“He’s a client, mom.” Valencia shook her head. She knew the second her father took Harrison out on the veranda that her family wasn’t going to let the “he’s a client” thing stick. Dinner had already been awkward enough between Leo giving Harrison the third degree about his life and her dad giving him the death stare, she figured she would have no problem with Harrison realizing just how much he didn’t want to be with her as anything more than bodyguard-client relations.
“No. I don’t think so. I see the way you look at him,” Patience sat across from her daughter in the smaller social room. This was the room where her parents held post dinner conversations with family. There was usually tea or drinks, and a lot of conversation. Depending on which family member was over that conversation was either lighthearted and focused on family, or it was business that needed to be discussed with those in the family. She had been privy to the business conversations since she was seven. She, just like her brother, had been being groomed to take over the duties of the family. She knew everything about who the family had been, who they still were, and how much her dad was trying to keep them on the straight path. “Legal,” he had said, “unless I need to do otherwise.” Those words from her father told her he had no problems breaking the law if the occasion called for it. It wasn’t her place to judge, and even if it was she wouldn’t be able to. She had killed people, of course it was under the sanction of the U.S. government, but what she had done was still killing, assassinating people, and honestly now that she was older and thinking clearer she wasn’t so sure the government had been completely honest with her on just how necessary each of those kills had been.
“It’s not going to happen, Mom. I’m…I’m his bodyguard.”
“Uh huh,” her mother mumbled in disbelief. “Yet you look at him like you want more.”
“It’s not going to happen. After…it’s just not.”
“After what? After what Darryl did? It’s been ten years and you haven’t recovered. I’ve watched you throw yourself into your work. I have watched you take assignments that have increased in danger from one to the next. Each one being deadlier than its predecessor and you jumped right on the chance.” She didn’t hold back her words, maybe because she knew she didn’t have to. Valencia never had a problem hearing things told as they were, no sugarcoating needed. “Then you came back from that last trip and I knew something had changed. I hoped it was something that would help you mend that heart of yours. Then you quit the business of hired killer and started a new course in your life. You wanted to protect and save and I can’t tell you how happy I was for you because I knew that what you were doing wasn’t what you wanted to do. It was what you did because it was what you had always done and because you felt some sense of duty to this family, to your father. You thought if you left that things would come down on your father, but you had to know it wouldn’t. You had to know he would have been okay. He would have been happy because you were happy.” She leaned forward and placed her hand on Valencia’s crossed leg. “And when that man showed up—Thomas McGregor,” she smiled. “Wow, I thought, my girl has found herself a good man. You two would have made beautiful babies together.” Her father had a photo taken of Thomas before he even managed to board the return flight to the mainland. Her parents were, and would always be, highly observant of who came and left the island, especially anybody who came within range of one of their own.
“Mom.”
“Oh I know,” she held up her hand. “I thought he was going to be yours when I first saw him, but after I saw the way you looked at that picture your dad showed you, like he was your brother, well…I gave up hope on that one.”
“Are you this pushy with Leo? Seriously, he’s older you know,” she leaned back in the chair and shook her head. Her mother the matchmaker was trying to get her married off so she could produce decedents to the Mishoto throne.
“Yes, but the difference between you and your brother is that he wants to be married someday. He wants to find love. You, on the other hand shut your heart off to it like every man out there is going to be another Darryl.”
“Mom.”
“No,” she said. “Let me finish.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. Her body language mirroring Valencia’s, but with less tension in her body. “Leo is just waiting for what your father and I had at first sight—that instant attraction that split second acute awareness that we belonged together. He is looking for that kind of love. And I pray that he will find it. But you, you run away from it. Right now you look at Harrison the way I looked at your father when I first met him, only difference is I didn’t fight so hard to hide it. You look at that man as if you wish you could have that happily ever after with him.”
“Happily ever after doesn’t exist,” she said. Although she was certain it did. Her parents had found that. Of course they had their moments. They were both adults who had their own personality, but even when they clashed on some topic, they always found a way to work through it, to never stop loving each other. They were happy and in love and in her book making it work, wanting it to work and still loving each other at the end of the day was a big happily ever after. “For some of us,” she amended her statement.
“It could if you let it. That man likes you. Because I know you like him too I’m trying to look past certain things.”
“What things?”
Her mother grinned. “He hasn’t had a serious relationship. He dates between shows and never the same woman twice.”
“You looked him up,” she shook her head. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Because I’m the one who taught you how to fact and background check and don’t you forget it.”
How could she? Her mother had been a government agent herself. She was used mostly for fact finding, but she had gone undercover herself from time to time. That changed when she married into the Mishoto family. She gave it all up to take on a role within the family, one that made her more lethal than she had been working for the government.
