Bidding on the Bodyguard

by Kristi Avalon

  Stunned, Shane stared at his manager. “This, ah.” He cleared his throat. “I apologize, sir, this is unexpected—”

  “Call me Slone, from now on. I know this is unexpected, but we need you. You have a talent, Shane. Use it to help us build the best bodyguard force in existence.”

  “Yes.” Elated, Shane smiled. “I mean, yeah. Hell, yeah.”

  Slone shook his hand, telling Shane he’d know more when Adam returned. The higher-ups would be in touch and present him with an official offer in the next week or two.

  The shock took a few minutes to wear off, but he knew when to seize a rare opportunity. This meant not only would he receive a welcome pay increase, he could count on staying in one location. He would wake up and go to work every day in the same place, at the same desk. He wanted to leap up and punch the air with this surprise victory.

  The repercussions equaled a positive cascade, life-altering in the best ways. He couldn’t wait the share the great news with Emma. She was the first person who came to mind to tell, second and third were his mom and his sister.

  That thought pulled him up short. The victory cry died in his throat.

  He didn’t dare tell Emma. Not yet.

  She’d revealed enough reluctance about their long-distance relationship, about their future, to know if he shared this development with her the victory could end up one-sided. He’d achieved the one thing, in his mind, that could clinch their relationship and secure their potential future. He suspected if he took away another brick in the wall keeping them apart, the open options might spook her.

  It was 3:30 am on the east coast, in future time he liked to joke. What’s the weather like in future time? Are we any closer to world peace in future time?

  She always laughed at his dumb jokes. God, he loved her laugh.

  Against his better judgment he texted her anyway. Good news on the work front.

  Two minutes later, she responded. New bodyguard gig?

  You could say that, he texted evasively. Then he caved, unable to keep any secrets from her. I was offered a new job. I’ll be stationed in Denver. Permanently.

  Open-grin emoji. I’m happy for you.

  Thanks. Heart-eyed emoji. No more traveling. I get to stay in one spot. That place would look better with you in it. He dropped his feelings there, waiting to see if she’d pick them up.

  A long silence deconstructed the uncertain scaffolding of his hopes.

  I’m happy for you.

  Stacking his forearms on his desk, he dropped his forehead to his wrist. Damn.

  Slone’s footsteps paused behind his chair. “What’s up here?”

  Straightening, Shane ran a hand down his face. “Did the ‘girl problems’ light start flashing over my head?”

  Slone shrugged. “I’m married to an amazing woman, Lindsey, and part of me constantly worries she’ll wake up one day and realize I got the way better end of our deal. The ‘girl problems’ alarm is silent but powerful. I think we all know what it sounds like, looks like. Sorry to hear, man.”

  Shane sighed. “I haven’t asked her to be the one. She already owns the title, if she wants it. I’m not sure she does. We’re too far apart for things to work. If she lived closer…” His eyes narrowed in focus, teeth bared like a tiger. “I would latch onto her and never let go.”

  “I know something about that.” Slone returned to his desk and tapped away on his tablet. Once their conversation died, Shane wondered why he’d bothered asking.

  Then Slone cleared his throat with an announcement. “You’ve got a one-way ticket onboard a private jet headed for the east coast. Want it?”

  Shane’s jaw dropped. “Uh-m—what?”

  “A cool perk of being the stand-in CEO, while the real one’s off on his honeymoon.” Slone sent him a searing glance. “If you can get to the Denver airport in thirty minutes, there’s a Soren Security private jet leaving for D.C. Our latest recruits are onboard, heading there to protect a foreign dignitary.” Slone tapped a pen against his temple. “If I remember, D.C. isn’t too far from Virginia Beach. You onboard?”

  Shane bolted out of his seat, careening toward the door. “Thanks, man,” he shouted, saluting his manager over his shoulder. “You rock.”

  Slone’s eyes lit up, and he offered a silent expression of understanding that said, I’ve been there, brother. Go get your girl.

  Emma startled awake. The buzz of her phone on the nightstand pierced her dreams.

