by Amber Bardan
He swallowed, sensing something that hadn’t been there before. A hint of vulnerability that told him they weren’t playing anymore.
Their first time had been like a dare—this was real. Just him and her, nothing else. And it fucking took him apart. He couldn’t help kissing those lips, breathing in her sweet breath.
He kissed her gently, touched her cheeks, her hair, felt the pulse in her neck with his stroking thumb. He pushed into her, held her close, whispered things he barely understood. Not fucking, he finally understood what it really meant to make love. When she came, she looked like a fucking angel. He soaked in her beauty, her joy, and it pushed him to the edge.
And sent him freefalling.
EIGHT
She took her time in the shower, ran her hands over her body. Her flesh felt different. Reddened patches dotted her skin. Connor’s stubble had left his brand on her. Charlie slipped a soapy hand between her legs and sucked in a hissing breath. Her privates were deliciously tender.
Satisfyingly sore.
Not that the soreness would stop her if he walked in and took her against the shower wall. She tilted back her face and let the warm water cascade over her skin. He hadn’t joined her. Maybe he thought she’d had enough. He’d asked after that second time if she was okay. If he’d hurt her.
Odd since he’d been so tender. So tender she could barely look at him afterwards. Her skin warmed from more than hot water. How would she face him?
She was naked to him now…
They should have stopped after that first time. Now it was too late. She’d never have enough. She’d be like a kid, gorging herself on candy until she spewed. Because no matter how yummy, too much of a good thing was bad for you.
And Connor was the worst, most addictive, and most hazardous kind of treat.
She finished her shower and dressed in a work skirt and blouse, then found Connor in the kitchen. The sight of him freshened up, stark white shirt hugging muscles she could still feel above her, made her want to run back to her room. But she swallowed, stepped forward and slipped into cooler, more collected headspace.
“You ready to get to work?”
Connor leaned against her counter, one leg crossed over the other. “If you’re up for it.”
His gaze wracked over her and this time she knew he pictured everything he’s seen underneath her clothes. Her chest unclenched under a flood of warmth. Today hadn’t been a onetime thing—he planned on more.
He looked at her as if it was all he could do to hold himself back from going for round three. She’d never felt as sexy as she did when she walked into a space and he looked at her.
She’d never been so afraid to be wrong about someone.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Thought you might need to recover.” His lip curled a little, a hint of smug under his usually stoic façade.
“Oh, honey.” She smiled broadly, and stepped a little closer. “If two rounds is too much for you, next time I’ll take it easy on you.”
He reached out and grabbed her hips, his nostrils flaring. “Would you like me to show you how much I can take?”
She pressed her palm flat on his chest. His heart thumped under her hand. How much he could take. Her body reacted—her pulse tripled.
He was easy to rile, and easier to dare.
And the results were so freaking exciting.
“What I’d like you to do is get me to work before everyone notices I’m gone.” She patted him, and bat her eyes softly.
His chest rose and fell. His fingers tightened on her hips.
Did he really want her as much as he acted like he did?
He chuckled softly. “We better get going then, your wantonness has cost you the morning.”
“My wantonness?”
She stepped back as he moved around her for his keys with a look that suggested she’d reacted to his statement exactly as he’d wanted her to. Bastard loved riling her up just as much. She grabbed her handbag and jacket and followed him out his car.
Pity she loved letting him.
They arrived at the Halifax building.
“We’ll go in the rear exit.” Connor locked his car.
Charlie nodded. As much as she didn’t enjoy hiding, she enjoyed getting things thrown at her less.
An engine roared behind them. Conner yanked her back, shoving her behind him. Her back slammed into his car door. A black sports car swung into a parking spot across from them.
“It’s okay. He just drove in a little fast.” She stroked Connor’s shoulder, her mind flashing to that first day when he’d caught the front of a car to save her like a superhero. This time it wasn’t just gratitude and awe her chest flooded with, but something that made her want to wrap her arms around him and hold on tight.
Something that made her want to cry.
Because right then, reminded how he’d risked himself to save her, she saw just how dangerous it was to fool around with one’s bodyguard.
How easily protectiveness could be mistaken for affection.
He stepped aside, and took her arm, his whole body still on edge.
How easily duty could be mistaken for care.
She needed to be careful with him. Her lungs went tight. There was nothing she could tell herself that could convince her it wasn’t already too late for that.
He led her across the car park. The door of the offending vehicle opened. Connor’s free hand ducked out, and caught the back of a collar.
He slammed the driver against the car.
The stricken face of Neil, Production Manager and Halifax board member, stared at them.
“What’s going on?” His hands flew up.
“You could have run her down—“
“It’s okay.” She grabbed Connor’s arm, and eased it down. “Neil this is Connor Crowe, he’s in charge of my personal security, and he was right, that was no way to drive into a parking lot.”
Connor may have released Neil, but he remained in front of him, intimidating as hell, probably sending the usually harmless guy she knew into near cardiac arrest.
“I’m sorry.” Neil focused on her. “I wasn’t carful. It won’t happen again.”
