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Her high-voltage smile flashed. “Sounds great to me.”
“Lock the door behind me.”
“Absolutely.”
He still lingered. “You…you’ll need a ride to the rink tomorrow. I’ll come by first thing.”
Her eyebrows arched. “I get to the rink at four a.m.”
“I’ll come by and get you.”
“That early? You sure?”
“I’ll be here.” He made himself step to the side. She was technically between him and the door since he’d lifted her up and pinned her there. But when he moved, she slipped away. Her heady and sweet scent teased him. He drank it in then made himself leave.
A job. She’s a job. A charge. You’re supposed to treat her the way you treat every other charge.
Only she wasn’t just like the others. And not just because she had zero clue that he was actually her bodyguard. He felt something different with her. Something he had never felt with anyone else.
A ferocious hard-on? Check. But he’d had those before. Plenty of them. Sex was natural, fun, and a vital part of his life.
But the consuming desire he felt for her? The flare of possessiveness that had begun to beat beneath his skin? Trouble.
He stood on the porch until he heard the click of her lock. Then, nodding and flipping up his collar against the bite in the air, he headed back to his ride. After climbing inside, he glanced at her house. In case she was watching from behind the blinds, he drove away. But he didn’t drive far, and when he came back, he parked down the street and killed his lights.
On a normal bodyguard case, he’d be in that house with her. Hunkered down on the couch. Within shouting distance. Locking his jaw, he yanked his phone up to his ear and called Ryker.
“Is my daughter safe?” That was how the man answered the phone. With a tight edge in his voice.
“Checked her house, every room. No intruders. When I left, I made sure she locked the door behind me.” Had she reset her alarm? Surely, she had.
A relieved sigh whispered over the line. “When I received your text about her car breaking down, I got worried.”
A text he’d sent right before entering the restaurant with Alina.
“But you assured me she was safe,” Ryker added roughly.
“She was safe. She was with me, and when she’s with me, she’s always gonna be safe.” His eyes remained on her house. “But you’re tying my hands, and this shit has to stop. There were two incidents today. Two incidents on day one of my employment.”
“The…the lights at the rink could have been anything—”
“I don’t buy it. I don’t like it. I don’t like the deal with her car, either.”
“But you don’t have any proof—”
“My buddy is doing a thorough scan on her car first thing tomorrow. We’ll see if he thinks someone sabotaged the ride or not.”
Silence.
“She needs to know. You felt like the threat to her was so big that she needed a bodyguard. We have to tell her the truth. I need full access.”
“Alina doesn’t like bodyguards. I told you that before. She gets rid of them. Refuses to work with them—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, I might have bought that story before I met the woman. She’s no spoiled debutante who can’t understand reason. She’s smart and funny and—” Wow. He needed to be careful. “Logical. Clear-headed. We tell her what’s happening, and she’ll understand.” All of the lights were out in the front of the house. Was Alina showering? Getting ready for bed? “Something else is at play. I want to know the real reason you don’t want your daughter knowing she has a bodyguard.”
“I don’t want her frightened. She has to remain focused on the competition. Knowing there is danger surrounding her will undermine her confidence. She won’t be able to perform at the top of her ability.”
“Screw the competition.”