  She glanced over. The name on the caller ID filled her chest with a smile that rose to lift her lips. “Shane.” She said his name into the phone with a whisper of reverence.

  “Good morning, beautiful.”

  She yawned. “You’re very awake,” she croaked, her throat still thick with sleep.

  “God, you sound sexy.”

  She laughed. “You never call this early.”

  A pause. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No.” She yawned again, turned on her side and propped herself up on her pillow. “I love hearing your voice.”

  “Good answer.” His buoyant mood seemed to radiate through the phone. “Miss me?”

  “Always.” She smiled wistfully, blinking back a swell of emotion.

  “I want to hold you.”

  “I wish I could feel your arms around me.” They’d shared variations on this theme of conversation during the month they’d spent apart.

  Another pause. “What if I could make that wish come true?”

  A wobble in her chin bowed the edges of her mouth into a frown. She shouldn’t miss him this much. It made no sense. Teasing her, taunting her private ache for him, he left her ravaged. How could she miss someone, need anyone this much?

  “That’s not fair,” she said, liquid seeping into the corners of her eyes.

  “What’s wrong, Emma?” Concern seeped into his voice as a tear leaked from her lower lashes.

  “You’re not allowed to talk about wishes coming true when you are thousands of miles away. And I’m in my bed, alone.”

  “Maybe I can fix that.”

  Longing gripped her insides. “How?”

  The dying-goat bleat of her apartment buzzer invaded the quiet silence. She shot up in bed.

  Disbelieving, she walked as if in a dream toward the system mounted on her wall. It bleated again, startling her. “Shane?” she said into the phone.

  “Yes, honey.”

  She reached a shaking finger to the intercom. “Shane?”

  “I’m here, Emma.” His smiling voice echoed through the phone and the intercom. “Want to let me in?”

  Want to? She’d cross an acre of burning coals to have him here with her. In shock, wanting to believe him but afraid she was dreaming, she pressed the button to let him enter.

  Was Shane here, in Virginia Beach, about to knock on her door?

  Nerves jangled like the disks in a shaken cymbal. She’d tried to tell herself his interest would fade, and in time so would hers. She’d tried to convince herself their weekend could never be anything more than that—a place carved out of time dedicated to them alone. Special. Unrepeatable. Untouchable, like precious memorabilia in a museum, kept behind glass, never to be experienced again.

  The sharp rap on her door made her blink. Her hand trembled as she turned the knob and opened the door to see Shane filling her entryway. He looked vibrant, technicolor compared to her memory of him, his silver-blue gaze gleaming, his presence electric and powerful, his smile warm and inviting.

  Liquid filled her eyes. “I’m not dreaming.”

  He shook his head. “You’re not dreaming, Emma.” Arms spread, he gripped the edges of the outer door frame like a caged animal desperate to be set free. “I know this is sudden.” His smile fell. “If you don’t want me to come inside, I won’t.” He raked an intense gaze over her. “But I needed to see you.” His voice sounded hoarse with the effort of containing the desire coiled within, and she sensed he might spring.

  Taking a step back, she blinked twice. Did s
he dare unleash him—and the desires she’d tried to stifle in herself? What if she couldn’t keep the careful distance she’d managed for the past month?

  A gust of breath, a half-cry and half-sigh, squeezed from her lungs. She felt vulnerable and brave at the same time, the way she’d felt with him the entire weekend they’d spend together.

  “I want you,” she whispered—insisted.

  The muscles in his arms flexed, but he didn’t move. “I’ve missed you. You don’t understand.” He shook his head, an arc of hair falling over one eyebrow. “You have no idea.”

  “I might.” She swallowed. “I have to get ready for work in two hours.”

  “I’ll take two hours.” He sent her a pained smile. “Hell, I’d travel across the country to have two minutes with you.”

  Her heart melted. She stepped back to invite him inside. “Then what are we waiting for?”

  Time stopped.

  There was a still moment of held breaths before impact.