“But when I see him look at you I can tell he’s ready to let love in. I just hope that my beautiful baby can open her heart before she pushes a good man away for good.” With those words she patted Valencia on the knee and then stood. “Now, speaking of a good man I think it’s time we go rescue Harrison before your father makes him wet his pants.”
Valencia laughed. “I don’t know, Mom. I think Harrison has a lot more backbone.”
“I’m sure he does. But I’ve seen your father break stronger men.”
“True,” she shook her head. “I guess I should get him back to my place anyway.” She could tell from the look in her mother’s eyes that she was concocting her own interpretation of the events that would unfold once she and Harrison did get back to her place. “He’s my client, Mom. And I just need some rest—so does Harrison. We haven’t had a second to just adjust to the time change and the surroundings since we stepped off the plane.”
“You don’t need adjustment time,” she reminded her.
“He does.”
“Ah ha,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. “You do love him.”
“Mom. I just met the man not that long ago.”
“I knew I loved your father after the first week of being with him. Wouldn’t have slept with him if I didn’t know that.”
“Mom!” She didn’t want to think about her parents having sex. Sure, she knew they did it, but she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Oh, I wasn’t a virgin, but trust me I knew this family and I knew once a man staked his claim with a night of numerous orgasms and hot sex that he wasn’t going to walk away.”
“I so didn’t need to know that.”
“Best night of my life,” she winked. “In bed that is…although we made the couch, the kitchen counter…”
“Mom! Jeeze,” she tossed up her hands. “Let’s just go rescue Harrison.” This was seriously not the conversation she wanted to have with her mother. She smiled and shook her head. They were m
ore like best friends now than mother and daughter. Her mother never had been one to pull her punches or curtail her speech. While her mother had been less than inhibited with her, she had been right about her feelings. She did like Harrison, a lot. She could even say she felt herself falling in love with the sometimes overly cocky man, but she couldn’t let him know that. She couldn’t admit it because admitting it would be like giving him permission to try to conquer her heart and she needed to guard her heart. She needed to keep it safe from the pain it had felt before. What Darryl had done broke a part of her and she didn’t want to feel that pain again. She wouldn’t feel that pain again because she wouldn’t let Harrison Sinclair in. Who was she kidding? He had already found a way in. When her assignment was over it wasn’t going to hurt any less just because she hadn’t told him how she felt, because she hadn’t given in to what he wanted—what they both wanted; no, it wouldn’t hurt any less. But in her mind this was the only way.
When Valencia and her mother rounded the corner they heard laughter. She was going to rescue Harrison, who by no means seemed as if he needed to be rescued at the present moment. He was laughing with her father? Wow, not even Darryl had gotten laughter—acceptance maybe, but never laughter as if they were old friends. The sound of their merriment had just tilted her world off its axis. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“We should go now,” she said to Harrison before leaning in and hugging her father. “We’ll just be here a few days. Harrison has to get back to Arizona.”
Her father nodded. “I invited him for an outing here tomorrow.”
“Dad, I…”
“And I believe you can use some time with JJ.” She saw Harrison’s smile fade. And for some reason she felt a need to explain.
“JJ and I train together. His father and my father were the best of friends. His dad died six years ago and he’s really been like family around here since the day he was born. We trained together a lot—still do.”
“Oh.”
“She’s like a surrogate sister to him. I think he took to her because she’s the only one he has a hard time beating when they fight.” Her father smiled warmly at her.
She laughed. “One of these days, Dad, and he’s not going to win.”
“I don’t doubt that,” he said. “You have what it takes, but you must stop letting him distract you,” he tapped his finger gently against her forehead. “You know that fighting is not just what you can do with your body, but what you can do with your mind. You also know that you never let your guard down no matter how friendly you are with the person you’re fighting.”
“I know,” she said because she did know. But JJ was the one guy who could get past her armor, break through her concentration barrier and knock her flat on her behind before calling endgame.
“Good, because tomorrow you will train with the swords.”
“Is that…” Harrison started to question and Valencia held up her hand to stop him. Her dad might have been laughing with him just seconds ago, but he didn’t like being questioned, especially not on family matters.
“I’ll be ready.”
“Good, because I’d hate to think you’re getting soft after only a few weeks away,” JJ stepped out onto the veranda. “I pulled the car around for you so it’s ready when you are.”
“Thanks,” she laughed before giving him a soft punch to the shoulder. They trained almost every day with each other, although they did also fight with other skilled men and women. For some reason they seemed to get the most enjoyment out of fighting with each other. She was in constant training. You don’t use it you lose it was true on so many levels and in her line of work she couldn’t afford to let her senses get dull.
