by Chant,Zoe
Heath smiled. “A good hot meal will help you feel better too. Nothing better, that’s what I say.”
His lion was purring in his chest. It might not have liked that Daphne was still in what it thought was danger, but it did like that they were eating together. Eating was a social activity – a bonding exercise. It didn’t matter that Heath hadn’t personally chased down the meal himself; it still counted. Heath thought Daphne probably would have been much less impressed if he’d dragged a deer carcass up to her apartment, anyway.
They ate in silence for a while, until Daphne abruptly said, “You said you were talking to your family before. Are you close?”
“Very,” Heath said. It was true. Lions took family bonds very seriously. “That was my cousin, Mason. He just got married, and his wife is pregnant with their first cu – kid. Their first kid.”
Oops. Kid. Definitely kid, not cub.
It was so easy to talk to Daphne that he’d forgotten for a moment she didn’t know his secret. He wanted to tell her. For as long as he didn’t, it felt like he was keeping something from her, which just wasn’t right. You told your mate everything.
“Oh, wow,” Daphne enthused. “That must be exciting.”
Heath nodded. “It is. Mason’s like a brother. Even though he drives me up the wall sometimes.”
“That seems normal,” Daphne laughed. “Well, from what I can tell. I’m an only child. I would have loved to have brothers and sisters, but my parents… well, they’re busy people. So it’s just me.”
“I have two older sisters, and believe me, when I was younger I would have happily gifted them to you. Don’t ask me about the time they decided I needed to learn how to apply lipstick correctly.” He grinned. “I was four! What four year old needs lipstick? Anyway, I prefer a natural look. You can’t tell me these luscious lips need any help.”
Okay, he was flirting a little. But it was making Daphne laugh, and Heath found her smile too adorable to stop.
Daphne hiccupped, holding her hand up to her mouth. “Oh my goodness, stop. I ate my curry too quickly, and I’m willing to bet it’s not going to taste good coming back the other way.” She shook her head suddenly. “Sorry, that was gross.”
Heath shook his head. “C’mon, don’t apologize. I promise you I heard far worse every three seconds when I was in the army. You get a bunch of guys – and some girls – together and the shit… well, the stuff that comes out of their mouths is just foul.”
“I can imagine,” Daphne said, giggling. “Believe me.”
This is going great, Heath thought. He’d been on his share of dates, and he was a pretty reasonable judge of these things.
But none of those girls had been his mate, he reminded himself. None of those dates had had the same stakes – and anyway, this was not a date. He was supposed to be protecting her. In a professional capacity – not just as her mate.
Sure, it was important that Daphne trust him as her mate.
But, moreover, at this moment, she had to trust him as her bodyguard.
The thought was a quick splash of cold water over the warmth Heath had been feeling.
“I get it if you’re a little tired after everything you went through today,” he said. “You don’t need to stay up for my benefit – you should get some rest.”
He meant it. But he also didn’t know how much longer he could be in temptation’s way and continue to resist. Daphne’s lips were full and pink, and so kissable. Her eyes were sparkling. Her full, gorgeous, rounded body was making his mouth water. She was beautiful, and Heath was sure that if they stayed here on the couch together, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing her.
Daphne looked slightly surprised at his words, and for a moment, Heath saw disappointment, and maybe even a little hurt in her eyes.
“Sure,” she said. “I mean, I am tired. Maybe sleep would be the best thing.”
I’ll keep you warm, if you want.
The words were on the tip of Heath’s tongue. He wanted to say them. But he forced himself to swallow them down.
Daphne needed to feel safe and protected. She couldn’t do that if he tried to jump into bed with her on their very first night together.
She’s your mate, his lion insisted. You need to be with her. Hold her. Comfort her!
Not tonight, Heath thought, as he wistfully stared after Daphne as she crossed the room and walked down the corridor away from him.
Chapter Seven
Daphne
Daphne woke the next morning with a start.
She couldn’t remember what she’d been dreaming about, only that it had been dark and frightening. From the way her sheets were tangled around her legs, she guessed she must have been thrashing in her sleep. Either way, she didn’t feel even a tiny bit rested, and she wondered what had been disturbing her so much.
It took a moment for the memories of the previous day to come flooding back to her – bald man, the kidnapping attempt. The bodyguard. Heath.
The remembrance of Heath – and that he was still here, in her home – jolted Daphne into full wakefulness. The confused dread that had started to permeate her mind was washed away.
Heath was here, protecting her.
Daphne couldn’t put her finger exactly on why he made her feel so safe – she’d been around burly bodyguards before, after all. But with him, it was different. There was just something about him that made her feel…
A tapping at the window caught her attention suddenly.
That was odd – Daphne lived on the third floor, so no one could climb up and tap on her window like that, and there were no large trees that might be shifting in the wind.
Cautiously, Daphne got out of bed and walked the two steps across her room to the window, moving the curtain aside –
– to find herself staring into the yellow eyes of the biggest, angriest-looking eagle she’d ever seen. Daphne stumbled back a little, mostly out of surprise. She loved eagles, and had watched them circling as a child from the decking of her parents’ holiday house in the Hamptons. But there was something different about this one. Its eyes bored into her with an almost human malevolence. Daphne had a sudden, uncanny sense of what it must be like to be a field mouse.
