Being Chased
A CEP Novel
by Harper Bentley
Copyright © 2013 Harper Bentley
Digital Edition: July 2013
Editors: M & S
Cover image licensed by www.shutterstock.com
Cover Photo design by Jada D’Lee Designs
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If certain places or characters are referenced it is for entertainment purposes only.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the Author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Dedication
To my kids for believing in their mom
Acknowledgements
To M for being my biggest cheerleader, listening to me whine, and talking me down from the ledge too many times to count. I’m forever grateful for all you’ve done for me! I’m there when it’s your turn! To K for pushing me, having faith in me and for holding my hand through everything. You’ll never know how much your texting me through my panic attacks means to me! This wouldn’t have happened if not for you! And to S for her awesome feedback that made me feel like I could do anything. You’re a doll! You three fabulous women are amazing and I’m so lucky to have you in my life. Special thanks to D for helping with the text. Wish I lived closer so you could teach me!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
About the author:
Chapter 1
"Stupid frickin’ rain!" Julia Cooke mumbled to herself as she jumped in the back of the car.
"Where to, Ms. Cooke?"
Crap. It was him. Why was he picking her up? He only worked Monday through Friday morning.
"Home, please, Chase," she replied, then bit her bottom lip. She'd had a crush on him for the past two years, but he wouldn't give her the time of day. Jerk.
"Got it," he said, pulling away from her office building.
Julia’s father had hired Chase Murphy a couple years before to "keep an eye on her," as he'd put it. She'd just turned twenty-one, and after graduating college, she thought she'd finally have some freedom, getting her own apartment and living on her own until dear old Dad got it in his head that she needed a bodyguard.
See, Allen Cooke was a multimillionaire, a CEO of a major insurance company, which he owned, who thought she needed protection from the "crazies," as he called them, in New York City. He'd told her that since she was now a woman, she needed to be careful when she went out. Whatever that meant.
Julia knew it was more for his protection, well, actually his money's protection, if she wanted to be crystal clear about it. There had been a kidnapping earlier that year, the daughter of another business mogul had been snatched, and the girl’s father had ended up paying several million bucks to get her back.
Therefore, to make sure his precious money would be safe, Allen had hired Chase to guard Julia.
Although she easily could’ve balked and used her inheritance to get out on her own, where she would’ve found herself sans bodyguard, she refused to use the money from her mother’s death to fund her living expenses. Julia was proud and wanted to make it on her own. Besides, that would hurt too much, using it for anything other than charities and helping others. It’s what her mom would’ve wanted, she just knew. So to keep the peace, Julia had agreed to live at home for a while longer, at least until she got on her feet, and give Allen some reprieve from worrying about his bankroll.
So here she was in the back of the stupid black Mafia-looking car Allen had bought so Chase could jaunt her around the city.
"How come Sam didn't pick me up?" she asked him, making small talk. Sam, who was a retired police officer, only worked Friday evenings and weekends.
"Prior engagement," Chase replied.
Wow. She'd gotten two whole words out of him. Whoopee. Could she get him to go for three? "How have you been, Chase?"
"Well."
Damn. Only one. Keep trying, Julia."So what have you been up to lately?"
"Not a whole lot."
Woohoo! Four! Four words at one time! She mentally did a fist pump, cracking herself up. "Do you have plans for tonight?" she pried.
"Nope."
"Anything exciting happen to you recently?"
"Nope."
She rolled her eyes. Always the same thing. She'd try to converse; he'd shut her down. When she was in an ornery mood, as she was now, she kept at it just to mess with him. And she was nothing if not persistent, so she made it her mission in life to get him to actually talk to her someday, have a real conversation with her. If that didn't happen, at least she could irritate the hell out of him while trying.
"Really? No drag racing? No drive-by shootings? No exciting flooding of the engine?" She smirked knowing what his answer would be. Same thing every time.
"Nope."
"You know, Chase, one of these days you're going to need me. You might need help changing a tire, or you can't figure out a gas pump, or, damn," she smacked her forehead, "you bought the wrong brand of spark plugs and need me to get you different ones, and you'll be sorry you were such a prick to me and didn't become my friend."
"Yep." He chuckled quietly to himself. God, she was a smartass.
Jeez, he was infuriating. She'd looked at the back of his stupid head for two years. The least he could do was acknowledge her existence. If he hadn't been so friggin' hot, she wouldn't even have bothered. But he was tall, had broad shoulders that topped his narrow hips, he had a nice ass, oh, yeah, she'd definitely looked, and this crazy jet black hair that hung a little long on his neck but was always strategically messy which was just super sexy. His tanned skin, those light gray eyes surrounded by dark lashes, so sharp that they didn’t miss a thing, and the stubbled jaw he wore most of the time were more than sigh-worthy. He'd pretty much set the standard for her dating tastes these days, and sadly to say, no one ever quite measured up.
