Right toward him.
Chapter Thirteen
Erica’s lips met Trevor’s in a kiss so exquisite that it stole the breath from her on contact. She could feel him tremble with restraint with the simple touch of his lips to hers, and then his tongue. He kept his hands locked behind his back giving her an out. That very fact just made her not want it all the more.
Silencing her voice of common sense, Erica slid her arms around his neck and stepped closer. When she molded her curves to his solid frame, she could feel that he was ready for more than a simple kiss. Yet, he continued to allow her to take the lead. He whimpered in protest when she broke the kiss and laid her head on his shoulder. At last, he allowed his arms to loosely circle her.
“There’re so many reasons why we can’t do this.”
“I believe we decided to work through the complications, not give up on them,” Trevor reminded her in a gentle tone.
“And you think right now is a good time to work out complications?” Erica broke away and leveled an amused smile at him.
Trevor gave her a sheepish shrug. “Can you blame me if I just want to get on with my life? With you in it.”
Erica held up a hand and shook her head. “Let’s just back off a minute.” She paused to choose her words with care. “We might be close to an arrest.”
“You found him? When? Where? How did you have time?” The questions just tumbled out of his mouth. All of a sudden, he remembered. She was teamed up with a staff of world class investigators. Her part of the assignment had been to keep him safe on the front lines while the rest of the team ran down the leads she passed to them. He was impressed with their efficiency. He didn’t want to know if they’d pulled resources from other cases to finish his so quickly. He was just glad they had. Then he and Erica would be free to explore the passion between them.
“Let’s just give it a moment.” She shrugged. “When you don’t need me, we’ll see if you … need me.”
Trevor smiled. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d always need her. And love her. And boy was he looking forward to loving her. He had to admit that he was impressed she had never broken her cover. Wouldn’t she be surprised when she learned that he’d known who she was all this time? He couldn’t wait to tell her.
Later that night, Trevor watched Erica root around in her canvas bag once the house quieted and everyone’d retired to their rooms. After that morning’s excitement, Trevor half expected her to insist they go to a hotel again. She’d had all day to announce she was his bodyguard, but she hadn’t.
He took that to be a good sign. Along with the kiss they’d shared later, things were definitely going his way.
Trying not to gloat, he tried to figure out what she was doing with the tape at the window. In a lot of ways, she reminded him of Jordan. They had the same resourcefulness and resilience. But she sure was better looking. A twinge of jealousy stabbed Trevor’s heart. What if she and Jordan ended up hitting it off? After all, they were in sort of the same line of work. Whereas Trevor was just the wimpy singer who couldn’t even take care of himself. He didn’t have the slightest clue what she was up to at the window he realized when she stretched a tiny cord across the sill. Not only would Jordan know, but he’d be able to offer suggestions to make it better.
Trevor grunted and slunk down in the bed making the frame creak. She turned from her task to look at him.
“You say something?”
“No … I …” Trevor searched for something to say. “I … uh … thank you. It’s really cool of you to let us stay here. I know you’d prefer a hotel.”
“A hotel is easier to secure.” She stood back to examine her handy work. “But your mom … I don’t want her to feel left out. And now that I know everyone in the house, I can rest a little easier.” She kicked off her shoes and climbed in on the opposite half of the bed. “Besides, Jordan’ll have my back if need be. Despite what a Neanderthal he is, I can tell he loves you.”
Trevor fought the scowl that leapt to his face. Jordan. She was totally into him. Trevor tucked his feet in the bed and lay on his side to face her. But Jordan didn’t have one thing he did. Propinquity. And he was going to use it.
“You notice how we always seem to end up in the same bed.” He chuckled. “Or cave floor.”
She yawned. “It does happen a little too often, doesn’t it? I’m just glad you’re a gentleman.” She tossed him a look over her shoulder. “Most of the time.”
Trevor mumbled, “Most of the time.” He snuggled closer and threw an arm over her.
