The Guardian (A Wounded Warrior Novel)

by Anna del Mar

  “Good thing I went to the boutique,” I murmured under my breath.

  Matthias eyed me like a cheetah eyes a tommy. “You’re by far the most stunning woman here.”

  “Correction.” My smile wilted on my face. “I think that honor may go to your girlfriend, Mia or Mei, whatever her freaking name is. She looks kickass tonight.”

  Indeed, across the terrace, the woman’s raven hair spilled over one shoulder in a perfectly curled cascade. Her red minidress, which hugged every curve of her body, outlined every intimate detail under the thin, stretchy fabric. Hell, the dress fit her like a second skin. Her face lit up when she spotted Matthias, but her stare steeled when she saw me.

  “Uh-oh.” I lifted an eyebrow at Matthias.

  “This could be a tricky night,” he murmured, face blank like a beige wall.

  “No kidding.” What the hell was he thinking?

  “Can I ask you a favor?” he said.

  “Shoot.”

  “Don’t believe everything you see.”

  “Don’t worry.” I removed my elbow from his grip. “I won’t.”

  An exultant Rem welcomed me with a dazzling smile. Freshly shaved, he wore an impeccable linen suit, no tie. His hair’s silky curls were knotted in a ponytail. He looked every inch the rakish dandy. It was soon apparent that he was to be my escort for the night. He took me around and introduced me to the exclusive guests, which included American and European expats, wealthy businessmen, diplomats and sheiks, the interior minister of Tanzania and even the American attaché, on holiday in Zanzibar.

  It was an interesting crowd. Men and women flirted with money, power, and each other. The place buzzed with all kinds of intriguing undercurrents. Rem had been right. The night promised a fascinating people-watching experience. I was going to get my answers tonight.

  Matthias worked the crowd like a pro, demonstrating a talent for social mingling I hadn’t known he had. The game warden in him gave way to a charming, cosmopolitan flirt who seemed to fit perfectly with this crowd. He spent a great deal of time with Mei and the Chinese folks.

  I observed him from afar. I was beginning to figure out how Matthias’s mind worked, which got me thinking about his choice of company, because despite having many outstanding questions about Game Warden Hawking, I’d learned a few things about him: He was no empty-headed hunk and everything he did had a specific, deliberate purpose.

  “How long has that chick been in Tanzania?” I asked Rem when Mei appropriated Matthias’s hand and pulled him into her little crowd.

  “A while,” Rem said. “She’s a fixture of the diplomatic corps around here.”

  I bristled when she brushed her breasts against Matthias’s bicep, a casual but deliberate flirt. “Will you excuse me for a moment?”

  “Sure,” Rem said.

  I went over to the bar and ducked behind the bartenders. Determined to avoid another accidental encounter with any sort of drug, I chose a flute, opened my own bottle of champagne, and poured myself a drink. Some nights, a girl needed a little extra lift to make it over the hump.

  It was difficult to reconcile the stark game warden I’d met at the reserve, the honor-bound soldier and protector who’d cared for me during my date rape drug episode, and the socialite Matthias had become tonight. Talk about multiple personalities.

  But my work with the SEALs had honed my observation skills. Watching Matthias and his interactions, observing how he tagged teamed with Rem and worked the crowd, I began to make the connections that had been eluding me until now. By midnight, I had a working theory.

  A voice startled me of my ruminations. “I’ll have some of that.”

  I looked up to find Mei Cheng standing next to me. She leaned against the bar, just like I did, holding out her empty flute. Her small, sparkling jet eyes focused on me, eyebrows pursed, lips slightly upturned in an expression that said she was queen of the world and I was her lowly peasant.

  Looky here. I’d been spinning my brain trying to think of a covert way of approaching Mei. And now she was here. Either my wishes had magically come true or Mei was also looking to measure me up. My money was on the latter. Mutual curiosity. How interesting.

  I hadn’t been trained in a variety of interrogation and intelligence gathering techniques for nothing. As a Cultural Support Team member, my work with the SEALs focused precisely on those activities. Females were my specialty. The all-male SEAL teams couldn’t search, assess, or interrogate women when they went on their raids. But I could.