She plopped back against the seat and sighed, checking out her fingernails, majorly bored with being ignored by him and also with being cocooned inside this safe little haven once again.
****
Chase understood the definition of boundaries. He knew that to keep the job of guarding Julia, he had to maintain these boundaries or he'd lose the great pay that was helping put him through law school. His father would yank this gig right out from under his feet if he even so much as suspected any malfeasance on Chase’s part. When Chase had started working for Citadel Executive Protection, or CEP, his father’s company which specialized in bodyguards, private investigators and surveillance, he'd been in his first year at NYU, hoping eventually to be accepted into the University's prestigious law program. His dad had made sure to keep him busy during his undergrad studies by assigning him various clients here and there, eno
ugh to pay his bills but nothing as long term or as lucrative as his present position. Hank Murphy knew his son was serious about his future career; therefore, to help him out, he’d given him this assignment knowing that his son wouldn’t let him down.
Although Chase had gotten into law school because of his fine academic standing from which he’d received several scholarships helping him keep his loans at a reasonable amount, he desperately needed this particular position to pay the bills and what tuition and fees that were left, so he knew he couldn't screw things up. Besides, there were lots of other guys working for his dad, including his brother Gunner, who’d love to have the job. The schedule was predictable and pretty much a sure thing unlike the hundreds of others he’d worked that’d cut into his study time.
Now, Chase didn't deny that Julia Cooke was gorgeous. He'd be an idiot to think otherwise. She had beautiful auburn hair that hit her at her tiny waist, the creamiest most perfect skin he'd ever seen and huge hazel eyes that seemed to look inside to one's very soul, eyes that changed from green to brown according to her mood. Her tight little body did things to his that sometimes made him grit his teeth. To top it off, she was sweet and intelligent to boot. She also had a dirty mouth and a biting wit that really kind of turned him on. Yep. She was the whole package. But he wasn’t interested in her other than the fleeting thought of what she’d be like in bed. He'd be damned if he was going to screw up his future by crossing that line, giving in to temptation; therefore, it was a must to maintain his distance from her and keep things platonic.
****
It was Friday night, so Julia had made plans with Claire and Lily, her best friends from prep school, to go out to a club that’d just opened in the City. She hesitated before she let Chase know. She hated taking his evening away from him, but it was his job, she guessed. Something Allen paid him to do. And she’d only stay a couple of hours, not wanting Chase to be stuck waiting on her forever.
“Um, Chase?”
“Yes?”
“My friends and I are going out tonight to Shock, the new club that opened in the City. I’m really sorry if you had plans or anything. I thought Sam was working tonight.” She thought for a second before speaking again. “You know, you could just drop me off and I could take a cab home. Allen would never know.” She always tried this strategy with both him and Sam, hoping it’d work someday. To present, it hadn’t.
Chase grimaced when he remembered he’d made a date with a girl he’d met in class. Guess he was going to have to cancel. “Yeah. The cab thing’s not happening. Pick up time?”
She sighed. Foiled again. “In an hour is good.” It was already eight o’clock. She’d stayed late at the office where she was training to be a financial manager at a mortgage company. She’d been working on an account that’d been a bitch, trying to balance sales and expense data to earnings in the advertising department.
“An hour it is.” He, too, sighed. He couldn’t wait to graduate, get a job at a big firm, and, although he was grateful that his dad had granted him this monumental account, drop this action like a bad habit. After letting her off at her father’s apartment building, Cooke Tower, he watched to make sure she got inside okay then went to get a bite to eat.
Julia entered the building high-fiving Ben the doorman. She’d known him since she was a little girl and she pretty much thought of him as a close relative.
“What’s up, Ben-dover?” She snickered.
“Nothin’ much, Jule-opy,” he countered.
“Oh, good one. I see you’ve been studying your words that start with ‘Jule,’ huh?”
“Every night before I go to sleep. It’s all I can think about.”
She cracked up at him, loving that dry wit of his. “See ya in a bit, Ben-Gay,” she said with a snort, hopping on the elevator before he could answer back.
“Hey, Allen!” she yelled coming into the penthouse apartment where she lived with her father. Her mother had passed away when Julia was ten, and it’d been just her and Allen since. Well, her, Allen, and the slew of nannies he’d hired over the years to care for her so he wouldn’t have to.
“Hi, Julia. And that’s ‘Dad’ to you. How’d work go?”Allen yelled back from his office.
“Good,” she replied as she made her way to the kitchen.
“That’s good.”
Like he gave a crap. No way would she call him “Dad.” He was no more a dad than she was a hooker. Well, hm, yeah, that worked. As far as she knew she’d never been paid to have sex with anyone. Or at least she didn’t think she had, she thought with a smirk. She grabbed a bite to eat then went to get ready to go out.