“Daphne!”
Daphne turned as her bedroom door was thrown open.
Heath stood there, bristling, the muscles of his shoulders and biceps bulging against the material of his shirt. There was an almost feral snarl on his face.
Daphne stared at him. Despite the strangeness of the situation, the thought flitted into her mind that she’d never seen anything hotter before in her life than Heath.
From the window, the eagle gave a sudden, ear-piercing screech that shocked her out of her mild reverie. She turned in time to see it spread its massive wings before pushing itself from the ledge, and rapidly disappearing into the distance.
Heath was at the window a moment later, his face still fixed in a snarl, staring after it.
“Fuck,” he muttered after a moment. “Fuck.”
“What was all that about?” Daphne asked, still feeling a little dazed. This felt like something out of one of the surrealist movies her dad liked.
Heath didn’t answer right away. Instead, he kept staring out the window as if still looking at the eagle, even though it was long gone.
“It was just a curious bird, Heath,” Daphne said. “I heard a noise, but it’s nothing to worry about. No one was trying to get in.”
Heath swallowed, clenching his fists.
“Maybe,” he said, his voice tense.
Daphne wasn’t sure what to say to that. The answer seemed clear – Heath had seen the eagle just as clearly as she had. Obviously that was what had happened.
In the end, Heath let out a long sigh, before turning to her. “Are you all right?”
Daphne opened her mouth to answer, before the sweep of his eyes over her body – checking for injuries, she told herself – made her remember what she was wearing, and she felt herself be
gin to blush.
All she had on was an old, over-size t-shirt that barely covered her modesty, coming down only as far as the tops of her thighs.
“Oh – no – I’m fine,” she managed to stutter. She knew pulling it down would only draw more attention to the shortness of her shirt, but it seemed to be too late anyway: by the look on his face, Heath had noticed.
His eyes widened a little before they quickly darted away. And was it Daphne’s imagination, or did he look a little flustered again, just as he had last night when she’d been so sure, even if just for a moment, that he was going to slip the ice cube into her mouth?
“I – well, maybe we should talk,” Heath said, stumbling over his words a little.
Heath was such a big, strong man, and seeing him stuttering at catching sight of her legs was strangely adorable. Having seen his cool competence in every other situation they’d been in, Daphne couldn’t help but smile.
“Of course,” she said. “Maybe I should just put a few more clothes on first?”
“Oh – sure. If you want to,” Heath said. “I… I guess I’ll give you some privacy.”
Daphne was about to tell him it wasn’t necessary – but she bit back the words immediately. He was a professional, trying to do a job, she told herself as she went to her drawers to get out some track pants. Looking the way he did, he probably had besotted female clients throwing themselves at him all the time. He probably considered it a hazard of the profession.
Putting a sweater on over her shirt just to be safe – she had no illusions about her curves and the effect they could have – Daphne came out to the kitchen to find Heath buttering some toast.
“It was all I could find,” he said. “But I figured some breakfast might be in order? Hope this is all right.”
Daphne smiled. “Of course. I’ve never been good at getting out of bed in the morning, so toast is usually all I have time for. This is perfect.”
Heath set the plate of toast and a steaming cup of coffee down on the counter, and Daphne hopped up on the bar stool to eat. It had been a long time since anyone had made her breakfast.
She watched his muscular back as he buttered his own toast, going back over the morning’s events in her mind. With a cooler head and clearer eye, she realized she had a few questions.
“Why did you come bursting into my room this morning?” she asked. Now that she considered it, and as much as she hadn’t minded, it did seem a little weird.
She thought she saw Heath’s shoulders tense, almost imperceptibly.
“I heard something. I wanted to check that you were all right.”
“You heard something from the living room?” she asked. That seemed… unlikely. She’d heard the firm tapping on her window, but only because she’d actually been in the room.
Again, there was a slight pause. “I wasn’t out there. I was outside your door.”
Daphne’s eyebrows shot up. “You slept out there? In the hall?”
Heath shook his head, still not turning to look at her. “No. I was awake.” He turned, looking a little sheepish. “That’s not as strange as it sounds, honestly. In the army you get used to sleeping when you can, and not at all when you can’t.”
Sipping her coffee, Daphne blinked. “But… you could have slept. I doubt my apartment is the same thing as a warzone.”
Heath drew in a deep breath, then sighed. “Yeah. Honestly, I did try to sleep, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t just sit still all night either though, so I… paced. A little.”
“You paced.” Daphne raised her eyebrow at him. “So… is that what you do at night?”
“Only sometimes. I mean, I was just tense,” Heath said, somewhat defensively. Then he grinned a little. “It’s not the only thing I do at night.”
He’s flirting. Again.
Daphne quickly dropped her eyes back down to her plate. She knew she shouldn’t respond – he was her bodyguard. Flinging herself at him when they’d be together for who knew how long could get very awkward, very fast.
But at the same time, she’d seen the way he looked at her – both in the bar before they each knew who the other was, and later. His eyes had lingered hungrily on her legs in the bedroom.