  Which meant that, if I had to pass for a lowly peasant to satisfy my curiosity, so be it. I tipped the bottle of champagne over Mei’s flute and poured until the bubbles reached the very tip of her glass.

  “Ha.” I smiled when the bubbles didn’t spill. “I may still have a future bartending.”

  “Such humble aspirations for Nat Geo’s latest girl-fad.” Mei sipped on her champagne and stared at me with her impassive eyes.

  “The name’s Jade,” I said, refilling my glass. Some people just knew how to piss me off, but I wasn’t going to let this self-anointed queen throw me off balance.

  “Jade,” she repeated in a slightly mocking tone. “I like your earrings.”

  And I liked her less and less.

  “If I may ask,” she said in her impeccable English. “Where did you get those?”

  “My parents gave them to me.”

  “Nice gift.” She reached over, appropriated one of my earrings, and examined it closely. The strong scent of her perfume invaded my lungs; lavender laced with a tad too much champagne.

  “Allow me to make an educated guess.” She turned the earring in her fingers. “Elephants. Blah. The design is rather common,” kind of like you, she added with her mocking leer. “Circa 1930s. Strong art deco influences in the mounting and the carving, especially looking at the curl of the trunk.”

  “Is it the elephant or the art deco style you don’t like?”

  “The style, silly,” she said as if I were a toddler. “We all know that elephants are marvelous creatures. The stones, now, those are a bit more interesting. That bright emerald-green color gives the jade away as a bit of a treasure. I’m going to say it’s Feicui jade, originally from Burma, harvested circa 1800 during the Qing Dynasty.”

  I’d never known much about my earrings, other than they’d belonged to Granny Romo’s mother—which probably authenticated Mei’s dates for the carving design—and that my parents had given them to me, which made them the most precious objects I owned. Knowing my parents, I wasn’t surprised the jade was valuable, although the Qing Dynasty bit was a tad over the top. I’d have to talk to them about that. But this wasn’t about me or my earrings. This was all about the fascinating Mei Cheng.

  “How come you know so much about jade?” I asked.

  “I make it my business to know what’s important.” She lifted half her mouth in a joyless smile. “I’m also an avid collector.”

  I wondered what else Mei Cheng collected. Trophies? Ivory? Game wardens?

  She let go of my earring and met my stare. “Are you here with Matthias?”

  At last, we’d gotten to her reason for seeking me out. My theory suggested I needed to play this in a very specific way. Showtime.

  “No way.” I let out a little laugh. “I rode here with him, but only because I had no choice. I’m under his supervision. You know, me, photojournalist, he, chief ranger and all that crap. I came to Zanzibar because I didn’t want to miss a chance to hang out with Rem. He’s hot. Don’t you think?”

  “Oh.” Her mouth pursed into a perfect red circle. “You’re here with Rem?”

  “Well, I may leave with him…” I flashed a mischievous grin, “if I can have my way.”

  A smile sharpened her cheek’s angles, this one a bit more authentic. But I wasn’t sure she was buying my performance. By the look she flashed in Matthias’s direction, she knew what it was like to hanker for a hunk. Down Jade. I felt like slapping the bitch for wanting my man. My man? I a
lmost snorted out loud. I’d never claimed any man as mine. And since when was Matthias my man?

  Heads up, Jade. Pay attention. You’re pissing outside the pot.

  “Yeah, the game warden is nice on the eyes too.” I refilled her glass of champagne and then mine. “Word on the reserve is he’s hooked on you. Is that so?”

  I startled Mei with my own brand of ordinary-American-chick bluntness. Her cheeks flushed and her chest puffed up like a peacock on parade, but she was good, restrained, maybe even trained. She sipped on her champagne and said nothing, lips set in a minimal smile. Her gaze roamed all over Matthias. What I saw in her stare raised the hair on the back of my neck. Hunger. Desire. Designs.

  “Come on.” I teased. “Tell me that you guys haven’t been hooking up lately. Aren’t you and Matthias the hottest item on the Serengeti?”

  “He has been coming around an awful lot lately.” The glee in her eyes as she threw that uncontestable fact in my face revealed she enjoyed inflicting pain on others.

