Rescuing Samantha

by Nicole Flockton

  The room was decorated in light colors. The couch looked like it cost more than his car, and that was saying something. Out of everything in his life, his car was his prized possession. The classic Mustang was the perfect car to drive down Pacific Highway, with the roof off and the wind blowing in his face. Not sure how practical it would be living in New York, but he’d find out soon enough.

  “So Beck, after your quick action the other day, I think I can trust you to look after my friend.”

  He whirled around at the voice behind him, cursing that he’d been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t heard Amberley and Tom walk into the room. Not an auspicious start to his protection gig. “Of course, I’ll guard her with my life.”

  “That’s a bit dramatic isn’t it?” Samantha commented as she strolled back into the room, a tray in her hand holding four glasses and a glass pitcher of iced water. “I still think this is all over the top and everyone’s overreacting.”

  Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Amberley about to speak but he held up his hand. “I’ve seen the report Tom gave to Alliez Security, the firm I work for. Let me see if I’ve got this correct.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve had threatening text messages for months. Envelopes delivered directly to your place of residence and slipped under your door. All of those things combined scared you enough that you wouldn’t even go to your siblings’ weddings and you haven’t asked them to come visit you. A structure almost fell on top of you, and if I hadn’t been there we wouldn’t be standing here right now. Those things seem to indicate that someone is after you, only you refuse to acknowledge it.” He paused and looked over at Amberley and Tom. “Fortunately, you have friends who care and worry about you.”

  As he wound down, he noticed the flush on Samantha’s cheeks. Her eyes blazed fire in his direction. “Have you finished?”

  He inclined his head.

  “I know you probably all think I’ve been stupid by not saying anything, but you couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve been looking after myself for years. I’ve taken self-defense classes. I know how to shoot a gun. I’m also pretty handy with a knife. And I carry a taser in my purse.” She crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking his stance. “If you’re going to treat me like I’m too stupid to live, I think you should leave.”

  She turned her back on him and her ponytail flicked over her shoulder. Beck pressed his lips together to stop from smiling. Samantha Jackson aka Samantha Rayse had fire, he’d give her that. As an actress she could play any part, but there was no acting involved in that little speech. It was passionate and damn if he didn’t want to see if he could illicit that type of fire out of her, but with kisses not words.

  Fuck, why was he still thinking about her in that respect?

  “Okay, you two, simmer down.” Tom entered the fray. “Look, Sam, I know you don’t think this person is a threat, but my instincts are telling me there’s an issue here.”

  Samantha shook her head at Tom’s edict, as if she was going to protest a little more, but Beck held up his hand.

  “Whether you believe in trusting feelings or not, they’re real for us. That sixth sense has gotten me out of more than one situation where my team and I would be dead if I hadn’t acted when I did. Likewise my teammates saved my ass many times due to their instincts.” Beck responded. Although some days he wondered where that instinct was the day the insurgents targeted the building he was in. If he’d had some warning, some feeling, maybe he’d have gotten out in time and would be on a mission now, instead of standing in a living room in Beverly Hills.

  “Fine, I’ll trust you. I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Samantha huffed out.

  Yeah, she was going to be a tough case but he trusted Tom and his instinct. She was definitely putting on a bravado in front of them all. Her body language was portraying an I don’t give a fuck attitude, but her eyes showed her true feelings, fear lurked in their depths and he hated seeing fear on any woman.

  If he was going to be the one following her every move, then Samantha needed to be comfortable with him. She had to trust that if needed he would be there to protect and save her. Even rescue her if it came to that, but he hoped to fuck it wouldn’t. Butting heads with her right now, wasn’t the way to handle things.

  As he had before he prepared to take a shot, Beck took a deep, steadying breath. When he blew it out, he concentrated on letting the tension ease from his shoulders. “Samantha, I know this isn’t how you thought things would turn out. I understand this is your big break in the film industry. You want to make a good impression and do your job. From what Tom told me on the ride over here, you’re achieving that. The last thing you want is to be perceived as some diva needing to have a bodyguard. I get that. But there are legitimate concerns for your safety. The fact you won’t tell your Delta brother-in-law what’s going on speaks volumes to me.”

  Her eyes narrowed when he talked about her family and she shot an angry look in his direction. “How do you know about my family connections?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “It’s my job to know everything pertaining to the case. You can trust I won’t call him, unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  “Under no circumstances are you to call him, please.” With each word she spoke she moved closer to him and he maintained his loose demeanor, he could take anything she threw out at him. “This is between us.” She finished by pointing between him and her.

  Beck’s hand closed over Samantha’s bringing it against his chest. He ignored the fire flowing through him again at the simple touch. Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath. Her lips parted and he had the insane urge to lean down and cover them with his own. Reassure her with a kiss that everything would be fine. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. He had to maintain his distance. He shouldn’t be touching her, but he couldn’t release his hold on her. He didn’t want to. And it looked as if Samantha was in no hurry to escape his hold either. Their eyes remained fixed on each other and his body hummed with a combination of adrenaline and attraction. He dropped his gaze from hers to the hand resting on his chest. Her fingers flat against his heart. “Sam,” he whispered her name. “I understand completely. Do you?”

