Protecting Lily

by Flockton, Nicole

That was the only thing about him that graced her list. Grayson Warren was everything she didn’t want in a man. He was arrogant, alpha, over bearing. Thought he was always right.

  Sexy as sin.

  The thought floated across her mind.

  No. No, No.

  Lily blew out a frustrated breath as the door shut behind the two of them. Even though this contract was a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was starting to turn into a nightmare.

  This whole collection was completely different to anything she’d done previously. Normally once the designing was complete, she’d send them off to the pattern-maker who would then forward the patterns to the manufacturers. They would in turn send samples to her. Because she needed to add diamonds to the garments, she had to make sure the base designs of the bras and underwear were patterns she used all the time. The differences were only minute but changed the look from basic to killer. They could be made quickly and didn’t affect the integrity or structure of the base bra.

  A knock sounded on her door and it opened almost immediately. Keeping her head down and focused on the next task on her list. Lily knew it wasn’t Rita opening her door. It was the man who was going to be her nemesis for the next few weeks.

  “Ignoring me won’t make me go away you know.”

  Lily tightened her grip on her pen. His voice really was quite seductive, even when he’d been mocking her earlier. The cadence of his voice melodic.

  The sound of fabric brushing lightly against itself reached her ears and moments later a fabric covered leg perched itself on the edge of her desk. Just out of her direct line of vision.

  Pulling herself together, she looked up at Grayson. She hadn’t let any man intimidate her while she’d been building her business. There had been plenty who’d tried and hadn’t succeeded. Grayson wouldn’t succeed either.

  Putting her pen down she reclined back in her chair, moving it back a fraction. “Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Warren?”

  “Grayson, please. Seeing as we’re going to be working so closely with each other I think we can dispense with formalities.”

  Every nerve ending inside of her flared to life at his words. “Only for a short time. In fact I probably won’t need your services for more than two weeks.”

  He hitched himself further up on her desk, the fabric of his trouser leg stretched temptingly over his thigh. Her lips darted out to moisten her dry lips.

  Even though Grayson might be annoying to her life right now, she could appreciate a good looking man when she saw one. And Grayson definitely fit the bill. Beneath the suit he wore, she had no doubt he didn’t carry an ounce of spare flesh. Every part of him looked toned. If only he didn’t have such a strong, domineering personality.

  “I think you may be wrong with how long you’ll be needing my services.” His smoothly spoken words pulled her away from her thoughts.

  Deciding to put more distance between them, she pushed her chair away from her desk and walked over to the side bar that housed a small fridge. She pulled out a bottle of water and opened it.

  She turned around; bottle resting against her lips and almost dropped it when she found Grayson had followed her. He loomed over her. Powerful and sexy.

  God, couldn’t he give her some space to breathe? Was he doing this deliberately to her?

  “I’m wrong,” she queried. “How am I wrong?”

  He shrugged his shoulders and the spicy fragrance of his cologne wafted over her. “I’ve looked over the contract you have with the diamond company. The show isn’t until Valentine’s Day. And if I’m not mistaken it’s only the beginning of November which, by my calculation, means I’m going to be working closely with you for more than two weeks.”

  She controlled the urge to roll her eyes and stick her tongue out. There had to be a way to get out of this mess she’d gotten herself in. Rita would have to find another security firm to act as her bodyguard. Only somehow she didn’t think Rita was going to co-operate.

  As she looked up at Grayson and saw the steely resolve in his gaze she swallowed down the water she’d taken a drink of. It was only three months she could do this. Couldn’t she?

  4

  Grayson fired off another email to his buddy, who had his own security/investigation firm, with some information to use in trying to locate Wayne. He trusted this guy not to let anything out about what his partner had done. They’d saved each other’s backsides more times than he could remember while they were doing their three tours of duty in Afghanistan, plus the other missions they went on. Riley Ash Ashland had been a member of his Seal team. They’d gotten out of the military at the same time. He knew how important the business was to Grayson. Ash was just as angry with Wayne as he was. It surprised him Ash hadn’t said Told you so when the shit hit the fan, he’d never been a big fan of Wayne’s.

  He should’ve listened to his team mate. Grayson should’ve gone into partnership with Ash liked they’d talked about during those long nights when they’d been on patrol and not with Wayne. But Wayne had been his friend since middle school. They’d gotten into their fair share of scraps and were supposed to enlist together, but Wayne chickened out. He should’ve seen that as a big warning sign about how flaky his friend was. But when he’d left his team, Wayne had just sold a business. Wayne had convinced him he was the best person to go into business with. He should’ve taken more time to look into the background of why Wayne had sold his former business. If he had, maybe he wouldn’t be in his current predicament.

  Once he found Wayne, got his money back he was seriously considering approaching Ash with a business proposition—combining their two businesses. Of course, Ash could turn around and tell him to take a hike seeing as Grayson couldn’t be trusted to keep his former business partner under control.

  Grayson sighed and pulled up his calendar to see what he needed to look at changing with this job at Lily’s Lingerie. He could worry about what to do with his business after everything had been taken care of.

