Her Billionaire Bodyguard Bridegroom

by Lisa Weaver

  “The bacon, maybe, but those pancakes are another story. And is that maple syrup?”

  “Yes. Well, at least I know where I stand now. Passed over for a stack of pancakes.”

  “Not just the pancakes. There’s also the syrup to consider.”

  They fueled up on the wonderful breakfast before heading out for a hike. Wrapped up in the company of the man walking beside her, she completely lost track of the distance they covered.

  Later, they took a break at an overlook that afforded a panoramic view of gorgeous acres of forest.

  “How are you doing?” he asked. “Any sore spots from the new hiking boots?”

  “My feet and I are very happy,” she assured him.

  “Okay. But if they start to give you any trouble, let me know. I don’t want this trip to end up being a miserable experience for you. Blisters can be nasty. So can dehydration. Speaking of which, you should drink some water.”

  He offered her his canteen, and she took a long sip. “I never knew ordinary H2O could taste so good.”

  “I can guarantee tonight’s dinner will taste even better. I’m making my specialty, trout almandine. It’s amazing cooked over an open flame.”

  “Sounds wonderful. Do I get to help you prepare it?”

  “Sure. You can even help me catch the trout, if you’d like.”

  “We’re going fishing?” she inquired, her tone dubious.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never fished before?”

  “Guilty as charged. But you can lure me into giving it a try,” she deadpanned.

  “Ugh. Cute! Bad puns aside, there’s a brook about a quarter of a mile up ahead. We’ll try our luck there.”

  Luke chose a spot on the bank and unpacked a couple of rods. She eyed the pole he handed her dubiously. “You aren’t going to make me skewer a worm on the end of this hook, are you?”

  “You can relax,” he chuckled. “We’re using artificial lures. Live bait isn’t practical on this kind of an excursion.”

  Luke was helping her check off another first on her things-to-experience list, Brianna realized as they sat waiting for the fish to bite. She had him to thank for indoctrinating her in the joys of fishing.

  Later, lying on the cushion of his chest, lulled into a pleasant half sleep from the combination of fresh air, a full stomach, and warm sunshine, she felt the pole jerk in her hands. She squeaked in surprise when the fishing rod bent under the weight of something big.

  Make that huge, she amended when a tug from the other end of the line nearly yanked her into the brook.

  “You’ve got a bite!” Luke enthused.

  “You don’t say. Can I get a little help here?”

  The fish put up an enthusiastic fight. With Luke’s help, she won the battle.

  “He’s cute,” she enthused, instantly smitten with the huge brook trout wiggling on the end of the hook. “We don’t have to eat him, do we?”

  Luke chuckled, shaking his head. “We can let him go if you’d like.” Carefully prying the hook free from the fish’s mouth, he released it back into the brook.

  “I guess I should be sorry the key ingredient in your trout dish just swam off.”

  “Fortunately I brought other provisions along, in case we didn’t get lucky. How does sausage served with baked beans and corn bread sound?”

  “Like sheer ambrosia.”

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

  And it was.

  “That was amazing,” she told him later as they relaxed by the campfire. “Thank you.”

  “After what you’ve been through these past few days, you deserve a little pampering.”

  “I have to admit, a girl could get used to the princess treatment. I sometimes wonder if the reason my mother had an affair with a married man was because Philip made her feel special for the first time in her life. There had to be some reason she overlooked her moral compass.”

  “Your mother wasn’t the only one. Philip also chose to break his marriage vows.”

  “Yes. But that doesn’t make their affair any easier to comprehend. They were from two different worlds.”

  “Love is a tough emotion to analyze. It’s not easy to pin down. My guess is that your mother was Philip’s world.”

  “Have you ever cared that deeply for someone?”

  Silence stretched out for long moments, and she thought he might ignore the question. Then he shrugged.

  “I thought I did. But as it turned out, the woman I fell for and the real Tanya were two entirely different people. She wasn’t who I thought she was.”

