Guardian Knight

by Aarti V Raman

“Raise that eyebrow like that. It’s, like, distracting.” When had her glass gotten empty?

  Brand smiled again, and God, it made her feel all tingly. Or maybe it was the champagne. She sure hoped it was the alcohol. She didn’t like this man. More importantly, she didn’t want to like this man.

  It was all very peculiar.

  “Yeah, well, that dress you’re wearing...” He gestured with his glass again.

  Akira frowned and looked down her dress. “What’s wrong with my dress?”

  “Not a single damn thing. Just…where’s the rest of it?” Brand gestured at her breasts with his glass. “If my men had to go through the X-ray process, they’d all be showing hard-ons.”

  “That’s an extremely rude thing to say,” she gasped.

  “I apologize,” he said automatically.

  “You should,” she said stiffly. Then she gave him a sidelong glance. “Is it true, though?”

  Brand wisely did not reply. Instead, he said, “Words are your business. I do better with actions.” He grinned.

  “Is that a challenge, Mr. Rice?” Akira she set her glass down, not taking her eyes off his.

  The grin faded and his eyes turned smoldering while he murmured, “What if it is?”

  “Well, then.”

  She took the last inch towards him, and aligned their faces and mouths. They weren’t touching in any way, he was still holding his champagne flute, and yet, for the life of her, Akira couldn't move away.

  It was insane to want to kiss a total stranger the way she wanted to kiss Brandon Rice.

  “Well then, what?” His elbow was now touching hers, while they leaned closer and closer.

  “Then nothing.”

  “Touché.” His lips quirked up. “You’re sure?” he asked.

  Akira didn’t give herself time to think, she just nodded.

  In one fast movement, he pulled her to him, gripped her head and kissed her. It was hard and fast and brutal and Akira felt his lips, his mouth all the way down to her toes. She felt every part of him touching her.

  And there was this awful pressure inside of her, like she was going to explode if they didn’t stop. Or did.

  He tore his mouth off hers, and looked at her with eyes that glittered. “Had enough?”

  “Not even close,” she answered honestly.

  He smiled then, and it was a dangerous smile. The smile she expected from him and one that sent shivers down her spine. It brought out the hardness in his face, and made him look like the mercenary he was.

  But she didn’t know that yet. He curved one hand over her cheek, and she shivered for real this time. “Cold?”

  “Nope.” She shook her head, and stepped closer to him.

  He laughed, and Akira had the bizarre urge to hit him, or at least kick him with her slingbacks.

  “I’d kiss you before you went for the first move,” he said simply.

  Brand angled his fingers over hers, and brought her fingers to his lips in a gesture that stunned her and moved her.

  “How’d you know what I was thinking?”

  “Your eyes flashed. I assumed bodily harm was on the agenda.”

  Akira shrugged delicately. “You know, for someone who is constantly saving me, you don't seem all that savior-like.”

  He smiled again, but this time, it was a private smile. “Honey, I don't go around saving people. Just incredibly smart women who annoy me.”

  “What?” She was indignant enough to glare at him.

  “Never mind. Your enthusiasm is making me swoon.”

  His dry comment made her laugh. His eyes narrowed again, and she didn’t mistake the gesture this time either. She put one hand on his chest; that incredibly defined chest, the other one was already linked with his.

  And then she brought his hand up to her lips and kissed the hard fingertips. Smiled wickedly at him. “Is that enthusiastic enough for you?”

  He drew one arm across her waist and drew her flush against him.

  “You taste like you smell.” He kissed her eyelids closed this time, employing romance and seduction in equal amounts. Her knees went weak and her shoulders melted.

  “And how’s that?”

  “Like champagne and moonlight.”

  She opened her eyes, because he was nibbling her jaw, and she was coming apart in his arms.

  “What are you doing, Brand?” It was as much a question as need.

  “Kissing properly takes time, or hasn’t anybody ever told you that?”

  “I’m not sure that’s true.” She invited with a small laugh, keeping her sudden nervousness to herself.

  Sure, she’d wanted to be kissed senseless by him, but she’d expected technique, not tenderness. And he was using both. Her knees weren’t supporting her anymore, and it was a good thing she was in his hands.

  “You taste so damn good.” He bit her ear lightly and she gasped, and clutched his back.

  Her breasts were flattened against his chest, and their torsos were breathing in the same motion. He brought his mouth back to her face, and kissed her cheeks softly.

  “Brandon,” she said unsteadily, while she looked at him with heated eyes.

  “I wanted to do this when I saved you today morning. I wanted to kiss you so bad,” He confessed as he crushed her to him, and ran his fingers down her spine.

  She shivered.

  Then she pushed him on his back on the lounger and sprawled all over him.