“Trevor? What are you doing?”
Trevor didn’t answer. He feigned sleep even while his hand covered her braless breast. He loved how it fit just perfectly in his large palm with just a bit of overflow.
“Fine,” he heard her mutter and figured that she was going to stay put. His eyes flew open when cold metal snapped around the wrist attached to the offending hand. In the same instant, his arm was pulled up over his head, and he heard another snap. He looked up and saw that she’d handcuffed his arm to the white headboard bars. Scandalized, he looked at her. She gazed back impassively.
“It’s been three days since I’ve had a decent night’s rest. Since you seem determined to make it four, I see I’m going to have to nip this in the bud.”
Trevor twisted trying to get untangled from the awkward position in which he now found himself. Seeing he was just making things worse, he stopped. “Okay, okay. I give. I’ll behave. I promise.”
Erica slid out of bed and smiled down at him. She pulled the covers all the way to the foot of the bed exposing him from head to toe. “I know you will.” She turned to dig in her bag again. Trevor enjoyed the view of her perfect behind when she bent over. “I think I’m going to grab another bite of pie before I turn in. In the meantime, try to relax. When I get back, we’ll both sleep.”
“Wait a minute! What makes you think I won’t scream bloody murder the moment you’re gone?”
“You can if you want. I’ll just explain to your mother when she runs in to check on her precious baby boy—‘cause I know my little booby trap won’t do all that much to deter a determined mother—how we were playing a kinky sex game and you couldn’t wait for me to get back with the whipped cream.” Erica gave him a sweet smile. “Sound good?”
“She’d never believe that.”
Erica’s eyes swept over his sprawled form. Her eyes lingered on the bulge just below the waistband of his pajamas. “Really?” She met his eyes and smiled.
Trevor was floored to learn of this little devious streak of Erica’s. And more than a little turned on. Determined not to give her the satisfaction of hiding what she did to him, Trevor twisted his hips so they were flat on the bed with the bulge proudly at attention. He studied her reaction and was thrilled to see that she wasn’t as unaffected as she was trying to pretend.
“So what happens when someone walks in? We’re a pretty open family, you know.”
She drug her gaze back to meet his and tossed a nine volt battery in the air and caught it. “I’m planning to lock the door.” With that statement, she fled the room. Lock the door? It didn’t have a lock. And what booby trap? He heard some rustling on the other side of the door for a bit then all was quiet.
Trevor peered around his arm that was locked across his body to his saluting manhood and sighed. “So how ‘bout those Yankees?”
Erica slipped into the darkened kitchen and noticed a bulky silhouette by the window. Not eager of a repeat performance of their earlier tussle, she announced, “It’s just me.”
“I know,” was Jordan’s quiet reply. He turned around to face her. She heard the amusement in his voice when he said, “So what happened to your shadow?”
Erica was glad the darkness would cover her grimace. “He’s otherwise … engaged.”
Jordan’s soft chuckle had her relaxing a little. Not completely, though. While she knew he would protect Trevor with everything in him, she wasn’t sure if he saw her as a t
hreat or not. That’s why his next comment floored her.
“You’ll have to forgive him. He gets a little carried away with himself. But he does adore you.”
Erica snorted to cover the fact that this conversation had already thrown her for loop. Trevor adored her? Yeah right. She opened the freezer and pulled out a tub of ice cream. After her latest incident with Trevor she decided to opt for cold and sweet instead of just sweet. The dim light was just enough for her to notice Jordan’s grimace. She shut the door.
“If your definition of “adore” includes loving a boil on his backside, then perhaps you’re right.”
“You know it doesn’t.”
“Then I guess you’re wrong.”
“You know I’m not.”
His casual observation had hope zinging through Erica. Then she thought of how she’d left Trevor upstairs. Never mind. Jordan handed her a spoon from a drawer near him and she took up the post nearby. She caught a whiff of apple pie which explained what he was doing down there.