  There were a lot of blank days staring up at him. He didn’t need to change too much. While he hated the idea of the Manservant website, it had provided him with a good job that would keep him in the black for a little longer. The amount of money he was being paid for this job was higher than he’d expected. But considering he would be guarding not only Lily but also a substantial amount in diamonds the rate of pay was higher than a normal bodyguard job.

  He sat back in the chair, an image of Lily filling his mind. He’d never had an immediate response to someone like he had with her. The need protect her, to keep her safe had filled him the moment he laid eyes on her.

  The phone rang pulling him back to the present. “Grayson Warren. Warren Security.”

  He waited for the person on the other end to say something. He went on alert, sitting up straighter in his chair when the silence stretched out.

  “Wayne? So help me God if that’s you, you’d better say something pretty fucking quickly.”

  “It’s not Wayne,” a decidedly feminine voice penetrated the red haze engulfing him.

  Lily Green was calling him not Wayne.

  He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a frustrated breath. “Shit,” he muttered.

  The woman on the other end of the phone laughed. “Bad day, Mr. Warren?”

  Having never heard her laugh before, he found he enjoyed the sound of it and wanted to hear it more often. “I thought I told you to call me Grayson?”

  He could’ve kicked himself for his harsh tone. He spoke again before Lily could say or do anything, like hang up on him. “Sorry, Lily. That was uncalled for.”

  “Hmm well all I can say is I’m glad I’m not Wayne and apology accepted. Although I hope I won’t be getting that sort of greeting every time I talk to you.”

  Grayson chuckled, when they weren’t face to face—Lily had more confidence. Did he unnerve her? It was an arrogant thought. The woman ran her own business. How could he intimidate her?

  Her assistant Rita
seemed to think he was exactly what Lily needed when they’d been discussing the terms and requirements of his contract. He hadn’t asked her what she’d meant. He’d assumed she was talking about the job. Now he had to wonder if it could’ve been something more personal.

  Grayson blew the thought away before it had a chance to fully form. He didn’t have time for a relationship. If he did, it would be with someone completely different to Lily. He may feel the need to protect her, but that was it. There was a big difference with wanting to protect someone and wanting to love someone. He wanted a woman more his equal. He had a feeling Lily would be high maintenance and he didn’t do high maintenance.

  “You seem to be at a loss for words. Perhaps you are the person for the job. I don’t think I could stand someone who chattered the whole time while I tried to work.”

  “Seeing as I’ve signed a contract that’s moot point don’t you think? So what can I do for you, Lily?”

  His body flared to life at the clearing of her throat. What the fuck? Since when did that turn him on? He’d been so focused on finding Wayne he hadn’t gotten laid in a while. That had to be the reason why he went from dormant to standing to attention in five seconds. Perhaps he should do something about it.

  “Well, while I was making my daily to-do list, I thought it was a good idea to make a list of what I require you to do. I’ll give you a list every day before you come in.”

  “What?” Grayson pulled the phone away and stared at it. As though the inanimate object would nod and tell him what he’d heard was correct. He put it back to his ear. “You’re going to make me a list of things to do? And you’re going to give me a new list every day?”

  “Yes. I think this will make our partnership run a lot smoother. Not to mention our day-to-day interactions. If you know what my expectations are for you and your services then we won’t have any issues.”

  Yep. Lily was fucking high maintenance. And yet the more she talked, the more his cock stood to attention. He’d never been into the boss/employee fantasy but maybe…

  “No. No and hell no, will I be taking a list from you. Are you completely insane? You can not run security for a person by ticking items off a list.”

  “I assure you I’m perfectly sane. There is nothing wrong with lists. I use them all the time. I would think checking items off a list would be what any good security guard would do. You know, is the room clear. Check. Is the alarm turned off? Check. Are the diamonds locked away each night? Check.”

  Grayson groaned, wanting to throw the phone at the wall. “While I appreciate you thinking you can do my job for me, Ms. Green. I suggest you leave all the security requirements to the professional you hired. In other words me. I don’t need a list to tell me what I’ve been trained to do. I was a bloody Navy Seal. Do you think my commanding officer gave me a list every day of all the things I had to look for in Afghanistan when we patrolled? Or when we went out on top secret missions?” He paused, taking a breath before continuing. “No. And do you know why? Because life can’t be run by lists. Life is unpredictable. Life is walking around the corner and being ambushed by a sniper you can’t see. Life is reacting on instinct, not by what is written on a list.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she responded quietly. “I’m glad you’re here today. Thank you for your service”

  “Right.” Grayson couldn’t take the gentle tone of Lily’s words. He slammed the phone down.

  He didn’t want her gratitude. He did what he had to do. What he was employed to do. His anger at her dissipated like the wisp of smoke from a fired bullet. Lily was employing him now and theoretically, he had to follow her ‘orders’ as such. There had to be some middle ground they could find. He was beginning to see that lists were a crutch Lily used. When he’d arrived at her office she was in a panic because she couldn’t find her list. What was the story with that? In fact, what was Lily’s story? Not the one on the internet manufactured by a publicity person. What really happened to Lily as she grew up in the foster care system? There had to be a reason for why she hadn’t been adopted.

  Lily Green was a mystery. And no matter how much he wanted to deny it, she was a mystery he intended to solve.

