A Perfect Fit
By
Tory Richards
Copyright © 2013 Tory Richards
All Rights Reserved.
Published by Tory Richards
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Tory Richards: http://www.toryrichards.com
Email: [email protected]
Cover Art by Ramona Lockwood coversbyramona.blogspot.com
Edited by Alisha Corsi
A Perfect Fit Blurb –
Marissa Lambert is furious with her agent for hiring a security agency to protect her. The last thing she needs is some Texas cowboy following her around, and telling her what to do. Just because two plus-sized models have turned up dead in a month doesn’t mean she’s at risk. And besides, she can take care of herself.
Beau Evans owns and operates Evans Security, and he’s the unlucky one who gets to babysit the beautiful Marissa. The moment he watches her strut her stuff down the runway, in a revealing corset that hugs her generous assets, he gets an itch that doesn’t go away. Their first encounter ends with an angry exchange and a battle of strong wills, but once they succumb to the lust in their blood there’s no turning back.
Chapter 1
Beau Evans tried to get comfortable in the ridiculously small chair. He grumbled beneath his breath, unable to stretch out his long legs because of the row of chairs in front of him. He finally gave up and vacated the chair, choosing to lean against the wall instead. The show would be over soon, anyway. He’d purposely arrived late. The last place he ever thought he’d end up was at a fashion show where plus-sized beauties strutted their stuff before an audience. What made it more interesting, they were showcasing sexy under garments.
He released a heavy sigh, crossed his arms, and vaguely listened to the announcer at the podium. He glanced about the room, looking for something, or rather, someone. Only he wasn’t sure who.
Is the killer in the room with us now? Scoping out his next victim?
This was a target rich environment, considering he or she was singling out voluptuous models. His uninterested gaze eventually came back to the runway. At the same time, the curtain parted, and a model emerged, to the delight of the crowd, if their enthusiastic clapping was any indication. Beau narrowed his gaze to take a closer look at the model causing so much fuss. It only took him a second to recognize that she was the very woman he was there about. Her agent had hired him earlier that morning, to protect her.
She’s a plus-sized model?
Beau’s interest peaked. There was no doubt Marissa Lambert had a full figure. Only it wasn’t what he would ever consider fat, voluptuous or anything else he could think of at the moment. His idea of plus size was his aunt Grace. Everything about her was round, soft, and slightly hanging in places it shouldn’t be.
There was nothing lumpy, bumpy or close to resembling cottage cheese about Miss Lambert. He figured she was about the same size as his sister, a size fourteen-maybe sixteen tops. Hadn’t Marilyn Monroe been a size fourteen? And there’d been nothing wrong with her. Beau’s gaze remained riveted on the lovely model as she strutted with haughty assurance and amazing grace down the narrow runway.
She was wearing something a woman might slip into for a nightcap after a date, something more comfortable and inspiring. The black silk chiffon shirt with long sleeves was obviously meant not to conceal, but to highlight the alabaster curves beneath. The elegant garment fell to her smooth thighs, and was unbuttoned so that if flowed out behind her as she moved. Beneath it, a strapless jacquard corset of black and red shaped her full breasts, curvy hips, and outlined the curvature of her waist.
Damn! The lady definitely had the kind of curves he liked. And it didn’t take long before he felt a definite stirring below the belt. This was one woman he wouldn’t have to be afraid of crushing in bed. The thought caused a little quirk on his lips. She was turning him on. He shook his head to clear it of the sensual fog threatening to overrun his senses.
When she reached the end of the runway, she paused. The room was suddenly alight by the flash of cameras as they went off in rapid succession. The model, aiming to please her audience, turned one way, paused for a few seconds, and then pivoted Beau’s way. Her gaze moved with slow disinterest over the crowd, stopping when it came to him. He straightened.
Their gazes locked. Was it his imagination or did the look in her eyes suddenly turn soft and lazy, and her mouth lusciously pouty? Then she gave a tilt of her head while keeping her gaze on him. Slowly, seductively, the sultry plus-sized beauty reached for the clip in her hair. She gave a shake of her head when she released it, and Beau watched an abundance of thick sable hair fall to her shoulders, and below. Once it settled into a soft cloud around her face, he met her eyes again. Her full lips had turned up into a sexy smile, while the come-and-get-me-gleam in her eyes teased his libido into full awareness.
Son of a bitch! She was seducing him right there on the runway. He had a feeling the lady knew exactly how her little show was affecting him. Was this how she got her kicks? Before she turned and walked away she pursed her lips at him, following it up with a wink that promised a hell of a lot more then he bet she meant. The audience ate it up and more flashbulbs went off.