“Sorry about the welcome I gave you earlier.”
“Whatever. You hit like a girl.” Erica heard the amusement in his voice so she didn’t take offense.
“So do you.” She dissected their earlier fight in her mind and how he’d seemed to be more powerful on his right side. That along with his sensitivity to light led her to ask, “Medical leave?” She took a bite of ice cream.
They stood in silence for a long time. She figured he wasn’t going to answer her question. “Trevor’s not going to be able to get anything by you, is he?” His question answered hers although it threw her back into the uncomfortable territory of talking about Trevor on a personal level. Especially since she knew he was talking about them on a more permanent basis.
“It won’t be long before he won’t have to worry about it.” Erica shoveled in more ice cream.
“You’re eating straight from the tub?”
“I’m going to finish it so why bother with a bowl?”
Jordan tested the weight of the ice cream in the tub and chuckled. “You are so family now.”
Warmth rushed over her at his words. She tamped them down. He was just teasing. He pushed away from the sink and went to sit on a stool and looked at her. It seemed the position was painful for him because she was backlit by the security light outside. She also suspected that he wanted to look at her. His next question confirmed her suspicions.
“So how much trouble is my little brother in?”
Erica stayed in the light so he could see her body language while she relayed the truth of everything that had happened to Trevor. While she gave him the run down, he’d grunt every once in a while. Not long after she’d begun filling him in, he moved so he wouldn’t have to look in the light anymore. That one little gesture of trust meant the world to her, especially after her mistake that had allowed Jordan to get to Trevor in his bedroom.
“And you’re close to nailing the guy?”
“Anytime now.”
Jordan nodded and continued to process what she’d told him. “Thank you,” he said at last.
Erica almost choked on her ice cream. “Please don’t. I’ve made so many mistakes … just…” She shrugged.
Jordan squeezed her shoulder. How was the man that quiet when he moved? “You’ve kept my brother alive. I know Trevor. He’s not easy. Perhaps being in love with you kept him in check a bit, but still, thank you.”
“He’s not in love with me,” Erica protested.
“If you say so.” She heard Jordan’s smile in his words. “If you ever get tired of the small agency, you should have Trevor hook you up with the Trecam Group.”
Erica froze at the mention of her employer. “Why would I do that? What does Trevor have to do with … ?”
“Trevor funds them. He’d probably kill me for telling you this. He has this weird hang up about having Trecam associated with him.”
Erica could just make out Jordan’s words over the roaring in her ears that began with ‘Trevor funds them.’ That couldn’t be right. No way he … that would make him her boss for real. The boss that at that moment, she had handcuffed to a bed.
“He and Cam are silent partners. Cam’s sister, Caitlyn, runs the joint.”
“Really?” Erica couldn’t believe that squeaky sound was her voice.
“Between Trevor and Cam, you’d have no problem getting in.” With that last pronouncement Jordan left the kitchen. She was sure he didn’t realize that he’d just destroyed her world.
Erica spooned ice cream in her mouth on autopilot. It had lost all flavor a while ago. Trevor funded Trecam. He funded her life. Things fell into place. Like the huge chunk of Trevor’s money she hadn’t had time to track down to its ultimate destination. It had to have been going to Trecam. It paid her salary. It paid for their offices. It paid for that state of the art pool Caitlyn had commissioned once she came aboard. Crap. Did Trevor know?
She replayed their entire acquaintance in her mind and it settled on the safe house they’d used. The safe house that belonged to Trecam. She’d seen him in action long enough to know that there was nothing that went on in his finances that he didn’t know about. He’d notice a house purchase. Her eternally optimistic side reasoned that maybe he hadn’t recognized the address. That side was silenced when she recalled his strange behavior the next day. There was no doubt in Erica’s mind. He knew she worked for Trecam.
