“It might be unconnected, but I don’t think so,” Josh said. “Frog told me the police weren’t helpful when you reported the letters.”
Ashley shrugged. “To be honest, I understood their point of view. It was a few letters. They’re busy.” Her gaze slid to the piles of her lingerie. “They’ll laugh at this, talk behind my back. If this story gets out, I’ll look stupid. Too girlie for responsibility.” Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked hard.
“Call the police anyway,” Josh said. “Even if they can’t do anything, this breach of your security must go on record. What would your brother tell you to do?”
“That’s low,” Ashley whispered.
“I promised Frog I’d keep you safe.” Josh tipped her chin up with a forefinger, and their gazes connected. His was full of concern and what she called he-man determination. “Tell me, what would he say?”
“He’d tell me to report the crime.”
“Exactly. I’ll be there with you, and tomorrow, we’ll install a new security system. Okay?”
Ashley sighed. He was right. She knew it, but already, she could imagine the cops’ reaction. Big girl panties, she reminded herself. Besides, she was in politics. People always made snide comments about politicians. No matter what she or her colleagues did, someone disliked their actions. It was the nature of the game.
“Is there anything else out of place?”
“Just my underwear.” A shudder ran through her. She’d have to squeeze in shopping time. The idea of wearing clothes a weird stranger had touched sickened her. That meat-stew sensation again.
The police came, took her statement, and left. The two police constables who’d attended had regarded her as if she was crazy. Not that she blamed them, but she’d followed Josh’s advice and done what Matt would expect. The police had a report to file with her name attached to it.
“Discuss an alarm system with Louie,” Nikolai suggested.
“Great idea,” Josh said.
“Summer, we should head out.” Nikolai turned to Josh. “You’ll let us know if we can help with anything.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Thank you for your help tonight.” Ashley attempted a friendly smile when she’d rather cry angry tears. Maybe mutter one or two of her brother’s descriptive curses. Instead, she forced her smile wider. “I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Summer winked at her brother. “You’re family now. I’ll call you about dinner.”
Nikolai and Summer left, leaving tension of a different kind. Ashley trusted her brother, so she believed in Josh, but it was still weird. This fake fiancé thing. And the boundaries. Did they hold hands in public? Kiss?
What did a fake fiancé do?
Her gaze slid to Josh’s mouth, and a whoosh of heat ran through her, leaving her knees weak and her heart strangely wanting. Josh Williams was a capable man. Strong. Masculine. Sexy. She jerked her gaze away and mentally listed Labor’s policies.
“Should I clear your bed for you? I got the impression you intend to toss your lingerie after tonight.”
Ashley shuddered. “Yes, please. I can’t sleep in there tonight. I’ll take a spare room.”
“Which room is mine?”
“The room next to the master,” Ashley said. “It has an en suite.”
“Why don’t you take that one?” Josh’s understanding had her blinking away another bout of potential tears. “I’ll take your room.”
She bit her lip. Withheld her tears. She’d worked hard to contain her emotions. Yes, she smiled, but she never showed sadness because that made her appear weak. The last thing she ever wanted was to seem over sensitive or out of control. An emotional candidate repelled the voters.
“Are you sure?”
“I get to have a king bed rather than the single. Win-win.”
“I’ll grab clean sheets for you.”
“I can change the sheets. Take a bath or something. Chill out. Summer swears by a bubble bath.”
Ashley stared at Josh, nonplussed by his understanding. His charm. His niceness.
“Ashley.” Josh moved closer. His hands landed on her shoulders and their gazes connected. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you through this. I promise.”
Ashley nodded, although she didn’t think this pretense would be as easy as he thought.
Josh woke to a scream. He bolted upright in the bed, confused for an instant until the cry repeated, rippling down the passage.
Ashley.
He jumped off the bed and slinked through the darkness. He cast out every sense, searching for danger. The clock on the kitchen wall ticked the seconds. The wooden floors creaked beneath his feet. A whimper had him hurrying into the spare room and to the bed.
