Christmas Cowboy (A Standalone Holiday Romance Novel)

by Claire Adams

  "How do you deal with having your picture taking all day? It's exhausting," I said to Kayla as I leaned back into a reclining chair on the beach and a waiter brought us each fresh drinks.

  "It can be, but that's why I'm careful to book plenty of relaxation time between photo shoots." She grinned at me, and her smile was even more radiant than it had been a moment ago.

  Being with just one woman made her even sexier to me than a string of one-night stands. I knew Kayla's body better than anyone and could make her orgasm with just a touch. Nothing could be hotter, and as impossible as it was, I swear her breasts seemed to have gotten even bigger and her hips were definitely rounder. She was becoming softer and more voluptuous, and I wanted to make love to her constantly, and she responded to my touch with the same passionate desire. A full year into our marriage, and we were still fucking like newlyweds.

  "What do you want to do for our anniversary tonight?" I asked her. "The sky's the limit."

  "Well, you've already brought me here to this tropical island. We're staying in our own private bungalow right on the beach, and this morning, we made love under a waterfall in that secluded lake we found hidden in the jungle. We were serenaded by parrots and wild birds, and then served this fantastic lunch of fish caught fresh from the ocean this morning. What more could a girl want?"

  "There has to be something special you want to do," I insisted. "You worked so hard last month, I only saw you a few days. You're becoming as bad of a workaholic as I used to be. I want to make sure you don't forget how to relax and have fun."

  "Oh, don't worry about that. I plan on taking lots of time off very shortly. We'll spend days hanging out in the park, taking long walks, and just enjoying life."

  "So, why were you working so much? I know that the year we were engaged, your modeling career far surpassed just being the ad-campaign girl for Speed Motorcycles. Within months of our engagement, you were being asked to model for the covers of major magazines and posed for some of the top companies in the country.

  “Major corporations would fly you around the world, and offered you huge salaries, to pose with their products or to put your face on their magazine ads. Your rise to fame was unprecedented."

  "That still drives you crazy," she teased me, and I leaned over from to chair to swat her ass playfully in mock aggravation. She raised up her ripe buttocks, allowing me to make contact with her round cheek, and when it vibrated under the impact of my palm, we both felt a thrill.

  "No, it doesn't. I'm secure enough in my manhood to let my wife thrive. Besides, I'm proud of you."

  "So why are you going on about it?" she taunted, making me grin. She'd gotten up from her beach recliner and straddled me on mine so she could tickle my chest with her manicured fingernails.

  I put my hands on her waist and slid them up her pale body to cup her breasts. Fondling them gently, I said to her, "Because, you've been able to set your own demands and work schedule for almost two years straight now. You've always been really good about keeping your work schedule within reason so we'd have enough time to spend together. Having you out on photoshoots all day, every day for nearly a month was tougher on me than I'd like to admit."

  "Sorry, but I needed to get in as much work as I could before my body starts to change and I can't model anymore. This last month may mark the end of my career for quite a long time."

  "What are you talking about? Is this because you’re getting older? Don't worry, sweetheart. The shelf life of a model is short, but it's not that short. You still have plenty of years left to enjoy your career."

  "Oh, I know that. But if I lose my skinny body, then I won't be as marketable. Besides, I don't think I'll want to work anymore, at least not for a few years. I think I'll want to stay at home, like my mother did."

  "Don't tell me you’re burnt out on your career already? You've only been doing it a few years and you act like you really love it. Some days when you come home from work, you're smiling so big, I wonder if I shouldn't be jealous that you love your career more than you love me."

  It was a joke and she giggled. Tickling my chest again, she said with a smile, "Don't worry, I don't love anything more than you. It's just that I'm pregnant."

  "What?" I sat up straight so suddenly, I nearly knocked her off my lap. "I don't think I heard you right. Say that again."

  "I'm pregnant." She was absolutely beaming as she smiled at me. I'd never seen her looking more radiantly beautiful.

  "Are you sure? I thought you were on the pill." I gaped like a moron.

  "I was, but it's not a hundred percent effective. I went to see my doctor when I had the flu last month, and she told me that it was morning sickness. I was six-weeks pregnant."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" I was still in shock and didn't know how to feel.

  "Because I knew you would worry and make me quit my job."

  "Damn right, I would. You can't be on your feet all day in harsh weather conditions with nothing on but a bikini, keeping your weight down by starving yourself. My baby needs good nutrition, and his mother needs to pamper herself and relax." I was instantly protective and felt a glow in my heart I knew was pride and pure love.

  "So, I told my agent, and he got my clients to compact their photo shoots into a one-month period of time. I was able to complete all the work I had committed to for the rest of the season in just four, short weeks, and now I'm officially on hiatus. I won't be accepting any new modeling jobs until after the baby is born, and maybe not at all."

  "You're really doing this?" I could hardly believe how rapidly our lives had changed, and she nodded her head. I could see from the smile in her eyes and the glow in her cheeks that she was really happy, and I was, too.