Before she could stop herself, Daphne had imagined what it might be like to simply forget about all these stupid complications for a moment, and just lean across the breakfast bar and kiss him…
Never before in her life had she felt so drawn to someone, or so quickly. It didn’t make sense – she barely knew him, really, but already she felt she could trust him. Warmth flooded through her whenever she looked at him, and she was sure it wasn’t just because he was a good-looking guy. She’d been around plenty of good-looking men, and none of them had ever made her feel like this.
She felt almost as if they had a connection. Something deeper.
Something that –
“Can I get you another coffee? That one looks like it’s getting cold.”
Heath’s tone was light and teasing, and Daphne couldn’t help but laugh a little. She’d been staring at him, holding her coffee just below her lips without drinking it. She supposed it must have looked ridiculous.
“No, thank you,” she said quickly. “I think after yesterday I’d better stay away from hot things. Well, hot coffee, anyway.”
Maybe he caught her flirty implication, because he glanced at her quickly, eyebrow raised.
“Let me clear away your plate, anyway,” he said. “Maybe later I can get someone from the agency to bring us some groceries. I don’t think you should be heading out just now.”
“Really?” Daphne was surprised. “It’s too dangerous even to go to the store?”
Heath hesitated. “Maybe not. But I don’t want to risk it. Not after this morning.”
“Because of the eagle?” Daphne realized she sounded incredulous, but was Heath really that easily spooked? It didn’t seem to make sense.
Again, Heath paused before answering. “Partly.”
Daphne sighed, standing. “I think you’re being paranoid. It was nothing – just a bird.”
“Maybe, but I am your bodyguard. You need to listen to me.”
Daphne resisted the urge to sigh again. Now they were just getting into waters she’d never wanted to tread again: having her movements and actions restricted by security, being told where she could and couldn’t go.
“All right,” she said reluctantly. She picked up her plate, heading around the counter to put it in the sink. “But I think it’s ridiculous.”
“It might seem that way, but I assure you –” Heath reached out to take her plate from her hand, and as he did so, their fingers brushed.
Daphne gasped as she felt a bolt of pure electricity rush through her, settling in her lower belly. Heath had cut himself off mid-sentence and was staring at her, eyes wide.
“I – um, I mean, it might… as I was saying, it might seem that way, but…”
Daphne was barely listening to Heath’s stumbling words. She could feel her heart pounding, her knees trembling.
What on earth?
Heath was still having trouble getting his words out.
“But… you just have to trust me on this, Daphne. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t… if I didn’t mean it. You do trust me, right?”
“Of course I do.” The words slipped out without her having to think about it.
“With your life?” The waver had gone from Heath’s voice. He was serious.
“Yes.” Again, she didn’t hesitate. Something in her soul was telling her it was true.
She wasn’t sure which one of them moved first – only that suddenly his arms were wrapped around her, drawing her close to his chest.
Before she could think, Daphne felt Heath’s fingers beneath her chin, tilting her face up so he could kiss her. His mouth on hers was hot, his tongue sweeping between her lips and driving out thoughts of anything except the way he felt against her.
Daphne felt as if they had been molded just for each o
ther – she fit perfectly against him, her round, soft curves against the hard strength of his muscles. She opened her mouth wider around his exploring tongue, feeling dizzy with need.
Heath’s fingers stroked over the valley of her waist, making her shudder as they found bare skin beneath the hem of her shirt. Her own hands were on his hips, pulling him against her, wanting more of him. She could already feel the hardness of his erection pushing against her, hot and huge against her belly. Instinctively, she moved against him, pushing against it, drawing a low groan from his throat.
“Daphne…”
He broke the kiss to whisper her name, his voice husky. The sound sent a shiver of desire straight through her, settling between her legs. She could feel herself growing wet, heat gathering at her core.
She rolled her hips against him, watching, almost mesmerized, as his head fell back, the muscles in his neck cording against his skin. He swallowed heavily, Adam’s apple bobbing.
“That’s so… fuck…”
Daphne couldn’t keep from grinning. It was amazing to watch the effect she had on him; the way she could reduce this towering, muscled man to trembling incoherence with only a small movement of her hips.
He lowered his head to kiss her again, hot and urgent. Daphne melted against him, forgetting about teasing him. The only thing she wanted now was to feel his bare skin against hers, his hands touching her everywhere.
She lifted her arms as Heath pulled her shirt up over her head, his eyes dropping to her breasts. He inhaled quickly, licking his lips.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered as he traced over her collarbone with the tip of his finger, making her gasp. Daphne shuddered as his finger dipped lower, over the sensitive skin of her breasts. She arched her back, wanting more.
She tugged at the hem of his shirt, but he was too tall for her to lift it over his shoulders.
“Not fair,” was all she was able to articulate, before he laughed, yanking his shirt up over his head.
Daphne groaned as his gorgeous body was revealed – his pecs and abdominal muscles were sculpted to perfection. His shoulders and arms were heavily muscled, his waist tapering to the sharp V of his hipbones before they disappeared beneath his pants.