“I hope not.” She studied the father of two, who she’d known since he began here, ten years ago. She’d been to his wedding and his kid’s baptisms. Her gaze flicked to the door still open next to them.
What happened to the SUV he usually drove?
“You have a new car?”
Neil gaze flicked to the car and he slid sideways, then shut the door. “Yeah, got it last week.”
Charlie watched him. “It looks really nice.”
“Thanks.” His movements slowed. The headlights flashed and he moved from the car. “Sorry about everything, but I’m running late for a meeting.”
Charlie kept her frown in check. “See you later.”
He nodded, gaze avoiding Connor entirely.
Neil walked briskly towards the building.
“Can I ask you something?” She turned to Connor, who stared after Neil. “I don’t much about cars, would you say this one is expensive?”
Connor looked at the sleek black vehicle. “It’s an Audi and yes, it’s expensive.”
“Too expensive for a guy on 180k with a mortgage and two kids in private school?” Her voice went tight. Last year when she’d suggested cutting executive bonuses, when she’d volunteered to forgo her own entirely, Neil stood up and said he relied on the bonus to pay for his kid’s education. That he’d have to pull his children out of their school if he didn’t get his full bonus.
The vote went against cutting bonuses.
“Depends on the house. Depends on the school.” Connor’s voice went as low as hers. “But, yes, I’d say so.”
Suspicions gathered cold and heavy inside her.
Connor turned to her, and his narrowed gaze fixed on her. He’d been a detective once after all. Her back straightened. She pulled in her thoughts. She’d let on too much already.<
br />
If there was a thread of accuracy to anything she was thinking then this was the reason someone would want to have her spied on under the guise of protection.
Her stomach churned.
She’d so wanted to trust him.
“You’ll have to wait out here, Conan.” Charlie smiled, and inched away from him.
Connor stood from the chair in the waiting room, his eyes flashing. “You really think so do you?”
“You won’t be getting rid of me so easy—or at all.” His expression repeated.
Charlie glanced down the beauty salon hallway. “Yep, they don’t do Brazilians with an audience.”
He paused, and his gaze froze as if he couldn’t move his eyes down. Bingo. “I’ll be waiting right here.”
She would’ve grinned but her system shuddered in excitement. Did he just gulp? Did Connor just gulp thinking about her bald and smooth?
“See you in half an hour.” She turned to the hall to where her beautician Jennifer waited.
Jennifer led her past the treatment rooms towards the rear of the salon. “It’s all been organized.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Jen.”
Jennifer opened the door to the kitchen. “Anything for you, Charlie.”
Charlie squeezed Jen’s arm, and slipped into the kitchen.
“Miss Halifax?”
She turned to the man, absurdly out of place in his expensive suit sitting at a beauty salon staff room table. “Mr. Montgomery, thank you so much for meeting me here.”
“Call me Andy.” He stood and shook her hand. “I understand these situations call for discretion.”
Discretion was a nice way of putting it.
“I’m just not sure who I can trust right now.”
He nodded. “Do you have what I asked for?”
“I do.” She opened her oversized handbag and pulled out the package. “Full server backups from last week, six months, and a year ago.”
Right now wasn’t the first time she’d been forced to slip Conner’s attention today.
“Perfect.” Andy took the package. “I want to assure you I’m making this my top priority.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed, and closed her bag. “If I’m right about this, it’s being done extremely carefully. I’ve poured over the books more times than I can count and I’ve never picked up on anything.”
Andy took off his glasses, and ran a hand over his perfectly groomed hair. “I’m a forensic accountant with five years of experience with the FBI. If there’s something to find, I’ll find it.”
“I’m grateful to have you working on this.” She’d discovered Andy Montgomery a year ago when she’d pushed for an independent audit which was not surprisingly, never approved.
“Anyone else know about this, Miss Halifax?” His brow wrinkled above dark eyes.
“Not even my bodyguard out in the waiting room.”
“Good.” He pushed his glasses on again. “You should keep it that way.”
Her ribs went tight. “I will.”
They shook hands and slipped out of the kitchen, where Andy left via the back staff entrance.
“All okay?”
She turned to Jennifer. “It will be after you perform the fastest wax of your career on me.”
Jennifer grinned. “Honey, I have a new wax and aftercare serum that will have your lady garden feeling like it’s had a rejuvenation, not an excavation in ten minutes flat.”
Charlie laughed, and followed her into the treatment room. Whatever got the job done.
Charlie turned in front of the mirror, examining the back of the fitted black gown. Not that she needed a new dress, but she’d used an upcoming Gala Night as an excuse to get to the mall and have her meeting without raising suspicion. Her gaze caught Connor’s in the reflection.
Not this one.
He didn’t have to say anything, but with every dress she’d tried on she learned a little more about him. When she showed a little back, his shoulders would shift. Good. If it hugged her ass, then he’d touch his chin. Freaking excellent.
He might like to think he was master tormentor but he wasn’t quite the un-phased machine he’d like her to believe. He’d proven that every time she’d deliberately brushed against him and he’d jerked a little. She smoothed the dress over the swell of her backside and watched his jaw clench.