  I didn’t flinch. “Is he any good in the sack?”

  She did flinch now. “What kind of a question is that?”

  Her body language was a breeze to read. Her back stiffened, her imperious chin jutted out and her knuckles whitened around the stem of her flute. They were the signs of a willing but so far slighted would-be-lover. Jackpot. I did a little jig inside. Matthias may be giving all the right signals to Mei, but he wasn’t banging her, at least not yet.

  “My apologies if I was overly familiar,” I said. “We Americans are too informal at times. I thought perhaps you and I could talk, girl to girl.”

  “If I can give a piece of advice…” Her stare hardened. “You and I? We’re not in the same category. You may like Rem, but I wager that a hot blooded mare like you would jump into the game warden’s cot any day, given a chance. So beware. The game warden and I have a special relationship. Don’t even think about getting in the middle of it.”

  Ignition. Houston, we have liftoff. She’d just shot a warning salvo across my bow and made a big splash in the process. I learned a lot in that instant. This woman was powerful. She was also dangerous.

  “I’m so glad we got that out of the way.” She downed the rest of her champagne and set the flute aside. “Now, about your earrings. I may not be a fan of the design, but anything Qing Dynasty interests me. My ancestors were loosely related,” she added, betraying a point of pride. “How much do you want for the pair?”

  “Money?” Was she for real? Yep, the look in her eyes confirmed that she was absolutely serious and used to getting her way every time. “My earrings are not for sale.”

  “What a shame.” She gave a little shrug. “I, for one, prefer negotiation to war. But either way, I never give up my gains.” Her face shifted quickly from a snarling bitch into a dazzling, smiling beauty. “I’m here darling,” she raised a hand in the air and called out. “Are you looking for me?”

  I wrenched my eyes from Mei and found Matthias approaching. His quizzical stare bounced from me to Mei and back to me. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. I launched a conspiratorial grin in his direction and winked at him. His gaze ignited with silent questions. I grinned some more.

  Mei seized Matthias’s hand and put her arm around his waist as if she owned him. I gritted my teeth and kept smiling, even though I wanted to knock out her pearly whites. Poor Matthias. He didn’t know what the hell had happened, but judging by the questioning beam he leveled on me, he suspected I was up to something.

  Mei squeezed his hand. “Did you miss me, darling?”

  I didn’t want to hear the answer to that question. But my foray had been productive. Mei had confirmed my suspicions and advanced my theory. The bad news was that, if my theory was correct, Matthias’s life was a lot more complicated than I’d first anticipated. The good news continued to be…he wasn’t banging Mei, despite her best efforts. I kept my smile neutral, but cheered like crazy inside.

  And now it was time to engineer a clean escape.

  “There’s Rem.” I tried really hard to ignore the sight of Mei’s pebbled nipples, poking through her dress. It took all I had, but I set the champagne bottle and the flute down and twirled my fingers in the air. “Have fun, you two.”

  Matthias gave me the oddest look, but off I went. He wanted to play Mata Hari? Well, now it was game on.

  21

  Matthias

  I breathed a sigh of relief when Mei said her goodbyes and took off, leading her delegation of diplomats and businessmen on to the next social affair. Immediately, I set out to find Jade. Jesus Christ. Tonight had been close to an epic fail. Now I had to find a way to somehow account for the unexplainable.

  I found Jade cornered in the outdoor terrace, fending off the advances of a wealthy sheik, a tall, bug-eyed creep who took every possible opportunity to slide his filthy hands over Jade’s curves. For appearances’ sake, I suppressed a sudden urge to pound him to ashes. Instead, I parked between the white-robed sheik and Jade and used my body as a wall that ended the scumbag’s not-so-subtle attempts at groping Jade’s ass.

  “Well, hello, Matthias.” She introduced me to the sheik, a jerk I already knew both personally and by reputation, before her luscious lips turned up in a wicked smile. “And where’s our sweet Mei?”

  Sweet Mei my ass. I glared at her with all I had. You’re gonna be doing some explaining. “She’s moved on with her party,” I said, in a perfectly civilized tone, my gaze shifting between Jade and the sheik. “What were you two talking about?”

