Seducing the Bodyguard

by Capri Montgomery

  “It doesn’t have to be that way,” he said without thinking.

  “Sure it does. My life is there. Your life is in D.C. Such is the way of things.”

  “Then take me to Hawaii. Let me get to know it; get to know you.”

  “Harrison.”

  “We can leave today,” he assured her. “I’ll book the flight and we’ll leave today. This second.”

  She laughed. “We can’t exactly leave this second. Not only is there a process to getting on a plane, but you also have some obligations with your show this week.”

  “I’ll cancel them. Let’s go. Unless you’re afraid.”

  She pushed her shoulders back. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

  “Prove it.”

  She narrowed her eyes. He was starting to wonder if he had pushed the wrong button this time. Of course he was just as stubborn as she was. “Prove it.” He said again as he walked closer to her until he was a breath away from her. He looked down into her eyes as she looked up into his.

  “Fine. You can stay at my place; it’s big enough. Just don’t think I’m introducing you to my family.”

  “You’ve already met mine—at least one part of it anyway. Why not let me meet one part of yours? How about Lucky Leo,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

  “You want to meet my brother?”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Leo would rip you a new one the second he realized your interest in me is strictly sexual.”

  “I wouldn’t say that’s my only interest in you.”

  “Right. That’s why you’re working so hard to get me on my back and in your bed. It’s strictly sexual, Harrison. That’s the kind of man you are. No strings, no frill, a little fun until you’re done kind of guy.”

  Her words were like a punch to his gut. He wasn’t that kind of man. At least he had never seen himself that way. He had always just thought of his method as more of a “fun until the right one,” kind of thing. Knowing she saw him as a world class jerk hit him hard. He was going to prove himself to her. He was going to prove that he is now, and always would be, a good man. “What if I want more?”

  “Make the arrangements, Harrison. If you’re serious about wanting to see Hawaii. If not, then we should get going because you have a full schedule today. In case you forgot you’re meeting with Latricia again at one o’clock, and Dianna Carol from the Scottsdale Newsvine at three.”

  She wasn’t taking him seriously. Fine, he thought as he flipped open his phone and punched in a number. When Rick Sanders, his on scene public relations guru, answered he had one request. “Meet with that reporter for me. Answer her questions, but keep your public relations skills sharp. She’s a pistol—or so I hear. Don’t let her pick you for any information we don’t want out there. Oh, and can you cancel Latricia at one for me. I’m going away for the week.” He didn’t need to tell him to gloss over the death in his hotel room because those who worked for him knew only what the police had released to the press. The only answer he could give if Dianna brought it up was that it was a freak accident. Nobody else knew it was a deliberate attack.

  “Is something wrong? Should I start thinking of how to spin things?”

  “No; it’s not anything that I can’t fix myself.” He definitely thought the perception Valencia had of him was wrong and he thoroughly intended to fix it. No way was he going to continue to let her walk around thinking he was a dick of astronomical proportions. “Pack your bags sweetheart because I’m booking us first class passage to…wait, which island again?”

  She shook her head. In some small way he realized she was reminding him, and herself, of just how little he knew about her; just how little he would probably ever know about her. He had news for her. He intended to learn every detail, big or small, he wanted to know it all. “We can fly into Oahu, but we’ll stay at my place on Kauai. Unless you want to stay nearer the city and then we can just stay at the house I have on Oahu.”

  “Two homes…that’s a lot of space for such a…um…that’s just a lot of space.” He refrained from calling her a little woman once again.

  “I work out of Oahu a lot. Leo’s there and it’s nice to be close to him. But my parents are on Kauai so it’s nice to have a place near them too.”

  “Family’s important to you?”

  “Yes; family is important to me.”

  “Me too,” he said softly. His family was important to him too…some of them more than others, but he could explain that one to her later. Right now his first priority was getting passage booked to paradise.

  Chapter Eight

  “He canceled on you?” Lorelei Carol shook her head.

  “He had to jet off to some place…I think he’s off with that new woman he’s been seeing.”

  “What a dick.” Lorelei mumbled. “I can’t believe you like him so much.”

  “You like him too. You were so excited when I snagged the interview.”

  “No, I was excited because you were excited. Yeah, I think he’s hot, but seriously he’s a dick. I can’t believe he ditched you for some woman.”

  “Lor,” she shook her head. “It happens.”

  “Oh, sorry Shaz, I’m still here I’m just complaining because that dick, Harrison Sinclair stood my sister up.” She gasped. “What do you mean Harrison who? Harrison Sinclair the opera guy.” She shook her head, covered the mouthpiece and mumbled to her big sister, “she doesn’t even know who he is. What a ditz.” She uncovered the mouthpiece and resumed her conversation with the woman she called her friend. “When Harrison makes his way back to Arizona I’m going to go over to that hotel and make him sorry for ditching my big sister.”

  “You’ll do no such thing Dianna warned her. “It happens.”