  In this position, she could only see Brand’s eyes, and the lights of the sea reflecting in them, making them bottomless. And she could only feel the cocoon of the night around them. She suspected he would have this effect on her wherever they were.

  It wasn’t a pleasant realization.

  Then she stopped thinking altogether, because he kissed her back. And not like before. That had been a taking of lips, this was a mating.

  ~~~~~

  He began slow, taking small nips of her generous lower lip, rubbing them, light, shallow kisses that made her breathless. Made her tug his head closer, while his tongue made slow forays and, in fact, she took the kiss to the next level. Aggressively dueling with his, asking for more.

  And when he gave it, she all but went lax in his arms. He tasted of Dom and mint and some unique flavor that was all Brand. And his lips were warm, persuasive, making her realize it had been a long time she’d been kissed this thoroughly.

  He changed the angle of their mouths and she made a small sound in her throat, a sort of half-moan, and her leg drew up against his, the heel digging into his thigh.

  Brand swept his hands down her hands, and to her ribcage. And up to the undersides of her breasts. His hands, his loins aching with the need to touch her. See her. Taste her.

  She bit his lip, and he kissed her back harder. Not even breaking for air. She arched into him, going blind with whatever it was that he was doing to her. The contact of her hard nipples, and she could feel them through all their combined clothing, against his chest was more than she could take.

  And this time he groaned.

  “God, Akira,” he muttered harshly, while he gathered her closer and their kiss went nuclear.

  It was like being swallowed whole, Akira would think later, but at that instant all she could say, was, “I know.”

  Akira’s hands were on his shirt snaps, and she would have gotten them off, if he hadn’t stilled her busy fingers. Their mouths were fused together, as were their whole bodies, and Akira didn’t think she could bear any more contact without a little more skin. Especially of that excellent upper-body-strength-endowed chest.

  “Wait,” he growled.

  “Why?” she asked, biting his earlobe and had him burrowing into her heat. She trembled when she felt him all at once.

  “Because.”

  Brand sighed, ended their kiss, and dropped his head on the curve of her shoulder. It pleased her dazed senses that he wasn’t breathing steadily either.

  He brushed her messed up hair from her cheeks and looked at her
with something resembling tenderness and regret.

  “The movie’s going to start any minute now, and you better go in.”

  “Really?”

  He unwound himself from her, and Akira told herself she didn’t feel rejected as she sat up herself. They were sitting on the lounger side by side, both disheveled and with racing hearts.

  “I better go, then,” Akira said at last, because he didn’t seem inclined to make the first move.

  “That’s the general idea, yes.”

  “Could’ve fooled me, buddy.” She patted him on the cheek, patronizingly, she hoped.

  Akira stood up, smoothing one hand over the front of her dress. “But don't worry. No harm, no foul. And no hard feelings.”

  Then, she made her careful way away from him.

  “Akira.”

  She turned back slowly, and hated him for the smug grin he had on his face. Would have hated him more, if she hadn’t seen the shadow in his eyes. The man had KEEP AWAY tattooed on his forehead, and he hadn’t liked it that she hadn’t.

  She hated herself too, for turning back to him, again. Vulnerability was not her strong suit, and neither was throwing herself at a man. Tonight, she’d done both.

  “What now?” she asked him politely.

  He answered wickedly, “Your hair’s an absolute mess.”

  She smiled back, sweetly. “Then they’ll all just have to wonder who got lucky, don't they?”

  And, resisting the urge to smooth down her wild hair, she sashayed back to the stairs that would lead to the Screening Room. Once she was out of his sight, she leaned against the wall of the stairs and cursed him soundly for two minutes, before actually smoothing her hair as best as she could.

  Then she pasted a bright smile on her face, and went in. Determined to forget that Brandon Rice had ever kissed her.

  ~~~~~~

  Outside, Brandon looked longingly at the shapely woman walking away from him. He’d blown it because kissing her had made him forget his job and his mission for a hot, sexy moment. Because being near her had his defenses down before he knew it.

  What the hell was going on with him?

  Scowling, he stood up, and strode away from the scene of the crime towards the media room. His colleagues, recognizing his black mood, gave him a wide berth while he passed them by.

  Seven

  Akira caught up with Rumi, who stood beside Henry nursing her gin and tonic, looking restlessly at the big white screen. Henry said something to her, then he nudged her in Akira’s direction. Akira smiled, waved towards them, as they waited for the master of ceremonies to announce the presentation.

  “You okay?” Rumi tracked the tell-tale swollenness on Akira’s lips that not even lipstick could hide.

  “I’m awesome,” Akira said blandly. Brand entered the room just then, tucking his shirt in and Akira pointedly turned away from the entrance. “I’m waiting for your awesome documentary to start.”