  Just over two, short years ago, I'd thought I was living the dream life with my secretary blowing me under my mahogany desk in my billion-dollar company offices, but I'd never been more wrong.

  True happiness wasn't money, empty affairs, or even success. True happiness was this right here: having found someone you love who loves you, too, and turning that passion into a baby to raise and love together.

  As I kissed Kayla with the tropical beach behind us and felt the love we had for each other envelop us, I knew that at long last, I had healed the wounds of my youth and was truly living the dream every man wanted, and I was going to enjoy every moment of it.

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  PROTECTOR BOX SET

  The Complete Series

  By Claire Adams

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2015 Claire Adams

  PROTECTOR #1

  “Absolutely ridiculous,” I muttered into my phone as I stomped across campus on the way to my first class of the day. “This is outrageous, Father! I don’t need a stupid bodyguard to follow me around all the time!”

  “Ava, you are being unreasonable,” Joseph Klein admonished. “Your mother and I feel it is a necessary precaution if you want to stay in school. Your safety is our primary concern.”

  “But lots of girls have ex-boyfriends who are idiots and their parents don’t hire bodyguards!” I yelled in exasperation. I was embarrassed that my parents had gone behind my back and hired this blockheaded mercenary to follow me around campus when I had assured them that there was no threat. “Who is this meathead anyway? How do you know he’s even capable of protecting me?”

  “Young lady, Mr. Flynn is a former Navy SEAL who has seen and done more in his life than you could ever dream of,” my father replied. “He was recommended by a business colleague who used him to protect his son while he was on a study abroad session in Egypt, and t
hey got along famously.”

  “Oh, big whoop,” I blurted. “So he’s buddy-buddy with some kid who spent a summer looking at sand and pyramids, and suddenly you think this is a great idea to emulate? That all kids should have bodyguards?”

  “We don’t trust Dominic,” came my father’s no-nonsense response. “End of argument, young lady. If you want to stay in school, then you accept that you will need protection until we deem it safe.”

  “Oh my God!” I cried. “I’m not 10 years old! I’m so sick of the way you treat me like I’m fragile. Why didn’t I have a say in this? You probably hired some old military guy who wishes he was back in Iraq, not guarding some college student who doesn’t need protection! Do I have to talk to him?”

  “Ava Marie Klein,” my father warned. “Mr. Flynn is an experienced personal security expert who is going to follow you around campus until we’ve determined that there is no longer a threat. You will not be anything but absolutely polite to him, do you understand me?”

  “Fine!” I hissed. “I’ll deal with it, but this had better not go on the whole semester! It’s going to be humiliating to have to explain why I have some meathead following me everywhere, and my friends are going to think he’s spying on them, too!”

  “Cool the dramatics, young lady,” my father warned. “We’ve hired a young man who is experienced at this type of thing and knows how to be discreet. If you behave and follow directions, you probably won’t even know he’s there.”

  “Oh right,” I replied. “No one will notice the guy following me everywhere. Sure, sure.”

  “Ava,” my father’s voice dropped into the low range he used when he was warning me that he was about to run out of patience.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll behave like a good girl and let the big, bad security detail sweep me off my feet and ensure my safe return to the castle,” I said in an airy tone designed to defuse the tension.

  “Young lady, you try my patience,” her father replied. “I’ve got to go, I’ve got a meeting in five minutes. Do you need anything else?”

  “No, I’m fine, but —” I began, only to be met with the sound of the phone line disconnecting.

  *****

  I sighed as I scanned the screen one more time before tucking the phone into my pocket. My father had said the security detail would meet me in front of Brody Hall, and I was fully expecting an old, grey-haired man with a crew cut, sunglasses, and a Secret Service suit to follow me all over campus before reporting back to my father. Hopefully, this charade of parental concern would only last a week or two and then I could go back to living a normal life on campus.

  I scanned the front of the building, but didn’t see anybody who looked like an official bodyguard. The only person standing in front of Brody was a guy who looked too young and hot to have been hired by my father, and a small smile spread across my lips when I noticed the scowl on his handsome face as he checked his watch; whoever he was waiting for was going to get an earful, but from those lips it might not be so bad. When he looked back up, the scowl had disappeared, replaced by a raised eyebrow and pursed lips as he began to walk toward me.

  “Ava Klein? I’m Brian Flynn,” he said as he extended a large hand and waited for me to reciprocate. “You’re late.”

  “Excuse me?” I replied.

  “You’re late,” he repeated as he continued holding a hand out for me to shake. “I was told you’d be here at 8:30 am, and it’s now 8:42. That means you’re late.”

  I stood staring at this broad-shouldered man who was simultaneously trying to engage and scold me, and I shook as I tried to contain my rage. How dare he!

  “You’re the guy who is going to follow me around?” My incredulous tone caused his scowl to return as he dropped his hand and stared at me. “My father hired you? You’re barely older than I am! How on earth does he think you’re going to protect me?”

