-confident. That way, if the girl in question turned me down, I could readily blame it on my attitude rather than myself as a person. I knew the logic was flawed, but I just couldn’t seem to get over it.
After that night in Turkey when I woke up to find Autumn already gone, there had been a hollow feeling inside of me that I knew would mean trouble if I ever saw her again. So naturally, when I did—that egotistical maniac sprung out, treating her like a piece of meat that I knew would eventually land on my plate.
I’ve never regretted anything more in my life than her leaving Turkey the way we left things. And it certainly hadn’t helped that after becoming responsible for her safety, my desire for her had grown out of control. I knew I had to keep my distance from her, but professional detachment had never been so complicated.
Trying to keep my feelings in check got more and more difficult the more I grew to know her. I had learned her schedule, and it revealed quite a bit about her. She was intelligent, driven, liked to stay in shape, and was fiercely loyal to her father.
Basically, she was the type of woman any man would be happy to have by his side, which was why I found it so baffling that she didn’t have a man in her life. Not that I wasn’t happy about this, because I was.
Yet, I kept waiting with baited breath for the moment when I would have to follow her on a date. I got headaches just thinking about how I would possibly be able to maintain my masquerade of indifference.
If I ever saw her with another man, I would lose my shit. My professional façade would be broken beyond repair and my job would be on the line—and I really didn’t want to let Speaker Harper down.
So each day I spent with Autumn, I pretended to turn over a new leaf. I knew she was confused by the abrupt changes she’d witnessed in me, especially since I had been so bold and brash before. And although I knew she questioned how I had changed so drastically, she never bothered to mention it out loud.
So I knew she was keeping up her professional façade too.
That didn’t stop me from wondering if she ever thought about that night we had spent together in Turkey though. I had relived that night so many times that I could practically replay it in my head like a movie—which was exactly what happened at least once every time I was around her.
If I didn’t manage to screw up on the job, I would likely explode one day from how badly I wanted Autumn Harper. Something about her made me feel like a teenage boy all over again, enslaved to my hormones.
What had I gotten myself into?
CHAPTER 7
Autumn
I had been the one to tell Brady that things needed to stay strictly professional between us, and as the days passed, controlling my less-than-professional thoughts about him had started to feel like one of the hardest things I’d ever done in my life. Every time I saw those muscular arms and luscious lips of his, I wanted to feel them all over my body again.
Occasionally, I would catch the way he looked at me, and hoped he felt the same as I did. But whenever I thought I saw a meaningful look in his eyes when he gazed at me, he’d abruptly turn away, leaving me wondering if I had imagined the whole thing.
It was unsettling how he had changed so drastically after his flirtations with me in the library that day my father had delivered the news he’d be working for us. He had wasted no time in reminding me of that passionate night we’d spent together in Turkey and had seemed to have all the confidence in the world about us reliving that night. Now, however, it sometimes seemed like he didn’t remember that night at all. His indifference toward me made me wonder if something had h
appened to change the way he felt about me.
Had seeing me in an everyday setting turned him off? Made him no longer think of me as attractive? Had he been fooled by my tight dress and makeup in Turkey, only to find out that the sexy woman he had encountered back then had only been an illusion?
Had he just been drunk when I first met him?
It drove me crazy trying to figure out why Brady no longer seemed remotely attracted to me. Not to mention, it was giving my self-esteem quite a beating.
My dating history wasn’t extensive, but I always contributed that to the fact that my life was so busy. Plus, so much of my time was spent with my father that there just wasn’t much room for dating. But with the way Brady was treating me, I now wondered if I just wasn’t all that appealing to men. While I had been blaming my busy schedule for my lack of a love-life, I now worried that it was really because I couldn’t hold anyone’s interest for a significant amount of time.
I found myself growing more and more nervous each time Brady was around—my heart breaking a little more each time he seemed to consciously avoid getting too close to me.
I wanted to ask him flat out if there was a problem, but I just couldn’t work up the nerve. So I stayed quiet in my agony, growing more and more depressed along the way.
I tried to tell myself that maybe it was a good thing that he no longer wanted me because it gave me more time to study and keep my mind on-track. But it was useless. I was falling for Brady more each time I saw him, finding more than just his looks attractive. I was drawn to his mannerisms, his quiet-strength, and the respect and admiration he showed toward my father.
All the while, he just continued looking past me, as if I was merely a job he had landed but didn’t really want any more.
I was just the means of keeping food on his table.
* * *
There was a tentative knock on my bedroom door and I didn’t need to be psychic to know it was Brady.
Dad had gone out for the day to a meeting that he insisted would be brief and consequently felt he wouldn’t need my company.
Fearless Hero: A Military Bodyguard Romance (Savage Soldiers Book 3) Page 3