  Rumi wanted to say something further, clearly not buying her friend’s explanation. But she paused because Sebastian and Brand appeared by her side.

  “Big night, isn’t it, Rumana?” Seb asked easily.

  The room darkened then, and the anchor for the evening began the ceremony.

  Conversation stilled as the spotlight was thrown on Rumi, Henry, and Akira who stood with her. Another one was on Sebastian Delgado and Brandon who stood with him. Predictably, Rumi and Sebastian were asked to come forward to cue the film in. Henry and Akira went with her, as did Brand with Sebastian.

  The spotlights followed them to the middle of the room, where the remote for the player was kept on a small table. Akira was next to Sebastian, she naturally smiled at him.

  “Beautiful party, Senhor Delgado,” she complimented him, while they moved through the crowd.

  “I didn’t see you enjoying yourself inside here, Ms. Naik. The attractions outside must have been quite something,” he said.

  Brand’s jaw tightened and his hand inside his pant pocket, clenched into a fist, while he tried not to glance at Akira.

  She tried her hardest not to slide her eyes past Sebastian to his bodyguard, before nodding. “Yes, they very much were.”

  Only she heard Brand’s harsh intake of breath. And didn’t quite work up the nerve to look at him. “Anyway, Premier…” was as far as she got before all hell broke loose…

  In the form of gunshots.

  ~~~~~~

  Akira’s reporting instincts kicked in without her being aware of it.

  She’d been in her share of brawls and fights and bombings. She knew, firsthand, what sudden shots and darkness did to the panic and mob mentality in people. She had witnessed it all. Had reported it, more often than not.

  People didn’t want a lot of gory reality to pepper their daily fix of the news…for that they preferred unverified social media.

  When the shots rang out, Akira was not shocked into immobility. They came from the northern corner of the room, which meant that the shooters had not used the only point of entry to the screening room.

  And, duh, they couldn't! Brand’s men were guarding that entrance with their lives.

  The muffled pops could only mean one thing. The attackers were using silencers. She whispered, “Rumi, are you alright?”

  There was no answer. And for just the length of one scary second, Akira was terrified. Then her brain kicked in and she remembered that Rumi had Henry, secret agent extraordinaire, protecting her. If anything, Rumi was probably safer than her right now.

  She could distinctly hear the sounds of women screaming and men groaning and yelling, but even through it all she heard two loud thuds.

  Smoke bombs, she thought disgustedly, as she screwed her eyes closed and tried to stop breathing for about five seconds.

  A whiff of CK Obsession hit her, and then a rough whisper followed, “Akira, are you alright?”

  Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, so she could swivel her head even with the smoke snaking its way across the floor… rising from it.

  There were more thuds as people fell down unconscious from the effects of cluster bombs. She didn’t know whether she should laugh at people’s stupidity or curse it.

  The first thing in a dangerous situation, any survival expert would tell you, is to get down, and stay there.

  But, of course, panic made everyone lose their minds. Akira was always horrified by the senseless death and destruction that followed carnage. And God knew, in a closed room like this with no exit points, this whole place was going to be one roasting camp.

  She focused her mind on Brand’s whisper, and nodded before remembering he couldn't see her. Incredibly, a second later, she felt him squeeze her shoulder, run his hands down her side and pull her to him.

  She went unresisting, firstly because she couldn't use her hands to pull away from him, since they covered her mouth. And secondly, God, it felt good to lean against another person while the world went to hell around them.

  Her head rested on his chest in a natural gesture that she’d think back on later with alarm. But for now, he was here.

  It was enough.

  “You aren’t hurt,” he murmured the words through her hair, where they were both kneeling…wrapped around each other in a bizarre parody of a lover’s embrace.

  The skin on her neck prickled and she shivered. His hands tightened in a misguided attempt to protect her.

  She shook her head in answer to his question. “Is Sebastian okay?” she squeaked.

  It was so comforting to be here with him. If she hadn’t been so terrified, she would have been alarmed at how easily she forgot her job and focused on only being with him.

  ~~~~~~

  Brand breathed against Akira’s hair, stirring strands of it. It had been, at best, fifteen seconds since the whole thing started.

  And his first instinct had been to wonder, wildly, if Akira was alright. The woman who’d looked like she wanted to skewer him alive over hot coals ten minutes ago.

&nbs
p; He didn’t even worry about the worry, just shoved Sebastian against a corner table with a terse order to stay the hell put. And then crawled around Sebastian to get to Akira.

  Brand thanked God that her perfume was a very unsubtle, feminine scent. As he buried his nose in her hair again, he inhaled it. Not wildflowers, but jasmine and night lily, and some underlying musky scent. The kind that clung to her skin and made a man wonder what else she wore with it.