“Ashley,” he murmured, cautiously shaking her. “Ashley, wake up. You’re dreaming.”
She groaned, whimpered again.
Josh sat on the edge of the bed. “Ashley.” He hesitated to touch her, not wanting to upset her more than she was already. “Ash, sweetheart.”
She jolted, her gasp of fear striking him like a blow.
“It’s me. Josh. You’re safe. Should I turn on the light?”
“Please.”
Big brown eyes fixed on him. Without makeup, the shadows beneath her eyes were noticeable. Her blonde hair covered her shoulders in a shiny mass, and she had a beauty spot to the right of her mouth. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now that he had, his mind dwelled on kissing the sexy mark. She wore an old T-shirt, and it molded to her curves.
He shook himself, forced his gaze back to her face. Frog would kill him if he ever discerned Josh’s inappropriate thoughts.
“Bad dream?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Do you want a drink? Tea or something stronger?”
“I don’t drink alcohol, but a cup of green tea sounds good.”
“I’ll make one for you.” Josh stood, glad for a task. Looking at her, sitting on her bed gave a man ideas.
Ashley ran a trembling hand through her hair. “We should discuss how this relationship will work.”
Josh’s mind took a turn onto Sexy Drive again. He forced himself to move, to walk to the door. “I won’t be long.”
When he returned, Ashley had a planner open and was tapping a pen on the page, a frown twisting her soft lips.
“Something wrong?” He wrenched his focus to the teacup and saucer in his hands.
She sighed. “There’s so much to do before election day. The Labor party…” She blew out another sigh. “I shouldn’t say this, but given our current progress, we’ll crash and burn.”
Aware normal conversation would settle her, he set the cup of tea on a nightstand and sat on the bed. Close enough to be sociable but not slide into intimacy.
Yeah. Now, what were they discussing? Huh, okay. “Do you have a plan? What would you do if you had your way? Frog said you’re high in the party rankings.”
She replied without hesitating, impressing Josh. “We should stop talk of a capital gains tax and focus on our strengths. Our social policies.”
“Can you tell your party that?”
She nibbled her bottom lip, and Josh glanced away from her cute beauty mark. Get control of yourself.
She tapped her pen again, narrowed her eyes. “Well, I can, but Geoffrey is determined. He says it will make a more balanced playing field.”
“In theory. Normally, the wealthy who have the assets to attract the tax can afford to pay a smart accountant to minimize their payments. It’s the people in the middle who get hit hardest. They’re the ones who work hard, save, and pay most of the tax, which will go toward your social programs.”
Ashley made a humming sound. “Yes, I know that. We’d be better to raise taxes in other areas. More tax on petrol, for example. Road user charges. We’ll need to do that to add more infrastructure and ease the road congestion.”
“Is that the topic for your Wellington meeting?”
“Yes, we’ll look at the poll results, discuss, and
focus on areas where our policies resonate better with the voters,” Ashley said. “As a party, we’ll have a better sense for how we’re doing once the poll results are in, and we can report back from our different electorates.”
Josh nodded. “How will your engagement figure in this? Will it cause problems?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Ashley did her pen tap thing. “When we discussed this, I told Matt a security company might work better. I thought they could keep to the background, and that would be enough. He refused to trust anyone I might hire and told me I needed someone twenty-four hours. I joked and said that sounded like a husband, and that’s when he came up with the fake fiancé idea. At first, I thought it was overkill. The letters made me uneasy, but the idea of someone coming into my house…” She trailed off. Blinked. “I’m scared. I don’t even know what I’ve done to deserve this level of attention. That terrifies me too.”
“You’ve probably done nothing more than smile or offer kind words,” Josh soothed. “Are you tired?”
“Yes, but every time I close my eyes, I imagine someone inside my house, invading my privacy. I start shaking.”
“Put your planner away, and we’ll go through your background. Frog filled me in on as much as he knows, but if you’re like my sister, I figure you don’t share everything with your big brother. Tell me about your boyfriends. Who have you dated in the last couple of years? Any nasty breakups?”