The spoon scraped the bottom of the ice cream tub jarring Erica out of her troubled musings. She tossed the container and washed the spoon trying to delay her return to the bedroom for as long as possible. What in the world must he think of her? Did he assume she was this unprofessional with all of their clients like she’d been with him? Memory of the kiss they’d shared the previous night sprang to mind. She grimaced when she remembered how she’d hooked her leg around his hips drawing him closer, and then rejected him. And what about her constant antagonizing? And the way she’d bossed him around. She was so screwed.
Erica turned around to head for the door. Her steps slow like she was marching toward a firing squad. Whose wouldn’t be? She’d handcuffed her boss to a bed. She’d threatened to tell his mother that they were having kinky sex. She’d blatantly admired his erection. She’d fallen in love with him. She pressed a hand to her reddening face. There was no good way out of this.
All too soon, she reached the doorway. She squatted to unhook the battery she’d wired to the doorknob. The jolt was less of a deterrent than an early warning system. Few people would be able to cover their noise of surprise when they touched the knob. Knowing she was delaying the inevitable, Erica opened the door and slipped inside the room.
Trevor was just like she’d left him. More or less. Sometime while she’d been gone, he’d untangled himself enough to drift off into a contented sleep. She was also glad to see his friend had relaxed, too. She stood and admired his inert form. With a gentle hand, Erica pulled the covers up over him and tucked him in. She pulled out the key to the handcuffs, but paused just before she released him. Another dilemma struck her. There was nowhere else for her to sleep. And tonight, she had to get some rest. They were driving back to meet the crew tomorrow. She could slip into another bedroom, but she’d learned the hard way about leaving him alone.
Figuring she was already in trouble anyway, Erica tucked the key back in her pocket. She climbed in the bed beside Trevor and tried to relax even while clinging to the edge of the bed.
Chapter Fourteen
Erica was comfortable. Really comfortable. The most comfortable she’d been in quite some time. She was even rested. Rested and comfortable. A great combination. She opened one eye to see the sun streaming through the vertical blinds at the window and smiled. One should wake up to sunshine every day. No sooner had the notion surfaced, it went away. Something was wrong. She shouldn’t be able to see the window. Not if she was still clinging to the edge of her side of the bed.
She opened both eyes and glanced around. Her worst fears were realized
. Sometime during the night, Erica had draped herself all over Trevor like a cheap blanket. She looked up and saw his hand still cuffed to the headboard so she couldn’t blame him. He was smiling down at her.
“G’morning.”
Erica tried to push up, but she soon found that his free arm had circled around to hold her close. The hand of that arm had found its way inside the waistband of her sweatpants and panties and was resting very possessively on her bare hip. A hundred things popped into mind that she should say. Apologies. Explanations.
So she said, “This is behaving?”
Trevor smiled and angled his hand a tiny bit. His fingers brushed her most intimate curls. “All things considered, I think I’m showing quite a bit of restraint.”
Erica grabbed his hand to stop any further exploration he may have in mind. “Your hand is inside my panties. How is that restraint?”
“Have you checked the location of all your limbs? Specifically your knee?”
Knowing she wouldn’t like what she was about to find, Erica looked down. Somehow, she’d managed to free just enough of him from his pajama bottoms to give him an extremely intimate hug with the crook of her knee. Erica lost no time in straightening her leg to release him. She wanted to look a little longer, but her wits returned—along with the unwelcome memory that he was her boss. There was no doubt that this was inappropriate behavior.
“I’m so sorry.” Erica sprang from the bed even though he tried to keep his grip on her.
“I’m not. It just proves my point.” Trevor struggled to skooch up so he was sitting. Erica fished in her pockets for the key to the handcuffs. Not finding it, she knew a moment of panic. She tossed the covers back on the bed to continue the search. Trevor just watched, a puzzled frown on his face.
“It proves nothing.”
At last, she located it under his thigh. With a triumphant pump of her fist, she unlocked the cuffs. Trevor raised an eyebrow.
Secret Bodyguard Page 16