“You know, maybe you can show me how to do that thing you pulled on me in our last one on one,” he winked at her. They were always willing to share new moves with each other. JJ was the guy who seemed to invent something new every month while her sharable knowledge wasn’t as extensive. They had studied the same martial arts but it was almost as if JJ lived and breathed the art. It was more a part of him than anything else. She was thankful they were on the same side of the fence because going up against him in battle would probably end unfavorably for her.
She could tell Harrison’s wheels were turning and she knew it was only a matter of time before he verbally expressed what was on his mind. She had been right. No sooner than she shut the car door he looked at her and said, “thing; what thing? Who is this guy to you really?”
She laughed. “Do I sense some jealousy in your words?” She knew she did, but she had already told him, in a way, that it wasn’t necessary. “I just did a move that knocked him on his butt. I almost had him too, but as always, he beat me.”
“Hard to imagine you not winning in any fight.”
“There’s always somebody better, Harrison.” She wasn’t stuck on herself. She knew that her next opponent could be the opponent to deliver her end game. Maybe that humility was what kept her alive because she, in no way, thought she was the best in the world. “JJ and I had the same training when we started out. Our fathers were the best of friends and between the two of them we had the education we needed. Leo was a step ahead of us because he’s a year older than I am, but that didn’t last long. Dad separated us in training because he said Leo was holding me back.” She laughed. “People just pick up things differently, some better than others. JJ and I were on par for a long time, but life took us in separate directions. His dad sent him back to Japan when he was twelve to study at his grandfather’s training camp and I was already deeply entrenched with my government training…and working there too…we just had separate paths. His path made him the better warrior. Let’s just say I’m glad he’s on our side.” She put the car in gear and eased the car down the long drive to the road.
“Was it ever expected that the two of you would marry?”
“No. His dad was so old school. We were allowed to be friends, but we would have never been allowed to marry.”
“Why?”
“I’m not fully Japanese. I’m a “half breed,” as some would call it. I don’t really belong to any one group of people and while his dad loved my dad and my family, he would never want a half breed for his son’s wife. Tradition and honor mean a lot to his family, and mine really. It’s just that my dad had the power and the guts to make his own way. He met my mom, fell in love and said to hell with all of them. He married her. She didn’t fit in there. She made them fit her, and now it’s like she’s such a part of the family that nobody can remember that at one point even my grandmother denounced the union.” Life was so strange. Nobody in her family’s circle ever made her feel like a “half breed.” She figured part of it was fear of her father’s wrath, part of it was respect for the family, and the other part was that people truly loved her mother and accepted her as one of their own.
“Where would I fit in?”
She didn’t miss the fact that he was starting to wonder if he could be part of her family. Something in his tone, and in his words, told her this man was serious about his intentions toward her. This wasn’t just about getting her flat on her back in his bed. Maybe she had read him wrong. “My dad would prefer I marry a Japanese man I’m sure. I think he wants to keep that part of the bloodline strong. But he’s always told me to marry for love and everything else can be worked out. So I think if we were to marry you would find a home within my home. They would welcome you because they would trust my decision enough to know you are an honorable man. Besides,” she let her tone drop from serious to soft. “You saw my mom right? Polynesian and black. They’re definitely not prejudice.” She shook her head.
“Your mom is beautiful,” he turned his head to watch her as she drove them home.
“She’s like a friggin’ goddess,” she smiled. “Her skin is flawless, her hair is amazing. It’s long and silky, but it’s not so straight that it can’t hold a style. She’s aging well too. Nobody would know she’s in her sixties.”
&nbs
p; He coughed. “Sixties? I thought maybe late forties.”
“I’m in my thirties, Harrison. Did you think my mom had a child when she was twelve?” She laughed.
“You don’t look that old either. When I first saw you I thought you were twenty-two, maybe twenty-three.”
“Runs in the family I guess.” She smiled. “I used to wish I had inherited her height. She could have been a model with that body, those looks, and her five eleven stature…wow.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately I didn’t get her height. Leo got her height and then some, but not me. Such is life. Besides, being small has gotten me into and out of some tight situations.”
“You’re beautiful,” he reached out to brush one steady finger across the delicate skin of her cheek. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m not just talking physically. The more I get to know you the more I want to know you. You’re good, and honest, and…perfect,” he said breathlessly. “I never thought I’d meet a woman who would make me want to take the next step. But then I met you. I want more with you, Valencia. I want more than just client and bodyguard. I don’t care if you deny me sex;” she cut him a sideways look and he chuckled nervously. “Okay, I’d miss it. I would be in a world of hurt too, but if you wanted to wait to give that part of yourself to me until you’re sure of the man I am then I would wait for you, Valencia. I just…I need to know you won’t lump me in the bottom of the client basket with all your other clients. I need to know I can be more…that I am more. Being honest,” he paused to gather his words. “This JJ guy worries me. I’m afraid with his father gone now that maybe he’s sticking around because of you.”
Seducing the Bodyguard Page 10