Ashley scowled and set aside her planner. She sipped her tea. “Is this necessary?”
“We have to start somewhere.”
“I haven’t dated much. I spent time with Cole Mackinson. He’s a lawyer for a firm in the central city. We had dinner together a few times, but there was no spark. Murray Anderson. We went bowling and for dinner, but we’re both busy. It was difficult to find nights we were both free, so we gave up trying. I heard he’s dating a school teacher now.”
Josh took notes, clenching his pen. He loathed hearing Ashley’s history with other men. “Anyone else?” He forced out the words, both wanting and not wanting to learn the answer.
“I’ve gone out for casual dinners with guys I’ve met via party functions. I haven’t had anyone serious in my life. No bad breakups.” She laughed, and it held an edge of distress. “Sort of sad, right? But the thing is, I work hard and put most of my energy into my job. I intimidate a lot of guys.”
Their loss. She didn’t scare him. Intrigued him. Challenged him. And where the hell was his mind wandering? Ashley was Frog’s younger sister. He’d made a promise to his friend, which meant he’d keep his hands off and do his job.
If only she wasn’t so pretty. So enticingly sexy.
“What about when you’re in Wellington for the parliamentary sessions? Do you see anyone there?”
“I went to the movies with a guy I bumped into in a restaurant. Frank Paulson. I still see him, and we might go out for a drink if I have time. We’re friends rather than anything romantic.”
Josh jotted a note. “Any problems related to your electoral seat? Maybe a constituent who disagrees with the party direction.”
Ashley frowned. “There was a woman who volunteered for us, and her husband arrived to drag her home to cook him dinner. We helped her get into a women’s refuge. That was hairy. We served him with a restraining order because he kept hassling me and the staff. That was last January. I heard he moved to Australia.”
“Name?”
“Justin Watkins.”
“Anything else?”
Ashley shook her head. “Nothing I can think of. My life is busy and drama-free. No, nothing else because I never have time to get into trouble. That’s what I told Matt. What if our engagement”—she did air quotes—“makes things worse?”
“As your fiancé, I can hang around more than a security man. It means you can focus on your work and holding your seat. Frog suggested we say we met through him and kept the relationship low-key because I was overseas on active duty. You didn’t want to draw attention.”
“Yeah, but what Matt hasn’t considered is the possible flak I might receive when we call off the engagement. That’s the part that makes me unhappy. I’d hate to come across as flighty.”
“Blame me. I’ve got broad shoulders.”
Her gaze flickered to his shoulders and chest, and a flash of raw need struck him along with confusion. Why did the first woman who’d interested him in months have to be Ashley Townsend?
He hustled into speech, ripping his gaze off her to focus on his list. “Well, you could mention you had a stalker and required protection. Or, if you want to keep the issue private, you can tell them I had trouble settling and fitting into civilian life again. That’s not a lie. I have no idea what to do with my future. I’m tired of war, and it wasn’t the same after my brother Dillon retired. Helping you gives me time to make a plan.”
“We don’t even have a ring,” Ashley muttered. “I’ll get questions.”
“Actually, I have a ring for you,” Josh said, and for once the mention of an engagement ring didn’t make him nervous.
“Oh.” Her gaze met his, her brown eyes full of wonder and feminine mystery. “I hope you didn’t waste money—”
“It’s a nice ring, one Dillon let me borrow. It belonged to his wife.”
Ashley’s brows rose.
“Dillon has been married twice. Hana, his first wife, was killed during a home invasion. He wanted to get Ella, his second wife, a ring that was hers.”
“Oh.”
“Hana was lovely. You would’ve liked her. Everyone did. She was a practical woman, and she’d be pleased someone is using her ring.”
“If your brother is certain.”
“He suggested I borrow the ring. I’ll give it to you tomorrow before you go to work. What time do you start?”
