by Mandy Morgan
Amelia’s face was tight with worry. I nodded and straightened my spine. “That’s right. Very critical stuff. I need Amelia’s undivided attention on this.”
Kyle the Creep sneered. “Whatever. I’ll be back, Amelia, and we’ll talk more about what you owe me.”
We watched silently as he headed for the door. As soon as he was gone, Amelia dropped her head into her hands, and I hurried over to comfort her.
“What the hell was that all about?”
Amelia took a deep breath and looked at me with tears in her eyes. “That was my ex-stepbrother. I haven’t seen him in years. He thinks I owe him money for some reason.”
“That’s not good, Amelia. He seems like a scary guy to me. Why are you down here alone? Where’s Luna?”
“She stayed home today. Said something about the moon not being in the right position. I wrote it off as her usual Wiccan silliness. But it looks like might have been on to something.”
“I think you should call the police, Amelia. I don’t like how he just showed up and got in your face.”
She laughed sadly and shook her head. “If they haven’t put Kyle in jail for all the crap he’s already done, they’re sure not going to do it over this.”
“Well, then I think you should talk to Bourne Protective Services about keeping you safe. They’ve worked miracles for me and Lily.”
“I don’t know,” Amelia said hesitantly and bit her lower lip. “Aren’t bodyguards expensive? Besides, I think Kyle might just go away on his own.”
“I’m sure they’ll work with you on the cost. They really enjoy what they do and want to help people that need it the most.”
I could tell she was about to decline again. So, before Amelia could say another word, I pressed a BPS business card into her hand and gave her a hug.
“Just promise me you’ll think about it, okay?”
She nodded and I set down the samples I’d brought to be analyzed before turning to head back to the ER. I stopped at the door and said one more thing before leaving the sweet but serious lab tech to her work.
“Please, don’t hesitate to call, Amelia. One of the men of BPS just might be your savior.”
Chapter One
Amelia
“Amelia Clark?”
I was busy analyzing a patient’s blood sample when I heard a deep voice coming from behind me. I gasped and spun around, almost dropping the glass storage tube in my hand.
Sexy men with muscles that wouldn’t quit were a rare sight in the ground-floor laboratory of All Saints Hospital. Besides, I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, so I was lucky I hadn’t made a huge mess.
“Yes, that’s me,” I said, cringing a bit at how squeaky I sounded. “Can I help you?”
“Actually, I’m here to help you, Miss Clark.”
He stood over six feet tall and looked powerful enough to stop a train. I had no doubt he could help anyone he wanted to, and in any way, but I had no idea what that had to do with me.
I thought about shrinking away from him as he approached. He was holding out a hand that looked big enough to crush a skull, after all.
But he was also wearing a kind smile and had a pair of the warmest brown eyes I’d ever seen, so I stayed put and shook his hand, trying to ignore how the touch made me shiver a bit.
“My name is Hunter Murphy. I’m a member of the Bourne Protective Services team. Mason and Blair asked me to stop by and speak with you.”
I heaved a sigh of relief. I’d never met him before, but if he was a part of BPS, I knew I could take comfort in knowing he was no strange psycho out to hurt me.
My relief was short-lived as it dawned on me that Blair had gone behind my back to send a bodyguard to me, since I’d decided I wasn’t going to hire one myself.
I’d been having trouble with my former stepbrother, Kyle, and Blair had walked in on him harassing me in the lab a few days ago. My friend had wanted me to go to BPS right then and had given me one of their business cards.
But I’d written off the ER nurse’s concern, figuring Kyle would get bored and move on, and I hadn’t heard from him since. Which meant this hulking hunk was wasting his time.
Not that I was complaining, by any means. I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy their workday being interrupted by a piece of eye candy like Hunter Murphy? But I knew I had to do the right thing and let us both get back to our jobs.
“I really appreciate you taking the time to come down here, Mr. Murphy, but I’m no longer having any issues.”
His handsome face grew serious. “Mason was pretty adamant about you needing someone to watch out for you. I can’t just leave without at least learning the details of your situation.”
Hunter had the look of someone who didn’t take no for an answer from anyone. Besides, I wanted to get him out of here before Luna came back from running an errand to another part of the hospital.
My best friend and fellow lab tech was still pretty much in the dark about Kyle. And I wanted to keep it that way.
Luna Walker was a wonderful human being, but she was also a natural-born worrywart, and a lot more delicate than she’d ever admit to being.
“Alright, what do you want to know?”
Hunter’s eyes sharpened and he leaned in to lock them on mine. “I want to know everything, Amelia.”
I felt my cheeks heat up at the sound of my name on his lips. I don’t know when he’d decided to shift to a more personal way of addressing me. But I liked it.
“Well, I have this stepbrother. Actually, he’s my ex-stepbrother. Kyle Tyson. His father was married to my mother while we were kids. But they’re divorced now.”
Hunter didn’t say a word. He just kept his eyes on me and waited for me to continue. I could feel the weight of his gaze on my skin and discovered I liked that, too.
“Anyway, Kyle has been a troublemaker for as long as I’ve known him. He’s been in and out of jail most of his adult life. And he’s never said no to any kind of drug.”
