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ALWAYS RESPECT A WOMAN’S PRIVACY
NATHAN
Karina didn’t show.
I spent an hour waiting for her flight to come in and when it did, Karina was not at baggage claim. I searched for half an hour after, looking for Miss Princess and her slender legs, but she wasn’t anywhere.
She was home, showering. At least, that’s what her father said when he called me to ask why I hadn’t shown.
Two hours of traffic there and back wasted on a spoiled Princess.
Storming into the mansion, I headed up the stairs. Hands clenched into fists, ready to bang against her door. I stalked down the hall, forgetting my manners, and pulled the door open with force.
And suddenly, all the anger vibrating through my bones washed away at the sight of her wide emerald eyes on me. A blush spread across her cheek and my gaze drifted down, catching sight of the towel wrapped around her dripping, wet, naked—I snapped my attention back to her face.
Karina shifted, tightening the grip on her towel. Her gaze avoided mine. “What do you want?”
You. I shook the initial thought from my head. What did I want? Why did I even barge into her room? I could already hear my grandmother scolding me for walking in without permission.
Always respect a woman’s privacy. That was one of the things my grandmother taught me growing up. Knock before entering, unless I wanted to walk in on something I didn’t want to see or be a witness to.
Seeing Karina practically naked wasn’t one of those things, but she deserved respect. I turned around and walked out the door.
Ok, so I mostly did that for myself.
The water droplets against her skin were enough to distract me, not to mention the one layer keeping me from seeing it all. I closed the door, staring at the lines chipped in the wood.
Focus Nathan.
“Why did you tell your dad I didn’t show up at the airport?”
“You were supposed to pick me up?” She sounded almost surprised.
“Yup.”
“But you’re Jason.”
Jason… right, the name she thought she heard when we first met, to which I corrected her on, but it never stuck. “It’s Nathan James. Not Jason.”
“Well, you weren’t there, so I left.” I could hear her huff from the other side of the door.
“You couldn’t have waited a while? I searched the entire airport for your ass, Princess.”
Shit.
The door swung open and her eyes, the exact shade as her father’s, glared at me. “No, I couldn’t.”
My eyes drifted down her body again, imaging every curve under the towel she continued to hold. I shook my head with a laugh and shifted my attention back to her face. “I’m sorry, Princess. Did I piss you off somehow?”
“Yeah, you barged into my room without knocking and started an argument before even giving a friendly greeting.” She clutched her towel tightly against her chest.
She was lucky. If she wasn’t my boss’s daughter, I wouldn’t have even bothered continuing the conversation. No, I would have already taken her wrists and pinned them against the nearest wall, giving her a better reason to be pissed off. But she was, and I was supposed to make sure she got home safely, whether she liked me or not. “Don’t like it?”
She shook her head, narrowing her eyes even more, if that were possible. “Not one bit.”
I chuckled, meeting her gaze. “Well, tough shit. It’s a learning process. We’re only on day one.” I told her, my voice dropping.
“Day one?” She scoffed. “Well, it feels like forever.”
“It’s only been a year, Princess.”
Her eyes widened, probably surprised that I even remembered. She stood up straight and tapped the door to close it. “Don’t call me princess.”
Stopping it with my foot, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I would if you didn’t act like such a spoiled one.”
One of the top five things someone shouldn’t say to their boss’s daughter.
“Get out of my room.”
“Technically, I’m not in your room.” I grinned, pulling my foot from the door.
It closed, leaving me to stare at the lines chipped in the wood once more.
I knew she still hated me. I took a step back, turned, and made my way down the hall to Mr. Vasiliev’s office. Knocking lightly against it, I waited a moment before peering inside.
“Ah, Mr. James, there you are. I was wondering when you would show up,” Mr. Vasiliev called out.
“I would have been here sooner if your daughter hadn’t left without me.”
“I apologize. She can be a bit independent.”
Oh no, she was more than just that, but I bit back my tongue. “As most women are. You said you wanted to see me when I returned.”
“Yes. It’s about Karina.”
“What about her?” I asked.
“Seeing as she will be staying here for a while, I will assign you to her.”
I choked on my spit. He wasn’t serious, though the look on his face told me otherwise. “You want me to watch her?”
“I trust you will be professional,” he said, beckoning me to sit down.
Professional, with a lingerie model. Was that even possible? No.
Granted, that still didn’t stop me from thinking this was a big mistake. Karina Vasiliev was going to be the death of me. I could easily protect those around me, make sure my bosses’ clients and partners didn’t get out of hand and keep my boss level-headed. But him trusting me, Nathan James, with his daughter was the worst assignment he ever had me do.
In the five years I’ve worked for him, I’ve heard stories about the countless bodyguards who were tossed out, all because they couldn’t handle the task of taking care of his daughter.
I should have been glad I hadn’t been. The first night we met, I had trouble keeping my hands to myself. And the only reason why I still had my job and Mr. Vasiliev trusted me was because I told him about what happened that night.
“You have my word.” Because if not, you’d have my head. “But I still don’t understand why you’re trusting her in my hands when you know what happened the last time.”
“I can trust you not to stray from the mission. You’ve proven to me that you do not mix personal life with business.”
I had to. It was give my full name, visit my family every weekend, or lead people who wanted nothing more than to hurt me, to them. There was no way in hell I’d let that happen again.
“I could,” I said.
“But you wouldn’t.”
“You do know your daughter and I are around the same age,” I tried to reason with him. “It’s not like the other guards who were much older.”
“I understand, but you two have time to get acquainted.”
He made it sound like he wanted me to fuck her.
“A friend to rely on,” he added.
That or a dog, and I couldn’t be either. I looked up at him, knowing he wasn’t done talking.
“I think it’d be good for both of you. Karina could use a trustworthy friend and you could benefit from getting the same,” he continued.
Being friends with my boss’s daughter... yeah, no, that sounded like more trouble than I needed. Karina was a Vasiliev, meaning she had a target on her back. Being friends would make that target bigger because the people who hated me, not the Vasiliev’s, would go after her thinking there was more than just friendship.
A pair of heels caught my attention. I turned my head, catching a glimpse of the Princess dressed in a white button-up blouse, tight-fitting jeans, and a pair of black stilettos. She was a sight, as always, and I forced myself to turn back around as Mr. Vasiliev cleared his throat.
“Karina, please take a seat.” He held his hand out to the empty seat beside me.
I listened to her footsteps, the clicking noise of her shoes as she sat down.
“As I was saying to Mr. James, he will be your next bodyguard,” Mr. Vasiliev said.
I crossed my leg over the other and rested my elbow on the armrest, waiting for her response. After our encounter, I was sure she’d flip out, but instead, she responded with a simple, “No.”