Beau’s gaze followed her sexy gait as she strode away from him. His gaze zeroed in on the rounded fullness of her spankable backside and the backs of her creamy thighs. Marissa Lambert, in one word, was hot! Just before she disappeared through the part in the curtain, she cast a glance back in his direction and had the nerve to run the tip of her tongue over her top lip.
Beau sucked in his breath. The woman was dangerous. She didn’t know him from Adam. Didn’t it occur to her that she could be baiting the killer? He reached down without trying to be obvious and re-arranged his cock, which had swelled into full fucking-mode. With the show over, he left the room. He had a job to do.
First on his list was sweet retribution.
****
“I don’t want a bodyguard, Kirk! I’m not…” Marissa caught herself before saying something she couldn’t take back. She tried to calm down when she realized she was yelling. “You’re blowing this thing way out of proportion.”
“Am I?” he asked with the never-ending calm and self-confidence that she was beginning to find annoying.
Nevertheless, he was her agent, and good at what he did. Because of that, she could put up with his irritating traits.
“You think it’s just a coincidence that two-plus size models are dead?”
“Well”
He didn’t let her finish. “You think it’s just a coincidence that they both fell to their deaths?”
“Well”
“And that they”
“Will you let me get a word in?” Marissa snapped, frustrated. She was exhausted, hungry and she wanted a shower. “There have been bigger coincidences, Kirk. The police haven’t even linked the two, ah, deaths.” She knew if she said killings he would pounce on it. To him that would be as good as saying that she agreed with him. “I watch the news too, you know. And I don’t need some bodyguard around screwing up the first weekend I’ve had off in two months.”
“Beau Evans isn’t just any bodyguard, Marissa. He owns”
“Beau? Great! He even has a good old Texas boy’s name. And is he a cowboy, too? I can just see him now. Some big, lumbering
galoot in dusty boots, cowboy hat, and a cheek full of tobacco. I’ll bet his tone is brimming over with a soft twang, too. Yes ma’am. No ma’am.” She took in a breath.
“Not everyone in Texas is a cowboy.”
Is that all he could say? Marissa could hear the exasperation in Kirk’s tone. It made her smile. “If you think I need a bodyguard, why don’t you come down and do the job? What am I paying you for, anyway?” That would get his goat. She could just see his eyebrows lifting with her suggestion.
“You don’t pay me to protect you; you pay me to book your events. And you know I’m afraid of my own shadow.” There was humor in his tone.
In spite of the situation, Marissa chuckled. There wasn’t a violent bone or thought in Kirk’s round little body. He actually reminded her of one of the little munchkins from The Wizard of Oz. “Well, I would think you’d want to protect your interest.”
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “I am. Why do you think I hired Beau Evans? He isn’t cheap, believe me.”
“Well, if you hired him with my money, you can fire him. I don’t need or want a bodyguard. I’ve got a nice quiet weekend planned. Even if there is a serial killer out there who’s targeting chunky models, how hurt do you think I’ll get if I fall from one story?”
“That’s not funny, Marissa.”
“I’m sorry.” Kirk was right, it wasn’t funny. There was nothing humorous about the unexplained deaths of two up and coming models in one month.
Marissa wasn’t usually so argumentative or insensitive, but she’d been up for twenty hours straight and she was running on empty. She’d just finished a grueling photo shoot, her last walk down the runway. And she’d been in the process of undressing when the phone rang.
“Look, I’m a big girl,” Marissa heard him snicker on the other end. “Don’t get cute. You know what I mean. You call Mr. Evans and fire him or I will. I can take care of myself.”
“Is that so?”
Before Marissa could take another breath, she was grabbed from behind. A large hand covered her mouth. Her eyes rounded and she dropped the phone to claw it away. Then a solid arm slid around her waist and hauled her back against a hard body.
“Think again, darlin.” A warm breath in the sexiest Texas drawl she’d ever heard said into her ear.
Once her initial surprise had subsided, Marissa began to struggle. An elbow in his ribs didn’t faze him. She dug in her heels and pushed her body back into his, but she might as well have been up against a wall. At five foot eight and a hundred and fifty-four pounds Marissa was no lightweight, but this man made her feel helpless and dainty.
Whoever he was, he was as big and strong as an ox. He easily forced her in the direction of the window, controlling her with the movements of his body. For a moment they were doing a bump and grind as he forced her across the room. Then Kirk’s words about how the two models fell to their deaths came back to her.
He’s going to throw me out the window!
Panic set in and she began to struggle wildly. Whatever he intended for her she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Since his hand was over her mouth, and his other arm around her waist, that left her hands free. She reached over her head behind her, hoping to gouge his eyes and claw his face, to hurt him any way she could.