I shivered as I thought about how scared I’d been to have a creep like Kyle living under the same roof as I was growing up. He’d been an intimidating presence.
“He used to steal money from me when we were kids,” I went on as I crossed my arms protectively over my chest. “He’d burst into my room unannounced. I was never happier about anything than when he took off for parts unknown. Of course, that was years ago.”
“But now, he’s back, right?” Hunter’s jaw was tight and those warm chocolate eyes of his had gone cold.
I nodded and was irritated to find I was on the verge of tears. I’d thought my days of having to deal with Kyle the Creep were behind me. I was not happy about him popping up out of nowhere the way he had.
“He showed up here a few days ago, acting like he was strung out on something, and demanding money from me. He said I owed it to him. But I don’t!”
I took a deep breath. “I swear, Hunter, I’d never put myself in a situation where I owed Kyle Tyson a thing. I don’t know where all of this is coming from.”
“Don’t you worry. I’m here now, and I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of this. Period.”
Chapter Two
Hunter
Watching Amelia shiver with fear as she talked about her asshole of an ex-stepbrother made me want to find him right then. And put my fist through his face.
When I heard my name cross Amelia’s pretty pink lips, and I saw her eyes clouding with tears, it took every ounce of my strength to keep from crushing her to my chest and kissing away her pain.
Amelia’s shiny dark hair was cut short in a way I found adorable. I could already picture how hot she would look the morning after a night in bed with me.
She wore glasses that did nothing to conceal her beautiful blue eyes. They just accentuated the deep, rich color and made her look fiercely cute, not to mention smart as hell.
I wanted to be the one to fog up those glasses and mess up that hair. I wanted to be the one Amelia turned to for her every want and need
. There was something about her that just felt right and I wanted to prove it.
But I was there on business. I had a feeling the boss man wouldn’t be too happy about me ravaging the lab tech right there. No matter how gorgeous she was or how badly I wanted to make her mine.
Even though Bourne Protective Services was run by a man who’d fallen in love with a client, I knew what Brock Bourne would have to say about the matter.
He’d tell me he and Lily were a special case, and point out how things had almost blown up for Mason when he’d got mixed up with Lily’s best friend, Blair.
Hell, he’d been pissed to the max when Mason started carrying on with Blair. But that had worked out in the end, despite Brock warning Mason off.
Brock didn’t have a monopoly on love, last time I checked, and I felt my blood boil a bit at the thought of having to hold myself back. But I was known as the Peacemaker for a reason.
So, I tamped my longing for Amelia down and focused on doing my job. I’d always been the diplomat of BPS, and I took pride in that, to be totally honest. I’d never had any respect for men who shot from the hip without thinking.
But if anyone was going to change my mind about working hard to always keep a cool head, it would be the hottie in the white lab coat standing across from me.
Amelia had curves in all the right places. I could see them straining to burst from underneath her professional clothing and mannerisms. And I wanted to reach out and help her by ripping that lab coat right off.
Instead, I took a steadying breath, checked my primal urges, and told Amelia I was going to get to the bottom of her Kyle problem, no matter what.
“Give me your phone, Amelia.”
She blinked in surprise, but she unlocked her cell phone and handed it over without a word. I pulled up the phone app, keyed in my number, and saved it to her contacts before passing the phone back to her.
“My number’s in there under my first name. I want you to call me day or night if Kyle comes around again.”
Amelia nodded and slipped the phone back into her pocket. But that wasn’t good enough for me. I needed to know she’d actually call. She hadn’t used the business card Blair had given her, after all.
I took her gently by the shoulders and looked deep into those stormy ocean eyes. “I mean it, Amelia. Call me if that asshole shows up. Got it?”
Amelia blinked again. She obviously wasn’t used to this type of conversation. Or being given orders. But I was familiar with both, thanks to my time as an Army Ranger and then a bodyguard, and I knew they were the best way to get things done.
My only concern was keeping her safe, and if that meant shaking her up a bit, so be it. I didn’t want to terrify her, but I think she’d written Kyle off for too long, and she wasn’t taking this seriously enough.
Guys like that dirtbag were dangerous, dammit! I wanted Amelia to know I would be there for her, any time and every time.
But she was starting to tremble under my touch, so I squeezed her arms and then stepped back. Amelia stood frozen in place. She never dropped her eyes from mine, so I gave her my most charming smile.
“Well, I guess I should let you get back to work.” I looked at the closest counter, which was covered in tools of the lab tech trade.
“Oh, yes!” Amelia shook her head and returned my smile with one of her own. It lit her face up and made me want to do whatever it took to keep her smiling.
I was just about to compliment her on that beautiful smile, no matter how the boss man might feel about mixing business and pleasure, when I heard a soft, dreamy voice by the door.
“Who’s your guest, Amelia?”
Whatever moment I’d been about to share with my curvy new obsession was shattered by the arrival of a woman with long red hair and a curious look on her face.
Amelia jumped like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar and her captivating smile faded. “Hey, Luna! This is Hunter and he was just leaving.”