  Then his arms crushed her against his chest. His mouth crashed down on hers.

  He devoured her, consumed her. Yet the consummation was skilled, artful, passionate. Filled with longing, fire, miss-you fever.

  He kicked the door shut. Their clothes were on the floor.

  With every steamy kiss, every heated touch, he owned her. Beyond caution, beyond thought, she wanted to submit to him forever.

  Their kiss unbreakable, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to her bed. He laid her down and slid inside her, hard and fast. They became a tangle of bodies and sheets, hands clasped, backs arching.

  They abandoned themselves to each other.

  As one, they created their own instinctive waves of motion in an ocean of feeling, striving and accepting, pushing and pulling, thrusting and releasing. Their mouths met, separated and met again, each clasp a seal of commitment. No words needed.

  She cried out as she came, and he shouted his release. Quivering and dripping.

  Holding. Still. Silent.

  In the darkness, a shared hush.

  Two sighs.

  Perfection.

  Chapter Ten

  DAWN LIGHT FILTERED in through the tops of the curtains in Emma’s room, making Shane wonder how often she’d watched the same light bloom, spreading slowly across her ceiling. The lavender-gray welcome to a fresh new day. How often had she thought of him in the past month?

  Is that selfish?

  Was it still selfish if he wanted to know her thoughts and dreams? Was it selfish to want to wake up beside her every morning and feel this amazing contentment, because he’d do anything, give everything, to make her happy?

  Turning onto his side, he gazed down at her, running a hand along the outline of her curves covered by a silken sheet. The covering draped loosely, revealing her scars. He wanted to kiss them, but he didn’t think she’d want him to draw unnecessary attention to parts of herself she felt self-conscious about, though he adored her scars. They’d shaped the woman lying next to him, and everything she was he adored.

  The light gradually brightened above her drapes. He realized he didn’t even have curtains in his townhouse, just serviceable blinds. No silk sheets either. He’d need to step it up, if he wanted her to join him in Denver, inviting her into his life in a way he’d never wanted anyone else. He’d been a contented bachelor for so long, he worried he wouldn’t be good at making a home for her.

  When he thought of her, he wanted to touch her face. And when he touched her face and looked into those deep green eyes, he felt as if he’d come home. Could he offer that to her, the way she did for him?

  While she’d created a good life here—she had so much to be proud of—was it too much to ask her to move to Denver for him? Yeah, he realized, as his heart sank. That’s a damn lot to ask.

  Up front he had admitted he wasn’t willing to move here to Virginia Beach, where his mom frequently met with neighborhood friends, including Mrs. Laster. Losing Donnie, he’d lost a brother. They had shared camp outs and catching crawfish and prom and…so many memories. Those memories were best kept in a place he visited on occasion, not daily.

  They could come back here for holidays. As he swept his hand up and down her half-covered hourglass figure, he thought of how they’d return to Virginia Beach for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They could stay with his family—God knew, his nephew had adored her at first sight—and she could see her friends, while he went out to the bar to meet the guys he and Donnie had down from high school.

  Then he and Emma would fall asleep together, with the window open so he could hear the ocean. He would hold her and silently thank Donnie for the sacrifice he’d made. The sacrifice that allowed Shane to live and find the woman he’d dreamed of but had never dared to think he’d find. If he didn’t make a good life, a happy one with the woman he loved and maybe have a couple kids to one day tell them about his best friend, then Donnie’s life would be forfeit.

  Shane rubbed his forehead with the three digits of his left hand, recognizing those thoughts were unfair though honest. Donnie was dead because he was here. He was here because Donnie was dead. The endless cycle gave no reprieve. The only consolation meant living the best life he possibly could, and so far, he’d hadn’t—until he met Emma. With her, everything fell into place.

  How did he explain the depth of his feelings and thoughts, without sounding desperate or crazy?

  Beneath his hand, Emma shifted. She turned, opened those remarkable eyes surrounded by dark lashes, and looked up at him.

  A sliver of heaven sliced through him. “Hi, beautiful.”