  Her breath heaved in and out. “Yes.”

  4

  The car sped down the highway heading toward the studio and Sam gripped the door handle a little tighter. Beck’s strong hands gripped the steering wheel confidently as he navigated LA traffic. The familiar glow of red tail lights seemed to get closer and closer, indicating the cars had stopped and yet Beck seemed oblivious to them.

  “Jesus, Beck, will you please brake? Can’t you see the cars are stopping?” she asked impatiently and scared out of her wits that they were going to end up in the back seat of the car in front.

  “Easy, Sam, I’ve got it under control,” he replied, hitting the breaks.

  “God I hate LA traffic,” she muttered as they stopped behind the long line of vehicles.

  “We’ve got time, I factored in the possibility of traffic jams when I planned our commute. Relax, I’ll get you to the studio in plenty of time.”

  “I don’t understand why we couldn’t go the way I normally go.”

  He took a second to respond, probably reaching for patience. “As I explained last night, we need to change up your routine. If you’re being watched you don’t want to be going the same way at the same time every day. We need to change it up.”

  “Fine.” Sam turned her head and gazed out the window. She fully acknowledged that she was grumpy and tired. Sleep had been elusive, knowing that in the morning she’d be facing Beck again. When she had finally fallen asleep, her dreams had replayed the scene where Beck trapped her hand against his chest. Instead of talking about keeping her safe, he’d lowered his head and kissed her. Her body heated now as she remembered the kiss. The way dream Beck’s hands swept down her body and slipped beneath the hem of her dress. His fingers warm as they trailed a slow, tortuous path upward un
til they slipped beneath the elastic of her panties.

  “Samantha, wake up, we’re here.”

  Sam jolted upright, her breathing rapid and she hoped like hell her face wasn’t as red as it felt. Holy shit, she hadn’t been thinking about the dream she’d had the night before. She’d had the dream again. In the car, next to Beck, who’d been front and center of it all. Had she moaned out loud? She knew she’d moaned in her dream. Even whispered his name.

  She looked over and saw him watching her intently, his gaze gave nothing away. There was no lecherous smile on his face. He wasn’t looking at her boobs, his eyes remained fixed on her face. Except…there was a ghost of a smile lifting the corners of his lips. Crap, she must have done something while she’d been sleeping.

  Grabbing her bag from where she’d placed it by her feet, she hitched it on her shoulder. “Right, well thanks for driving me. I need to get to my dressing room. I’ll text you when we’re close to finishing for the day so you can come and get me.”

  Beck shook his head and chuckled at her speech. “You know that’s not how it works.” He undid his seatbelt and opened the door. “Come on, I’m looking forward to seeing your dressing room.”

  “Well it was worth a shot,” she muttered as she opened the door and got out. Beck was beside her before she even had a chance to take a breath. “Do you have supersonic speed or something?”

  “Nope. Come on let’s go. I don’t want to be standing out in the open for too long.”

  Sam mentally rolled her eyes. She still wasn’t sure the story they’d come up with would be feasible but it was the best they had. Amberley had called Pascal and explained that she’d found the perfect guy to consult on the film. With Beck being a former SEAL it really did work in their favor. Pascal had been excited and happy to hear they’d finally have a professional on set.

  The way they’d explain why he would arrive and leave with her was simple—he lived close by so they could carpool. One thing Beck had been adamant about, they couldn’t let on that Sam had moved and was now living on Amberley’s parents’ property.

  “Sam.” A voice called out and she looked over her shoulder to find Miles striding toward them.

  “Who’s this again?” Beck hissed, only loud enough for her to hear.

  “Miles. He plays one of the kidnappers and all around bad guy in the movie. He’s harmless.”

  Beck grunted in response. As she didn’t speak grunt, she had no idea whether his response was positive or negative.

  She smiled as Miles gave her a hug, squeezing her a little tighter than he normally did. “Hey, how about letting me breathe,” she said on a laugh. “That was quite the hug, Miles.”

  “Sorry, just happy to see you,” Miles responded before transferring his gaze to Beck who’d stepped closer to her. “Who’s this?”

  She startled when Beck slipped an arm around her shoulder. Was he trying to infer they had a personal relationship? That hadn’t been part of their plan at all.

  “Miles is it?” Beck asked and held out his other hand. “I’m Cane Beckwith, good to meet you.”

  Cane?

  Last night Tom and Amberley had referred to him as Beck. Sometimes he’d referred to Tom by his nickname ‘Red’. She never guessed that Beck was his nickname and not his first name. In fact, he’d only introduced himself to her with that name, until this second she had no idea what his last name was. Why hadn’t she questioned him further last night? The answer to that was simple, she’d been so adamant she didn’t want or need a bodyguard that she didn’t need to know his name.

  Bringing her attention back to the two men at her side, she observed them as they shook hands. If she didn’t know better she would’ve guessed that both of them were squeezing each other’s hands in a show of who was strongest.