“I arrive at the office by eight at the latest. Sometimes much earlier. I’ll go through the mail and correspondence before heading out on the campaign trail. The poll results hit tomorrow. What will you do?”
“I’ll be trailing you. Don’t worry. I’ll keep to the background and won’t get in your way, but I’ll be close enough if you require help.”
“But what will I tell everyone? About why you’re there, I mean.”
“Tell them I’m your fiancé, and I’m helping you with the campaign. You have volunteers, right?”
“Yes.”
“That will be my position, except I won’t be leaving your side. Do you have a crazy file? You know, a bunch of letters or correspondence that’s strange or unusual?”
“My assistant Robert might.”
“We’ll check with Robert tomorrow. I’ll organize upgraded security here at the house, and I’ll double-check the security at your office. I’ll check on the names of the men you’ve given me. Do a background on them as much as I can. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Can you sleep now?”
“This pillow isn’t the same as mine.”
Josh grinned because she sounded young and cranky instead of the mature politician image she usually projected. “You can swap pillows with me, or you can sleep in your own bed. It’s big. I promise to keep to my side.”
She stared before giving a decisive nod. “All right. I sleep better in my bed.”
Josh stood and waited for her to get out of bed. The T-shirt fell to mid-thigh but not before he got a great view of the legs the reporters had nicknamed her for.
“Want the rest of your tea?”
“No, it’s cold now. I’ll get the cup in the morning.” She led the way to the master bedroom and climbed into the king-size bed. After plumping a pillow, she lay back with a contented sigh and closed her eyes. “Can you get the light please?”
Josh gave a quiet huff as he obeyed her. The darkness in the bedroom held a different ambiance when Ashley was here, and he fancied he could smell flowers that hadn’t been there earlier. Already, her breathing sounded soft and even as if she’d dropped off to sleep. Not the scenario that usually occurred when he shared a be
d with a woman.
He climbed under the covers and lay in the dark, assessing everything she’d told him and making mental notes on what to do first. Email Frog and ask if he’d thought of anyone else who might mean his sister harm. Maybe he could shed light on this because stalkers rarely fixated on someone without reason.
Josh must’ve drifted off to sleep. When he woke, it was with warmth at his back and a feminine arm curved around his waist. He moved a fraction, and Ashley grumbled. Desire shot through him along with her floral scent. His cock lengthened since this was the closest he’d been to an unrelated female in months.
It wouldn’t take much to turn in her arms and kiss her in the way he’d wanted to from the first moment he’d seen her pale, terrified face. He shoved away the temptation. Not the time nor the place. He couldn’t take action or grab the kiss he craved, not when she trusted him to protect her.
* * * * *
The cops had come and gone while he’d watched from a safe distance. He had practice at hiding in plain sight, and the police never looked twice at him.
One problem, though.
The guy.
He had no idea who he was, but the man acted chummy with Awful Ashley.
Bet she’d lied to him, kept her dirty little secrets.
She thought she was safe. Wrong. No one was secure in their little square homes, and he’d prove that soon.
He started his vehicle and departed.
“She thinks she’s protected,” he said to the dummy he’d arranged in the passenger seat. “She’s fuckin’ not.”
His lips stretched into a grin that felt as if it didn’t fit his mouth. Not surprising, given he’d had little to smile about since he was a kid.
But now—now that was changing, so he’d keep smiling at Awful Ashley’s expense.
4 – Sweet Temptation and Visible Panty Lines
Ashley woke wrapped around Josh. She blinked, not moving for long seconds. Because of her brother’s confidence in the ex-soldier, she’d trusted Josh not to make a move on her. She’d trusted him to keep her safe and had slept better than she had in weeks.
Instead of Josh misbehaving, she’d accosted him, treating him like a cuddly toy. She sucked in another quiet breath. He was still asleep, so she made a stealthy retreat. She peeled her arm away from his trim waist and separated her chest from his muscled back.
Josh's Fake Fiancee (Military Men Book 5) Page 4