  “Whatever. I’m going. Shaz, are you with me?”

  “No you don’t,” Dianna spoke loudly enough for Shaz to hear her.

  “Fine. Shaz says I’d probably just end up getting you fired and I don’t want to do that. I’ll think of something. There’s no way anybody stands my big sister up.”

  “He sent a PR guy to talk with me. That’s not really being stood up.” Or maybe it was, either way she didn’t want her little sister and the clingy best friend to go starting anything with Harrison Sinclair. She would get another chance to interview the man before he left town. She didn’t know how, but she would find a way for some one on one time with the opera genius himself. She was sure of that.

  “This is my place,” Valencia said as she made the final rounds of checking over her security.

  “Do you always do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Walk through places looking for trouble,” he looked around the lavish home. He had expected a sea of Japanese and Polynesian décor, but he found none. What met his eyes was a clean, crisp décor that looked barely lived in. White walls with no pictures, just shelves of fine china adorning the wall. And then there was the baby grand in the middle of her sitting room.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She turned to face him.

  “Do you play?” He pointed to the piano.

  “No. But I’ve always wanted to learn. I’ve just never had time.”

  She had given up too much for the life she lived and it didn’t seem fair. She had a perfectly beautiful instrument sitting in her home that she wanted to learn how to play but didn’t have time for. She needed some time for fun, for love, for herself. He wanted to be the man to show her how to find time for all three.

  “I’ll show you to your room for the next few days.” As much as he wanted to see her room, to share her room with her he wouldn’t suggest it. He was a new Harrison Sinclair. He was turning over the proverbial new leaf so that he could gain her trust, her heart, and then her body. He wanted all of her. He had told her if he had her love he wouldn’t betray it and that’s what he meant. He just needed to convince her of his intentions.

  “So when do I get to meet your brother?”

  “Harrison that is really not a
good idea,” she looked out the window, her words getting lost in mid air. He looked out to see what had captivated her attention. She groaned. “What is he doing here?”

  “Who?”

  “I should have gone to Oahu,” she mumbled as she quickly left his room and jogged down the stairs. He followed behind her, curious to who this intruder was. Was it an old boyfriend?

  She swung open the door. “Leo,” she said with measured enthusiasm. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on Oahu.”

  “Hey little sis,” he walked up the path, one long stride after another. “I heard some man got off the plane with you and I came to get first meeting before the parents show up on your doorstep.”

  “He’s a client,” Harrison heard her say. He didn’t like her relegating him to client status. Sure, he was technically the guy she was protecting, but that kiss had taken them beyond professional relations. He stepped into the doorway behind her in a purely male dominant move to stake his claim, to show this man, her brother, that he was more than just a client.

  “Really?” Leo’s brow raised. “Have you told him that?”

  She shook her head and sighed. “I’m his bodyguard; he’s my client. You can go home now Leo.”

  Leo overlooked her remark and addressed Harrison. “So why did you want to come here?”

  “I wanted to see where Valencia came from. She’s an amazing woman. I don’t think I have to tell you that.”

  “She’s my little sister of course I already know that. And as the big brother I feel obligated to let you know if you hurt her I’ll kill you.”

  “I thought that was her job,” Harrison said lightly.

  “You told him?”

  “It came up,” Valencia stepped aside. “Come on in, Leo.” She closed the door behind him, obviously realizing there was no getting around her brother’s visit. “Harrison Sinclair, this, as you already know, is my brother Percileo. Leo, this is Harrison Sinclair.”

  Leo nodded. “Seriously, you hurt her and you’re dead.”

  “Leo,” she slapped his arm. “Do I ever do this to you?”

  “Harass the women I date?” He grinned. Harrison could tell Leo thought he made a point already.

  “We are not dating,” she stressed. “And my point is I don’t make promises of death to the women you decide to take to bed.”

  “Oh, the two of you are sleeping together.”

  She slapped her hand to her forehead. “No!”

  Leo laughed. “Valencia,” he smiled. “I have never brought a woman home. I’ve dated a few, but never have I given you all the impression that any of them were worth bringing home to the family. If I had you would have seriously made promises of death.”

  He noticed Valencia couldn’t deny the claim, which meant Leo hit the nail on the head with that comment.

  “Still,” she said as she took a seat on the chaise lounge. “I did not bring Harrison here to meet the family.”

  Leo laughed. “Well you should have told the parents that before you got off the plane,” he pointed to the driveway.

  “Oh no,” she moaned.

  “Your parents?”

  “JJ Fushima,” she shook her head. “My father’s top man in charge.”

  “Personal invite to the home for dinner tonight,” Leo laughed. “I am so not going to miss that.”

  “Don’t you have to go to work or something?”

  “Took a few days off,” he grinned.

  “Before or after Dad called you.”

  “Dad didn’t call me. Mom called, and the second she did I swapped shifts with Billy and took the chopper over here. There was no way in the world I was going to miss this.” He laughed long and hard.