  “Tanya Ford? I remember the papers making a huge deal about your relationship. I read about the accident that took her life. I’m so sorry about what happened to her.”

  He paled at the mention of the tragedy, swallowing hard before replying. “Thanks. Since I spilled my guts, how about you? Have you ever given your heart to someone?”

  Brianna hesitated, considering her reply. She’d been crazy about Peter until she’d accidentally barged in on his little love fest and discovered his deceptive side. Furious at being caught, he’d viciously outlined how he’d set out to win her over with the intent of marrying her—not for love, but for her newfound fortune. He’d told her she wasn’t truly worthy of a man of his caliber. And he’d proceeded to throw more hurtful insults at her until she’d wanted to turn and run. But she hadn’t. She’d held her ground. And then she’d thrown his ring back at him.

  “I thought I loved my fiancé. I wanted my own happily-ever-after so badly that I did a great job of convincing myself Peter was my prince. Turns out he was one hundred percent reptile.”

  It hadn’t taken long for the heart-ripped-out-of-her chest emotional devastation to segue into anger. With the blinders yanked off her eyes, she could see how Peter had played her. She’d caved in, so easily, to his controlling tendencies. She’d let him keep her firmly under his thumb, and allowed him to mold her into his idea of the perfect woman. She’d lost more and more of herself, until she became a mere shadow of the woman she’d been. Once he’d reduced her to a malleable Barbie doll, he’d become bored and moved on to his next plaything—his beautiful business partner.

  “He hurt you.”

  It was a statement, not a question, so she didn’t bother to hedge. “Yes. I didn’t know it at the time, but the only reason he insinuated himself into my life was because he knew I was going to come into a fortune. He worked as an attorney for the law firm that hired the private investigator for my father. Peter saw the guy’s final report, and he followed the dollar signs.”

  “What a lowlife.”

  “I gave him the power to wound me by getting in too deep in the first place. I was far too trusting. I won’t make that mistake again. That’s why you and I are perfect together. No strings. No commitment. We’re free to explore this attraction without getting all tangled up in the emotional stuff.”

  Luke shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying our arrangement. But I hope that at some point down the road, when you do find that special someone, you won’t close the door on a committed relationship out of fear of it happening again. Every guy out there isn’t like your ex. There are still trustworthy men out there.”

  Brianna considered his words as she cuddled against his chest and watched the fire. Cradled in his arms, she felt safe and secure. Loved.

  Whoa. There was that other “l word,” sneaking in again. Lust was well and truly welcome, but love … well, not so much.

  Just because the man had gifted her with the most spectacular orgasm—correction, make that series of orgasms—she’d ever experienced, that didn’t mean she had to go overboard.

  She shouldn’t even be considering using love to define this relationship. It was better to keep it in the context of a fling. After all, that’s what this was.

  Wasn’t it?

  Love didn’t factor into the rules she’d laid out.

  Rules were made to be broken, her impish, inner wild child whispered.

&
nbsp; But so were hearts, which was why she couldn’t go there again.

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

  The following day they hiked again, exploring peaceful trails that wound through fields tangled with wild roses. They took a break along a gorgeous cliff to enjoy the picturesque view.

  “I’m officially a camping convert,” Brianna enthused.

  “I’m glad,” he said as he smiled.

  His grin vanished when a sharp crack reverberated through the air.

  Brianna’s heart beat out a litany of fear as she tried to connect the dots. Was someone firing a gun nearby? Had they come across hunters?

  She was about to give voice to the questions racing through her head when another shot rent the air, chipping the bark off a nearby tree and prompting Luke to pull her behind him. Shocked, she saw him lift his shirt and draw a handgun from a holster at his hip.

  Watching Luke return fire was like being plucked from a fairy tale and catapulted into some kind of twisted action-adventure movie.

  What is he doing with a gun? He’s an editor. Firearms aren’t exactly a tool of the trade.