  5

  Lily sat at her desk tapping her pen against the glossy wood.

  Tickety Tap.

  Tickety Tap.

  Tickety Tap.

  “Oh for goodness sake will you stop that infernal racket and use the damn pen for something beneficial. Like writing one of your useful lists.”

  At the sound of the gruff voice the pen ceased it’s tickety tapping and clattered to the desk top. She looked toward Grayson as he sat in a chair by her office door. The same place he’d sat for the last two days. Two days in which she hadn’t been able to concentrate on a single thing. The diamonds had arrived and she had to admit when she opened the box and saw the amount of stones sparkling up at her, she was glad to have Grayson nearby.

  She’d thought once the diamonds were in her possession she’d be able to sort out which stones she’d use on which bras and be able to finalize her designs. Only she’d run into the cement wall called artist’s block.

  Of course, she’d hit the wall the same day Grayson had started. He’d walked into her office in his black suit, black shirt, black tie. The quintessential bodyguard uniform. She’d melted into a hot pool of hormones and sexual heat. It hadn’t helped that Rita stood behind him waving her hand across her face in the age-old message of holy-shit-this-man-is-hot. If Lily didn’t know Rita was totally in love with her husband, she’d be worried her friend was about to break her marriage vows.

  “I’m thinking,” she said.

  “You’ve been doing an awful lot of thinking since I arrived.”

  She bristled at his words. “And the problem with that is?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “No problem just making an observation.”

  “Well you should be observing the hallway, not me.”

  Lily gripped the arms on her chair as Grayson unfurled himself from his chair and sauntered over to her desk. She controlled the urge to roll her chair back as he leaned over to look at the blank piece of paper in front of her and the unadorned bra lying next to the open box of box of diamonds.

  “I’d actually just returned from a walk around when I sat down and you started your—” he inclined his head toward the pen resting on the paper “– infernal tapping. Maybe I can help?”

  She snorted. “You? Help me. What do you know about bras or the placement of diamonds?”

  “I know a lot about bras.” He ran a finger down her arm before leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I can get them off with a flick of my wrist.”

  Images of Grayson undoing her bra, slipping her arms out of it and then his hands caressing her bare breasts bombarded her brain. Her hands gripped the arms of her chair to stop them from reaching out and pulling Grayson’s head down so she could kiss him.

  It was insane.

  It was ridiculous.

  It was stupid to be having any sort of sexual desires or needs with this man. She’d met him just over a week ago. She didn’t do lust. It wasn’t on any of her lists when it came to men. The man who still had a finger on her arm. Who still stood with his lips brushing against her ear didn’t tick any important items off her perfect-partner-in-life list.

  Lily pushed her chair back, causing Grayson to jump back so she didn’t run over his feet. She’d hoped his reflexes were a bit slower so she could inflict some pain on him. A tad sadistic? Yes. She didn’t care. This man unsettled her. He was the reason she couldn’t concentrate on creating and completing her designs.

  She stood up, ready to tell him what she thought of his bra removing techniques when hands reached out and pulled her flush against him.

  On reflex, her fingers grabbed the lapels of his jacket. Her breath hitched in her throat at the sudden movement. Swallowing she looked up. The words, ready to flame him for his high-handedness, deserted her as their gazes clashed
.

  In her gut she knew what was about to happen. Knew it in every particle of her body, even though her mind didn’t want to accept what was going to happen. She relaxed, her fingers lost their death grip on his jacket. Her breath sighed out, taking with it the indignation she’d felt at Grayson’s sexual suggestion, leaving her only with her desire as her new best friend.

  “What the fuck are you doing to me,” Grayson muttered as he closed the gap and laid his lips upon hers. For a man his size her expectation had been for a rough, forceful kiss. Instead it was reminiscent of the whisper softness of butterfly kisses on her cheek. His lips: soft, supple, seductive. Enticing her to open a little wider to deepen the kiss.

  She ran her hands over his hard chest. Even through two layers of clothes she knew underneath it all he would be ripped. And she wanted to see him. Her hands moved to undo the button of his jacket. No sooner had she got her fingers on the button a loud foghorn sounded in the room.

  Lily ripped her mouth away from his. “What the hell is that?”

  “That,” Rita said. “Would be the equivalent of a bucket of cold water.”

  Mortified at what she’d been doing with her bodyguard Lily took two steps back. She noticed Grayson taking one step back before doing a military perfect swivel and strode out of her office, slamming her door as he went.

  Lily closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths before opening them, ready to face her best friend.

  “Well now is this a new getting-to-know-your-staff technique, Lily,” Rita said with a smile.

  “What can I help you with?”

  “You can’t avoid me you know, especially not with your shirt hanging out and your lipstick smeared over your face.”

  Her hand automatically lifted to wipe her mouth, but halted when she spied Rita’s wide grin.

  “Oh shut up. Haven’t you got someone else you need to terrorize? I’m busy.”

  “I know all about how busy you are. I witnessed it.” Rita moved and took a seat in one of the chairs opposite her desk. “But seriously, you need to be careful, Lil. He’s everything you say you don’t want.”