  Men, she’d never understand them. Did they think this display of strength was a turn on? Well no way was she going to admit that she did find it kind of appealing that two guys appeared to be beating their chests over her. Their heads would swell and she didn’t need to deal with either Beck’s or Miles’ big egos. Before they decided to change positions and arm wrestle to really see who was stronger, she needed to separate the two of them.

  “Okay, well I have to get ready for the day, so let’s go Cane. I’ll see you on set Miles.” Sam slipped out of Beck’s embrace, but grabbed his hand to pull him away. Fortunately, he followed without argument, although she noticed a slight unevenness to his gait. Had he hurt himself when he’d rushed around the car to get to her side? She’d noticed the previous evening that he had a slight limp. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

  Sam smiled at the people they passed, maintaining a cool and calm façade during the walk to her dressing room. Inside was a different story. Her emotions were a jumbled mess. Ranging from lingering desire after the dream she’d had in the car, to exasperation at the he-man show she’d witnessed between Miles and Beck.

  “You wanna tell me what the hell that was about?” she asked as the door clicked shut behind them.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was meeting one of your co-stars.”

  Sam scoffed. “I was expecting the both of you to rip your shirts off and pound your chests. Both of you were like gorillas trying to get the upper hand in the jungle.”

  Beck laughed. He pulled himself away from the wall by the door and stalked over to her. Now he really did resemble a jungle animal stalking his prey. She stood her ground, her heart skipping a beat. The scent of his aftershave wafted around her. The citrus fragrance reminded of her sunny days by the pool when she, Chase, and Rayne would try to keep cool on hot summer days.

  “It wouldn’t be a fair fight, sweetheart. Your co-star wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “And it’s that cockiness that will be your undoing, Cane Beckwith.”

  He closed the distance between them and Sam swayed a little toward him. He reached out and trailed a finger down her cheek. Ripples of desire shivered through her at the little touch. “That cockiness saved my life many times.”

  Had his voice gone gruff, or was that wishful thinking?

  She lifted her eyes and their gazes connected. Ever since she clapped eyes on him the previous evening, she’d been hyperaware of him. Her dream in the car a testament to her attraction toward him. His lips were mere inches away from her, red and inviting. She’d never taken the initiative before to make the first move, but she was so tempted to see what he tasted like.

  As if he read her mind, he leaned down as she went up on her tiptoes. Their lips met and she clutched at his biceps to stop herself from falling against his chest. His lips moved slowly, sensually over hers, and she couldn’t stop the low moan from erupting from her throat. With just one touch she’d felt more alive with Beck than she ever had with another man. It was insane and she couldn’t let herself fall into the trap of thinking herself in lust with her bodyguard.

  She wrenched her mouth away from his and took two steps back. “We probably shouldn’t do that again. I’m a job to you. There must be some sort of clause in your contract that says no fraternizing with clients,” Sam babbled and turned her back on him, closing her eyes. Her hand drifted up to her lips, imprinting his touch there forever.

  No, not forever. Love at first sight is for movies, not my life.

  A knock sounded at the door and a second later it opened and Judy the production assistant poked her head in before Beck had a chance to respond.

  “Samantha, you’re here. Miles said you were, but you were due in make-up five minutes ago. You need to hustle. Pascal’s gonna lose his shit if we don’t start on time.”

  Hell, she couldn’t afford to do anything to upset Pascal or anyone else. The last thing she wanted was to be kicked off the movie or have word spread through the industry that she was difficult to work with. She’d never get another job if that happened.

  “Sorry, it’s my fault, I’ve delayed Samantha. I was asking her a lot of
questions. She did tell me she needed to leave.” Beck spoke before she had a chance to open her mouth. The lie tripped out of his mouth so easily. If she hadn’t been with him, she could almost believe what he told Judy.

  “Who are you? And what are you doing in Samantha’s dressing room?” Judy demanded putting her hands on her hips. Samantha bit back a smile. Judy was five feet, if that. To see her standing up to the former Navy SEAL was entertaining. It had been a long time since she’d someone in her corner.

  “It’s okay, Judy, this is Be… I mean Cane Beckwith. He’s going to be consulting on the film with regards to the technical aspects. He’s a former SEAL and a friend of Amberley Price and her fiancé. Pascal is expecting him.”

  Judy huffed out a breath. “Of course, no one bothers to tell me these things. Hi Cane, good to meet you. I’m Judy Halse, the production assistant, why don’t you come with me while Sam goes to makeup.”

  Samantha held her breath, waiting to see what Beck would say. Would he somehow work it so that he could remain by her side? If he did, it would only work for today. No way would it be standard for him to escort her to make-up every day. That would be a sure way to raise suspicions that something was up. Or going on between the two of them.

  “Sure, Judy that’ll be great.” Beck followed the other woman to the door, turning before exiting to look at Sam again. His blue eyes brighter than they’d been a moment ago. Her lips tingled again and she couldn’t stop herself from touching them. The action caused his own lips to purse as if he wanted to taste her again, like a couple unable to keep their hands to themselves. “I’ll see you on set.”

  The door closed behind him and Judy, and Sam closed her eyes, a breath of relief rushing out of her. For a heartbeat she allowed herself to dream that she and Beck were an item. That the brief kiss they’d shared earlier would be something they could do on a regular basis.