  “I’m 32 and I’m not in the habit of having to explain myself to the people I’m hired to protect,” his voice cut through my mini temper tantrum, stopping it cold. “But yes, your father hired me to be in charge of your security while you’re on campus. As far as my credentials go, your father had me fully investigated and feels confident that I’m capable of protecting you, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

  “Fully checked out, eh?” I sarcastically replied as I rolled my eyes. “Well, I’m totally reassured. What exactly are your credentials, Mr. Flynn?”

  “I’ve got a degree in criminology from Michigan State, I’m certified in tactical force, personal protection, and close range weapons usage, and I’ve earned a black belt in karate,” he dutifully ran down his resume while I looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “And I’m a former Navy SEAL; is that good enough for you, Ms. Klein?”

  “It seems as if you know what you’re doing,” I retorted. I was impressed with his background, but I wasn’t about to show him that given the way he’d tried to lecture me a few minutes before. “And now that we’ve gotten that worked out, just how long do you think you’ll be employing these outstanding credentials, Mr. Flynn?”

  “As long as it takes to ensure your safety,” he responded, and then added, “Ma’am.”

  Is he mocking me? I wondered as I looked more closely at my knight in a hoodie and Nike tennis shoes and thought, He looks like a total frat boy, but at least he’s easy on the eyes.

  “Fine,” I grudgingly conceded. “But you need to get something straight, right here and now. You work for me, and if I want to be late, I’ll be late, and you’ll shut up and follow. Got it?”

  “Oh, I’ve got it, alright,” Brian said, the corners of his lips twitching ever so slightly.

  That jerk! Is he laughing at me? I wondered as I glanced down at my watch and realized that class was about to start.

  I nodded, flipped my long brown hair over one shoulder, and turned toward the classroom, looking over my shoulder as I called back, “Good, I’m glad we understand each other. Now, let’s move, move, move soldier!”

  “That’s sailor, ma’am,” he quietly corrected.

  “What?” I was getting irritated.

  “Members of the Navy are sailors, not soldiers,” he explained.

  “Whatever! Just get a move on it or I’m going to be late to class!” I shouted at him over my shoulder as I picked up my pace and headed for my psychology class.

  I could hear him trailing behind me as I quick-stepped my way to class. My professor hated it when we were late, and he’d threatened to lock the doors when Jessie and Lara arrived late for the second time that week. I didn’t think he’d do it, but I didn’t want to put that thought to a test.

  Behind me, he was silent. I felt like I should make some kind of conversation with him, but since I had no idea what to say. Besides, I was still pissed at both him and my father for engaging in this silly little exercise. I didn’t need a bodyguard, but it seemed that if I put up a fight, it would only make things more difficult. What I really wanted to do was dismiss him on the spot and then call my father and tell him to stay out of my business once and for all, but I knew from experience that telling my father to butt out was the best way to ensure that he had a hand in my business, albeit a distant one.

  As I walked briskly across campus, I kept looking back over my shoulder to see if the bodyguard was still there. What is his name? Brad? Brandon? Oh, yeah, Brian. Every time I did it, I felt like an idiot for caring whether he was there or not. After all, he was there to serve and protect me, not the other way around.

  I couldn’t get a clear look at him as we trotted along, and as I replayed our little conversation, I felt like there was something familiar about the look in his eyes, but the thought slipped from my mind as the phone in my pocket began buzzing. I pulled it out and saw a message from Jess asking where I was. I quickly texted back, “On my way” and then stuffed the phone back in my pocket.

  Another look over my shoulder told me that Brian was still on my heels. We were almost in the center of campus now, and I wa
s aware that people were looking at the odd paring of the Klein girl and the guy who was following her, but I’d grown used to the stares in my time at this school and I shrugged them off as I scanned the quad for Jessie and Lara.

  “Oh my God, Ava!” squealed Lara. “What is going on here? Who’s the hottie following you?”

  I rolled my eyes dramatically and sighed, “He’s a gift from my father. Jessie and Lara, meet Brian. Brian, meet Jessie and Lara. They’re my best friends and they are do not pose a threat to my safety in any way.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, ladies,” Brian said as he nodded politely at them both and then with a wry grin added, “It’s good to know that I won’t have to use force on either of you.”

  “Oh, you can feel free to use force on me anytime!” Lara purred as she gave my bodyguard the once-over.

  “Lara!” I objected. “Do you always have to be in seduction mode?”

  “Well, he’s cute,” she pouted. “You know how I am around cute guys!”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I said as I turned and gave Brian an apologetic look before addressing the girls. “I’m being followed by a guy who my father has hired to monitor my every move and you are talking about how hot he is and trying to flirt with him? What is wrong with you two?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with us, Ava,” Jessie interjected. “We just appreciate his rugged good looks and his finely-tuned bod!”

  I peeked over at Brian and realized that he wasn’t listening to anything we were saying, but was instead scanning the quad area, presumably looking for potential threats to my safety. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Jess and Lara who were now whispering conspiratorially as they continued assessing Brian’s body and giggling about what they’d do with it.

  “So, what’s the deal with this guy?” Lara whispered.