  “Shut up,” she snapped as she got up to attend to the man slowly walking up to the door.

  When she disappeared around the corner Harrison took the opportunity to get comfortable and get a little more information on the family dynamics slowly unfolding in front of him.

  “I was serious about you being dead if you hurt her,” he said. “And seriously, I’d be more worried about my dad than me if I were you.” Leo sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him.

  “How come nobody calls her Val?” Val seemed to be the most realistic shortening of her name.

  “Has a lot to do with her past and I’m not going to be the person to tell you about it.”

  “Darryl?”

  “She told you about him too? Well hell, she must really like you.” He looked Harrison over in a way that made Harrison realize this man could and would kill him if he hurt his sister. There really wasn’t a humorous bone in Leo’s earlier statement. Something about that made him admire the man in front of him, being willing to kill for his sister…a family so close they would probably die for each other. That was nothing like his family…except maybe Geneva. She was only his half sister and somehow he felt a stronger connection to the woman he had recently come to know as blood kin to him than he did his own siblings.

  “I won’t hurt her,” he promised him. “I think I’m falling in love with her.” And that admission shocked even him. He was falling in a way he had never fallen before, in a way he wasn’t sure he would be able to recover from if she never reciprocated the feeling. Every other woman he had kept at a reasonable distance from his heart, even if not from his body. He had blamed it on work, on the insane schedule of creating, producing, managing his operas, but really it came down to not knowing if the relationship could work. Look at his father. The man had fathered at least one child with another woman when he was married to Harrison’s mother. If he, the man he had practically worshiped as his father, loved and adored, couldn’t be faithful when he had a family at home waiting for him then what hope was there for relationships? Would all relationships end up in pain? He never wanted to take the chance on finding out…until now. Now he wanted to see just what he and Valencia could have, where they could go, how long they could survive with each other, within each other, consumed by each other. He wanted this woman. Never before had he wanted this, and now that he did he didn’t want to lose it. He didn’t want to lose her.

  She reentered the room. “Well, I hope you’re up for a family dinner tonight, Harrison because we’ve been summoned. I told JJ to let my dad know you’re my client so you should avoid some of the interrogation tactics at least.”

  “I’m up for it,” he said. And he meant that he was up for all of it. “I think it’s good that I’m meeting the family now. When we decide to get married at least they’ll already know who I am.”

  “What?!” She stopped in her tracks. He was so glad he could unnerve her on at least one level. She might have the upper hand when it came to kicking butt, but he could knock her off her feet with a few well placed words.

  “Married,” Leo said. “You do remember the meaning of that word, right sis? You know, mom and dad are married. That should jog your memory,” he grinned.

  “Why do I get the feeling the two of you bonded while I was gone.”

  Leo shrugged. “Seems like this guy has plans to be more than just a client. He hasn’t run away with his tail between his legs yet so I guess I’ll put up with him for a while.”

  Valencia laughed. “No comment on the tail between his legs thing,” she said. “Now, if I’m summoned to dinner tonight I need to get ready. The parents have formal dinner, Harrison so you’ll need a suit and tie.”

  “Sis, try to leave the weapons to at most ten. Dad has plenty on hand if you need them.”

  “Go home, Leo,” she said as she walked away. Harrison shook his head and laughed. They were close and that was one of the things he loved about her. Family was important to her. She would guard her family with her life, die for them, love them forever. He wanted to be a part of this family. He wanted to be a part of her life.

  Dinner wasn’t the easiest occasion he had ever been to. He knew from the moment he walked into the house, no, from the moment he and Valencia drove up to the gates, that he was being si
zed up. His name, title, career and success meant nothing here. He was, for all inclusive purposes, the enemy. He was the man after someone’s daughter, sister and friend. Even the men he assumed to be guards walking around the property were sizing him up. Any other place, with any other group of people, and he would have smooth sailing. He had never had an issue fitting in, taking charge, and being the “top man,” in his life. But here, here he was the outsider, the unwelcomed threat to this family dynamic, and he had been warned, in not so subtle terms that if he hurt Valencia he wouldn’t live to regret it. If he thought that threat seemed potentially lethal when Leo uttered the words, he had no doubt to the finality of that statement when her father, in plain and simple terms, took him aside for cognac and some tropical night air on the veranda and told him he wouldn’t stand for anybody breaking his daughter’s heart. He had seen it once before, seen the devastation it caused and the pain she was still recovering from and he wouldn’t let a repeat performance of heartbreak go unpunished. When he looked at him sternly and said, “I will kill you,” Harrison had no doubts to the seriousness of the man or the promise. This family was lethal. For a brief moment he started to wonder did he want to be a part of this; was she worth it? And not even a second after the thought entered his mind he had his answer, yes to both. He wanted to be a part of her world, even though that meant being a part of a family he wasn’t sure was completely on the legal side of the fence. And yes, she was worth it. She was more than worth the struggle and the hardship he would have trying to win the trust, respect and love of the people she cared most about.