  “Oh, not much.” Jade fidgeted with the chain of her small evening bag, which she wore slung across her shoulder. “The sheik and I were having a philosophical discussion about the merits of having five wives.”

  “God’s will,” the sheik said, “a blessing to mankind. Don’t you think Matthias?”

  “I’m not sure.” I aimed my stare at Jade. “I can barely handle one woman at the time, let alone five.”

  Jade’s eyes sparkled with mirth, annoyance or both. The sheik uttered a booming cackle.

  “It does require stamina,” he said, openly ogling at Jade. “I wouldn’t mind adding to my harem if I could find a woman with an open mind to enlighten my days and fire up my nights.”

  I’d made a lot of friends in Africa, men of all different backgrounds and religions. I valued their friendship, respected their values, and embraced and enjoyed the diversity of our global community. By far, the people I’d met were smart, devout, peace-loving souls who honored their traditions. But I had a feeling that this particular sheik was not looking so much for an open mind as for a pair of open legs. Little did he know, he wasn’t gonna get either from Jade, not while I was around.

  “I’ve got an open mind,” Jade said to the man, flashing a flirty smirk that sent a rush of heat steaming from my head. “Let’s you and I rehash this conversation in a few years. I’ll let you know what I think as soon as I assemble a harem of five husbands and give the arrangement a test drive.”

  The guy stared at Jade as if she were a fuckable abomination. Apparently, turn around wasn’t fair play and yet the jackass was still looking for a way to land her in his bed. It wasn’t gonna happen. Period. Especially if I survived the coronary threatening to burst my aorta. Jade was playing a dangerous game. Crossing a powerful chief who owned half of Zanzibar was like poking a tiger in the rear. Time to get my reckless woman out of the line of fire.

  “Will you please excuse us?” I said to the sheik, appropriating Jade’s elbow. “How about a dance?”

  “Sure.” She wiggled her fingers at the randy sheik and waited until we were out of hearing range to flash me her most infuriating smirk yet. “You just shot to hell my once in a lifetime opportunity at a six-some.”

  “Jesus, Jade.” My fingers tightened around her arm. When was she gonna learn to act safely? “Don’t you know better? You don’t provoke powerful men like that!”

  “Me?” She splayed my hand on her chest. “How was I pro
voking that jerk?”

  I shot her a sullen glance. “Some people consider defiance as a form of sexual provocation.”

  “Oh, please.” She waved a dismissive hand as we descended the stairs into the courtyard. “In medieval times, maybe. That jerk needed to be put in his place.”

  “Sure,” I said. “But do you have to be the one to do it?”

  “It was my ass he was groping,” she said. “So your answer is yes, absolutely.”

  I let out a suffering sigh. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Well, now that you mention it, you did invite me to dance…”

  She grabbed my hand and pulled me across the courtyard. I felt the weight of a pair of eyes on us. I looked up. Rem stood on the balcony above, shrew gaze assessing us. I tapped two fingers to my temple in a sloppy salute and followed Jade into the club. Some days a guy had to watch after his own interests.

  The timing couldn’t have been any better if I’d planned it, because as we made it to the crowded dance floor, the frantic techno beat slowed down and the lights dimmed. The poignant notes of an African ballad strummed the passion boiling in my veins.

  Jade whirled around, took my hand, and placed it around her waist. She challenged me with her stare. “Do you dance?”

  “You wanna dance?” I tightened my hold and pulled her against me. “Okay. We dance.”

  She gasped in my arms, but I hugged her even tighter, until her body melded with mine, belly to belly. Soft silk slid between us, giving way to the feel of her firm breasts as they pressed against my chest. The contact released a chain reaction in my body. This woman was tinder to my fires.

  I stretched my hand over her back and ran my fingers over her exposed back. Her skin was as soft as the silk she wore, warm and pebbling under my touch. The contact seared my palm like a brand. Slowly, I glided my other hand down the side of her body, feeling the length of her, sliding over the line of her hip and across her ass’s perfect globes. In a selfish and possessive act, I cupped her cheeks and pressed her lower belly against my hard bulk. She may have not accept the simple fact yet, but she was mine and mine alone.