  She smiled. “Hello, gorgeous.”

  Wonder gripped his chest, stealing his breath. Did she say he was gorgeous? He wanted to skip through her apartment like the kid who’d opened Willie Wonka’s golden ticket. “How do you feel?”

  “Like perfection.” The look she beamed up at him made his internal armor disintegrate like acid on metal. He couldn’t pretend to be unaffected by her, wasn’t worth trying.

  Still, he hesitated in asking her to move and be with him. This was amazing, great, but she wasn’t ready. “Would you consider moving to Denver to be with me?”

  If he’d been a character on the show NCIS, someone would’ve smacked him upside the head for the stupidity that had rolled off his tongue. Why did he say the words he knew would drive her away? Because he wanted to see if they would? He had a sick gift for self-destruction.

  He flopped onto his back. “Do me a favor. Don’t answer that.”

  She seemed relieved.

  He’d screwed up, like he always did when it came to relationships. Except this one he wanted to keep, because his whole world seemed brighter, better with her in it.

  “I…” She cleared her throat. “I’m kind of excited to show you something.”

  Cautiously, he sat up and waited until she returned to the bed with her laptop.

  “Since our weekend, the things you taught me—how to see inside myself—helped me believe I can do more than I thought I could accomplish. I’m stretching beyond my old limits.”

  “Like signing up for taekwondo, and working toward your concealed carry permit?” He’d found huge relief knowing she’d taken his advice on those suggestions.

  She nodded. “You also helped make this a possibility, and I’m considering a new opportunity,” she said, sending him her signature sweet-shy smile.

  Though he forced his mouth to lift in response, a weight of dread dropped onto his chest. He couldn’t say why, but he suspected whatever this was might tank his chances with her. Sure enough, his spirits plummeted as he read the job description she showed him.

  “Wait,” she said, her eyes glittering with excitement. “There’s a video from the Dublin headquarters of the bank, talking about the company.”

  He wanted to punch the salesy-sounding, handsome Irishman, who droned on about how great it was to work for this company in Ireland. Throwing off the sheets, without waiting for the infomercial to finish, he sa
id, “I’m taking a shower.”

  “You can’t,” she insisted. He froze. “Sorry,” she said, looking sheepish and totally adorable. “I need at least thirty minutes to get ready for work. Because we fooled around for two hours, I only have twenty-five minutes.”

  Fooled around? That’s all this was to her, a fun screw? Something shut down inside him. “Right.” He shrugged. “Sorry, I should’ve thought ahead about your schedule—instead of flying across the country for the two hours I got to hold you.”

  “They were the finest two hours a girl could hope for.” She climbed on top of him, her hair a curtain around his face, hands skimming his body as she sipped his lips.

  Suddenly, he flipped their positions, pinning her. Seriousness poured from him, and it registered in her rounded eyes.

  “Shane?”

  “Is Ireland on your bucket list?”

  She nodded. “It has been since I was a little girl.”

  “Seems like a decent place, a chance to take your career to the next level,” he said hollowly.

  She wanted Ireland, not him. That’s why she hadn’t answered when he’d blurted that he wanted her to move to Denver with him.

  They weren’t going to be together. He could do long distance in the States, but Ireland was too far for them to have any chance, and maybe she wanted it that way.

  He had lost her. He let that news settle for a few seconds, as his insides liquified into a soup of frustration, disappointment and emptiness.

  Then he turned on a bright smile and kissed her deeply, probably for the last time. “Go take your shower, so you won’t be late.”

  Her eyes flickered. He saw doubt in their dark green depths, a split second of hesitation. What did she want him to say? What could he say, knowing she’d go halfway around the world to avoid a future with him? Then her features smoothed.

  For a minute, he wondered if she’d tested him, and if he’d failed. Hell. If she wanted games and tests, she could find someone else. Even if he couldn’t—ever—find someone who compared to her.

  “Go shower, hon.”

  As she un-straddled him, her lashes lowered. “Right.” She gestured behind her. “I should just…go.”