Nothing had ever made her feel as sexy as just standing in front of Connor.
Her insides tightened and her lips tingled. She hadn’t meant to tease him. Honestly, she’d spent the day bouncing back and forth between a vacuum of total distrust, and this overwhelming yearning to just have a little faith in this man.
She changed out of the black dress and browsed the store, making a few choices that fell wide of her usual preference of not too fitted. She selected a red number with a split right up the thigh and tried not to grin like a toddler dipping her finger in the honey pot.
In the changing room she locked the door and stroked the red dress, not quite having the nerve to put it on yet. She went with a flowing white dress, which covered her front but left stretches of skin visible on her sides.
Connor sat on a stool in the central dressing room area, elbows resting on denim-clad knees, playing the bored boyfriend part perfectly. She stepped out of the room and stood in front of the mirrored wall. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. His white T-shirt tightened over his shoulders.
“What do you think?”
She turned and glanced back at him over her shoulder. He lowered his chin. His gaze devoured her from the ankles up, leaving a path of heat on her skin as it moved over her. He cleared his throat but shot a look at the shop assistant moving through the nearby aisle.
“I think you should change.”
She turned and placed her hand on her hip. “Too much side-boob?”
He plucked a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and pushed them over his eyes, instantly slipping into invisible bodyguard mode.
“Too sunny in here for you, Connor?”
He didn’t as much as twitch.
She stifled her laugh. He couldn’t handle this at all. Her head went a little light with this new power. She sashayed back into the stall and shut the door then covered her mouth to stop giggles from flooding the dressing room.
Score one—white dress. She stripped and took a deep breath before stepping into the red dress she’d never have had the nerve to try on before. The sweetheart neckline plunged showing her cleavage. A small zipper ran from the underside of her rear to the small of her back, but she left it undone.
Charlie opened the door and leaned out just enough to give him a good look at her sparkly boobs. Connor stood, shoulders back, one hand holding the wrist of his other arm, almost blowing his boyfriend cover with his bodyguard stance. They’d agreed he’d attempt to blend in when they went out.
“Hey, baby, give us a hand with the zipper?” Her lips quirked to the side.
He remained stock still for a moment then moved toward her. Charlie backed into the stall then faced the wall and presented him her back. Then the door closed and the lock clicked. His shoulder brushed her exposed back as he turned behind her. Her pulse jumped against her collarbone.
His hands settled on her waist as he guided her forward until her breasts grazed the wall. Her nipples tightened against the soft lining of the dress. Her breath deepened as she waited for him to move again. He shifted and took hold of the sides of the dress. The gaping fabric at her hips slid closed with the buzz of the zipper.
The anticipation in her belly ebbed a little. Maybe she’d imagined his reaction? She started to turn but his hands went back to her waist and held her in place. He pressed the length of his body against her.
“I know what you’ve been up to.”
His hands fisted in her dress and he yanked it up from the front, gathering it at the waist. Her heart went from a flutter to heavy thudding.
“Now you’re in trouble because I’m going to fuck you
in this dress.”
“I didn’t mean—”
Didn’t she? Oh, she damn well had. And he was on to her.
“Hold up your skirt,” he growled into her ear.
Her fingers shook but she moved them to his and took up the folds of fabric.
Connor ran one hand over her stomach and grabbed the neckline. He tugged down and her breasts tumbled out. Her hands fisted in the skirt. He palmed her breasts, moving from one to the other, squeezing and rubbing.
Her core throbbed.
“You know don’t you? What these tits do to me…?” he breathed. His other hand moved to the top of her panties and pushed its way inside. His thick finger slid between her folds, brushing over her aching clit to thrust deeply inside her. He plucked her nipple and her whole body quivered. “You’re so fucking wet for me. It turned you on didn’t it? Teasing me?”
He rocked his hand against her pussy. His palm butted against her clit as his finger moved inside her tight walls. Pleasure hummed through her nerves.
“You’re going to be sorry for that—you don’t even know what teasing is.”
He pushed another finger into her, stretching her deliciously.
She groaned.
His other hand moved from her breast and wrapped around her neck, drawing her head back against his shoulder.
“You’re going to be quiet. No one hears your sexy sounds but me. You’re going to need to remember that.”
He withdrew from her and pushed down her panties. She bunched the skirt to keep from dropping it. His palm stroked over her arched throat.
His breath rushed against her cheek. The whisper of a zipper sounded behind her. Then the crinkle of a packet he managed to take care of one-handed.
His fingers wrapped softy around her neck and he rubbed his rough cheek against her ear. “Say it—say fuck me, Connor.”
Moisture coated her thighs and her head rubbed against his shoulder. Her breasts ached as if they’d doubled in size. “Fuck me, Connor.”
He pressed her shoulders, bending her at the waist. Then the thick head of his cock pressed at her entrance. He rocked it against her opening, slid it down between her folds and rolled against her clit. She jerked then rested her forehead against the wall, closing her eyes. He brushed there, back and forth, letting the mushroomed head of his cock flick over her bud.