Chapter Three
Amelia
I’d felt kind of bad about kicking Hunter out when Luna came back. But I really hadn’t wanted to worry my best friend and lab partner. She didn’t believe in secrets.
Luna was a Wiccan. She was big into clarity and transparency. I have to admit, her choice in religions had thrown me for a loop when I’d first met her.
But like everyone else in the world, Luna’s religious beliefs didn’t define her. On the eccentric side or not, she was as sharp as a whip and I respected the hell out of her.
As someone who’d worked their butt off to be taken seriously in a male-dominated industry, I was as big on respect as my esoteric friend was on truth, nature, and balance.
Luna was damn good at her job and an amazing friend. Who cared if she read horoscope charts, mediated almost hourly, and worshipped nature instead of going to church?
There was concern lurking in my bestie’s eyes when she turned back to me after watching Hunter stalk out of the lab in a huff.
“What was that all about, Amelia?”
I shrugged and busied myself with rearranging my work station. “Just a friend of Blair’s boyfriend stopping by to say hello.”
Luna’s normally tranquil green eyes sharpened as she looked at me intently. “It seemed like a lot more.”
Dammit, I was busted! There was no way Luna would let this go. She was like a hungry dog with a bone when it came to learning what was bothering me.
I sighed and tossed up my hands. “Okay, okay. I’ve been having a little trouble with Kyle lately.”
Luna frowned. “Your old stepbrother? I thought he was long gone.”
“You and me both, my friend.”
I filled her in on what had gone down a few days back and watched as her look of concern grew deeper. When I was finished she shook her head sadly and hugged me.
“I knew the moon was in a horrible position that day, which is why I stayed home in the first place. I should have been here with you though, and I feel awful that I wasn’t.”
“It’s not your fault my ex-stepbrother is a creep. I haven’t heard from him since, so he’s probably moved on, and that’s why I think Blair sending Hunter to see me was such a dramatic reaction.”
Luna’s eyebrows drew together. “Oh, Amelia, she cares about you. And I don’t think she’s overreacting, to be honest. Kyle’s a bad dude and now he’s back…”
Her words trailed off and Luna left me to draw my own conclusions. Namely, that I was being stubborn and kind of stupid. I felt my cheeks flush with irritation and embarrassment.
I mumbled a “whatever” in Luna’s direction and turned back to my work. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to get a single thing finished.
My thoughts kept going back to Hunter. How mouth-watering he was, of course, with his arm muscles making his shirt sleeves bulge out, and his sandalwood cologne filling the air and making me damn near swoon.
But also about how sad and upset he’d looked when I’d brushed off his presence and pretty much kicked him out. I’d hurt his feelings, like we were much more than virtual strangers.
Was I reading way too much into things? I mean, I didn’t even know the guy, and the chances of a man who looked like him being attracted to a curvy nerd like me were pretty slim.
Or were they? Hunter had eyed me up and down a couple of times. And in a way that made me feel like I was a steak being placed in front of someone who was starving.
Remembering the heavy weight of Hunter’s eyes on my flesh sent tingles through me. Being stared at like that wasn’t something I was used to by any means.
It had been like he was claiming me with his eyes. I knew I shouldn’t enjoy it. I knew it was wrong to picture him ripping my clothes off and taking me right there on one of the counters in the lab.
But I couldn’t lie to myself about the way Hunter made me feel. It didn’t matter if I’d known him for a few moments or my entire life. I couldn’t deny the heat he caused to course through my body with just h
is gaze.
I shook my head and fanned myself with my hand, trying to cool off and calm down. I was at work! I had to get my act together. I snuck a glance at Luna to see if she had caught me being all hot and bothered.
But she was happily humming to herself and working away at her own station. I felt a short jolt of jealousy at how uncomplicated Luna’s life was—no crazy former family members bothering her or a silly crush on a stranger.
Finally, quitting time rolled around, and Luna and I cleaned up and headed for the parking garage. I was glad she’d driven today. I was still too worked up to be behind the wheel.
Luna lived two doors down from me on one of the quietest streets in Scarlet Springs, Colorado. We always carpooled into work and were regularly at each other’s houses.
We’d talked about moving in together, but had decided against it, since we both enjoyed our privacy at times. I was grateful for that choice right now.
I needed some peace and quiet to get my head right about Hunter and his effect on me. I was bound and determined to get him off my mind, no matter what it took.
I liked my life, and there was no way I was going to stir things up by becoming obsessed with the smoking hot, super-strong, and ultra-confident Mr. Murphy.
Chapter Four
Hunter
I’d been stung when Amelia had rushed me out of the lab upon her co-worker’s arrival. Things had just begun to move in the right direction, and we’d almost connected, dammit.
I knew there was something there. I didn’t know what it was exactly that drew me like a magnet to Amelia. Well, other than the obvious raw lust I felt.
But it wasn’t just that. Every fiber of my being had fought to stay with Amelia. To pull her into my arms and keep her there. Forever.
My jaw clenched with frustration and I shook my head sharply to clear it. No matter what my personal feelings were for Amelia, I still had a job to do, and I wasn’t going to stop until I knew she was safe.