Damn, he was too tall! And hearing his light chuckle wasn’t what she expected. As he continued to push her toward the window, Marissa bit down as hard as she could over the hand smashing her lips. He grunted, but didn’t release her. And the next thing she knew they’d reached the window and she was looking down at the dark alley below.
“You’d probably survive the fall,” the deep, slightly out of breath voice said into her ear, “but why take the chance?”
Marissa strained against him with all her strength. She dug in her heels and leaned into him, hoping to throw him off balance, but he was solid as a mountain.
“I could always strangle you first.”
Without warning, she’s spun around and pushed up against the wall. She barely saw the glitter of his eyes before two strong hands encircled her throat. Before he could exert any pressure, she brought her leg up to knee him in the groin. A soft laugh met her effort. And a hand came down on her naked thigh to stop her knee from meeting her mark.
“Oh, no you don’t, darlin!” He moved in and leaned against her. The hand on her thigh was warm, almost caressing, as it moved along her skin. “I plan to use this later.”
This, meaning his cock. He had an erection the size of a Kielbasa sausage. She stiffened and sucked in her breath. Her heart was hammering in her chest. His voice sounded low, husky. Did he rape the other women first? She couldn’t recall. As a different kind of threat entered her mind, Marissa turned wild against her assailant. She began to attack him with her hands, but it was over before it began. With one smooth move, he grabbed both her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. His body held the rest of hers immovable.
She whimpered helplessly. Struggling for breath behind his crushing hand, her eyes round with terror. If she could just make a little noise, something to alert anyone outside her door, she might have a chance. But she couldn’t budge him.
“You have a lot to learn about protecting yourself, Miss Lambert.”
What? His voice had turned serious. Marissa became still when he used her name. She stared up at the shadowy outline of his features, only able to make out the glitter of his eyes. He was close enough that she could smell his aftershave, something appealingly light, and teasing. The hands circling her wrists had relaxed somewhat, but his grip was still firm enough to keep her where he wanted her.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Beau Evans, at your service, ma’am.”
Beau Evans! Oh, lord. All the energy and fear drained out of Marissa when it dawned on her that she was going to be okay. Then anger surfaced because he’d frightened her unnecessarily.
“Get off me!” She made the mistake of trying to dislodge him by arching her lower body against him.
He thrust right back, indifferent to his hard-on.
She gasped.
He grunted.
Marissa found herself released at once. When he stepped back, she moved away from him and went back to the phone. As she reached for it, she could hear a frantic Kirk on the other end.
“Marissa! Is everything all right? Marissa! Marissa!” he screamed into the receiver.
Marissa brought the phone to her ear, not surprised to see she was trembling from what just happened. Beau Evans had a lot of explaining to do before she fired him, but not before she calmed Kirk down.
“I’m here”
“What happened? I thought I heard a scuffle going on. Do I need to call the police?”
“I’m okay. I just fired your bodyguard. He didn’t take it too well.”
“What? You can’t fire him. He works for me.”
Now it was Marissa’s turn. “What?” Apparently, he was serious about her well being, if he was willing to use his own money. “Kirk, I can take care of”
“What? I can’t hear you. I’m going through a tunnel. I’m glad you’re okay. Talk to you again soon. Enjoy your weekend. Bye, love.” He hung up. Marissa pulled the phone from her ear, ready to explode. A tunnel, in Gainesville, Florida?
There was an unexpected knock at the door. “Miss Lambert, is everything okay?”
A light came on and Marissa turned to face Beau Evans. He’d moved to the door where the light switch was located. She was ready to blast the man for the scare he’d given her, and then fire him. But all that changed the moment she saw who she was dealing with. He was the incredibly handsome stud who’d been watching her in the audience. The one with the intense, I want to fuck you right now stare.
He’s my bodyguard?
Marissa tried to swallow. She wasn’t usually nervous by nature, but this Texas cowboy was nothing like what she had envisioned. And the way he was looking her over now caused a flood of desire through her body. He
had nerve. He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he found her attractive. His sexy, crooked smile didn’t undermine the look of determination on his face, though. He meant business.
And Marissa knew then that Beau Evans was going to be trouble.
Chapter 2
“Miss Lambert?” Another knock sounded. There was obvious concern and panic in the speaker’s tone.
Beau kept his burning gaze on her, and reached blindly for the doorknob. He opened it a tad. “Miss Lambert is okay.” He closed the door without looking at the person on the other side.
Handsome stud or not, Marissa decided to get right to the point. “Nothing against you, but you’re fired.” She tried to ignore the tiny scar at the corner of his sensual mouth.
“I don’t work for you. You can’t fire me.” He cocked a brow. “Even if you can take care of yourself.” His sexy drawl clearly said he didn’t think so.
A Perfect Fit Page 1