In the meantime Chase had gone to the deli down the street to get a sandwich. He’d left the car parked in front of the Tower and walked. On his way he called Law-Class girl to cancel their date. She was disappointed, he could tell, but those were the breaks.
Back at the Tower, he waited inside the lobby for Julia to come down. The good thing about times like this was that he could get a little studying in, and he now had his notes from his Evidence class that he was reviewing. Professor Ford was a total bitch, using the Socratic Method, grilling the shit out of everyone. Most of the other profs used the Black Letter Law approach, which was less intimidating. But he had to admit, Ford did keep him on his toes. He had a test in her class next week, and he’d been cramming for days.
“Hey.”
He looked up to see Julia standing in front of him and it was all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping. She looked amazing. She’d put her hair up in a high ponytail and had on some kind of shimmery tank dress that was tight enough to show off her every curve. Her five-inch heels topped off the outfit, and damn if he didn’t feel his dick twitch at the sight of her. Jesus.
“Ready?” he asked as nonchalantly as he could, automatically going back into I-couldn’t-give-a-shit mode, but not without a struggle.
“Yeah,” she mumbled, a little miffed that he hadn’t noticed how she looked. Whatever.
Chase held the building door for her then opened the car door, and as she stepped off the curb to get in, she lost her footing and started falling forward, letting out a little yelp then throwing her arms out, clenching her eyes shut hard, knowing that she was going to bite it big time. But when she opened her eyes she realized she’d fallen… right into Chase’s arms.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his face very close to hers, his arms wrapped around her tightly, helping her remain upright.
Oh, she could stay in this position for a very long time, she thought with a sigh as she looked into his gray eyes noticing they had unusual little flecks of blue in them. Wow. And he smelled so good, all manly and musky. Just… wow. It was then she realized that her fingers had a death grip on his biceps, very muscular biceps, but she couldn’t seem to unclamp them, knowing she was probably bruising him.
“Shit.”
Chase couldn’t help but smile at her dirty mouth and to enjoy just a little this predicament they were in. God, she smelled good.
“You need to watch your step, Ms. Cooke,” he said, his eyes piercing hers.
When Julia saw him smile, she gasped. In two years, that was the first emotion she’d gotten out of him.
“You have teeth,” she murmured, releasing one of his arms and moving her hand up to run her finger over his lips.
“What?” He gazed into her eyes, frowning a little, still holding her closely, seriously liking how she felt against him and wanting to shock the hell out of her by biting her finger gently, which he decided against last second. God, just a couple inches separated them. All he’d need to do was lean down a little and he could cover her mouth with his, taste her, touch her, feel her more tightly against him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I thought it might’ve been because your teeth were all rotted out or something.”
He snorted at this. She really was a genuine smartass. He set her back on the curb and holding her hand helped her into the car. As he walked
around to the driver’s side he knew he needed to put the kibosh on his feelings right away. This would go no further. He got in the car, put the club’s name in the GPS and drove away from the Tower.
“So, you must work out, huh?” she asked him. She’d felt his hard pecs and abs against her, not to mention the muscles in his arms.
“Yep.”
Oh, they were back to this, huh? Great.
“So, if I were to unbutton your shirt, would I find a blue suit with a big, fat red ‘S’ stuck to it underneath?” She snickered.
“Nope.” And wasn’t he a perv as he envisioned her unbuttoning his shirt, hell, undressing him altogether. Just thinking of this made him have to adjust himself. Get control of yourself, Murphy. Christ.
His monosyllabic responses just annoyed her anew. She stared at him in the rearview mirror willing him to look at her. He never had before, but since he’d gotten to feel her up, maybe he just might acknowledge her now? She shook her head for acting like such a desperate fool. Jesus, Julia. You’re such a loser. She was about to break a sweat she was concentrating so hard. If only he’d look, then she’d know there may be a chance with him.
And then it happened.
He looked! He’d totally checked her out in the mirror. It was just a quick flick of his eyes, but he’d looked! Her heart skipped a beat, which caused her to laugh quietly at her newly found loserdom again. Jeez. But, damn it, he’d looked! She knew it was ridiculous of her to react this way, but, hey, maybe there was something there after all.
Smiling smugly to herself, she texted Claire and Lily to see if they were at the club. They both were, telling her where they were seated. She pulled her compact out, checking her makeup and got ready to be dropped off.
Chase was pissed as he pulled up to the valet. Goddamn it! He needed to get it together now. Distance himself. Show her she was nothing but a fucking job. Christ.
After getting out of the car and handing the valet the keys, he went around to open her door to help her out, escorting her into the club, paying their cover charge. And now Julia was thoroughly confused because Sam usually just dropped her off then left or waited or whatever it was he did while she partied. But Chase was taking her into the club like they were on a date or something. What was going on?
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