  And yet not only was he packing a pistol, it was obvious he was skilled with it. Suddenly, she feared she didn’t really didn’t know him at all.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Luke had blown his cover, but with Brianna’s life at stake he’d had no choice but to draw his weapon. The assignment had just segued from a covert protection operation to a rescue mission.

  His decimated cover was the least of his worries. He needed to get Brianna to safety. Conducting a quick assessment of the situation, he determined the best extraction plan would be to head down to the valley. From there they could double back to where he’d parked his Land Rover, just off the main road. Returning to the campsite would be far too risky. He’d taken every precaution to cover their trail, so he had no idea how the shooter had tracked them here. One thing was certain: they were dealing with a professional.

  The shooter was blocking the most viable escape route. There was just one other way out, and it didn’t inspire warm fuzzies.

  Brianna would like it—and the sixty-foot drop off the cliffside it would entail—even less. Yet if he was going to extricate her safely from the war zone this quiet forest had morphed into, making that drop was the only option.

  Shots peppered the ground around them, too close for comfort. The familiar surge of danger-induced adrenaline pumped through his veins, and he drew Brianna behind him, shielding her body with his. Returning fire, he led her to cover behind the relative safety of an outcropping of boulders.

  “What’s that hunter doing?” she queried indignantly. “Doesn’t he see us?”

  “He isn’t a hunter,” he replied gently.

  “Who is he, then, and why is he firing at us? And what are you doing with a gun? First you tackle a knife-wielding purse snatcher, and now you’re taking on a shooter like you’re some kind of GI Joe. What’s going on, Luke?”

  Sentinel operatives were encouraged to come clean with a package they were guarding if circumstances made it impossible to remain covert. And if there ever was a situation that mandated full disclosure, this was it. But revealing his mission meant taking an irreversible step that was certain to destroy every fragment of trust Brianna had placed in him. That reality scared him more than the bullets whizzing past their heads.

  “I swear everything I’ve told you is true,” he began, “but …”

  She held up a hand, halting him in midsentence, “I’m not sure I want to hear what’s going to come next.”

  “You may not want to hear it, but you need to. I’m a covert bodyguard, Brianna. Your father enlisted the agency I work for to provide protection for you after he received threats against your life.”

  Incredulity rolled off her in waves. “You’re a bodyguard? How can that be? You’re an editor. Your name is on the masthead of every issue of Intrepid Explorations. We’re planning a conference for your staff.”

  “I’ll explain the hows and whys later. Right now, we have to move.”

  “Where to? There’s no way out.”

  He nodded toward the cliff. “There is if we go down.”

  What little color remained in her face drained away. “You can’t be serious.”

  “It’ll be a piece of cake. Removing the para-cord bracelet he was wearing, he unwound it and secured one end of the rope to a nearby tree trunk. Pulling off his T-shirt, he ripped it in half and wrapped the cloth around his hands. “I’m going to rappel us out of here. All you have to do is grab my waist and hold on. I’ll do the rest.”

  She hazarded a glance over the cliff. He could tell from her expression she was prepared to argue the sanity of his plan, but just then another spray of bullets stemmed whatever protest had been on the tip of her tongue.

  “I guess we’re taking the plunge.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he assured her. “Hang on tight, and don’t look down. You’ll be fine.”

  Despite his reassurances, she trembled like a leaf whipped around in a gale as he hastily rappelled them to the base of the cliff. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her, hating the tremors of fear that racked her body. He despised the lie that had been crucial to her safety even more, for its exposure had dealt a blow to her heart. The burn from the rope that tore into his hands, despite the protection of his T-shirt, was nothing compared to the pain that seared through him at her instant withdrawal.

  Once their feet hit solid ground, he took her hand and led her into the dense cover of the forest.

  “Are you sure we’re headed in the right direction?”

  “Yes. We’re not going back to camp. That’s what the shooter will be expecting us to do. We’ll double back to where I left the Land Rover. I sent an SOS to my agency when we came under fire. They’ve had an operative stationed nearby in case I needed reinforcements. He’ll connect with us there.”

  She came to a perplexed halt, her forehead creasing in confusion. “This keeps getting stranger and stranger. You’re editor-in-chief of Intrepid magazine, but—what?—you moonlight as some kind of James Bond on the side? And you said there were threats against me. How could there be? I don’t have any enemies.”

  “No, but your father does. That’s why he hired the agency I work for to keep you safe. I’m not a spy. I’m a covert protection agent. My job at Intrepid is a cover for my work with Sentinels. We provide bodyguard services in situations that mandate clients not be aware they’re being watched over.”

  He could see the wheels spinning as she digested the info. But it was the hurt she couldn’t mask that gutted him.

  “If what you say is true and my father has enemies, I still don’t get why they’d be threatening me. I haven’t even met him yet.”

  “The man behind the threats is using you as leverage to force your father to do his bidding. He’s banking on your father doing everything he can to keep you out of harm’s way.”

  “This is insane! How does this man even know about me?”

  “I understand how you must feel right now, and I get that this is difficult to comprehend, but you have to believe me. I’m telling you the truth. Lawrence Mendacci, the man behind these attacks, is highly connected. Mendacci is a suspected mob boss, and he’s extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, the authorities haven’t been able to gather enough evidence to build a case against him, and he’s eluded conviction.”

  “Why didn’t my father tell me about this?”

  “He didn’t want to alarm you.”

  “A bomb exploded in my hotel room. Someone tried to turn me into a human shish kebab. I think it’s a bit late to worry about that. What did my father do to wind up on this guy’s bad side?”

  “A couple of years ago, Mendacci offered to pay him for certain design specifications from Dimitriou Enterprises. Philip didn’t see any harm in partnering with him.”

  “Things went sour, I’m guessing.”

  “That would be an understatement. Mendacci
began pressing for highly sensitive plans, and your father told him he wanted out. Mendacci orchestrated a hit-and-run accident to illustrate it wouldn’t be in Philip’s best interests to renege on their deal. One of Philip’s personal security staff, a man who was a close friend of your brother’s, lost his life in the accident.”

  “And so my father had no choice but to fall back into line.”

  “Yes. And he did, until Mendacci demanded classified plans that could prove disastrous in the wrong hands. Philip pushed back, and that’s when Mendacci—knowing your father wouldn’t give in to him this time even if he threatened his safety—hit him where he was most vulnerable. He threatened to harm you and your brother.”

  “Rafe is caught up in this? Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine. We have an agent guarding him as well. My sister, actually.”

  “Your sister is a bodyguard, too? And I thought this couldn’t possibly get any more surreal. So the bomb blast …” Brianna queried, trailing off as she realized the enormity of the situation.

  “Yes. It was an attempt to get to you.”

  “And the purse snatcher?” she ventured, her voice shaky.

  Luke shook his head. “We’re not sure yet, but everything points to him being a random thief who thought you were an easy mark.”

  “So it wasn’t a coincidence you were there, was it? It’s all starting to make sense now. The way you rushed in to save me after the bombing, how you ran after the guy who grabbed my purse. What doesn’t make sense is why you lied to me.”

  He started to reply, but the words caught in his throat. He really didn’t have the right to utter a single syllable in his defense. He’d stooped lower than low. He’d slept with her and shared intimacies beyond his wildest imaginations, yet he’d failed to tell her the truth.

  No, he didn’t deserve the chance to explain. But he needed to. He desperately wanted to make her understand that, though he had deceived her, he’d only done so to keep her safe. He had to find a way to regain her trust.

  “Look, I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be.”

  “Angry doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now. Try disillusioned, disappointed, and hurt, for starters. How could you deceive me like that? You slept with me! You let me believe you cared.”