by Abby Wood
“You two missed the best dinner ever.” She grinned.
“Yeah, well, we had the best sex ever, so beat that, girlfriend.” Doreen shimmied.
Katina laughed, glancing at Trent, and shared a smile with him. They had too, but she wasn’t going to blab it to everyone at the yacht club.
“Hey, Trent?” Doreen shaded her eyes against the bright sunset. “Tim’s in the car talking on the phone. He wanted me to tell you to hurry. It has to do with the flight that’s coming in tonight. Sorry, but he didn’t tell me anything more. He seemed to think you’d know what he meant.”
“Thanks.” He rubbed Katina’s back and lowered his voice. “I got to check in, baby. Go grab your bag, and I’ll lock down the yacht.”
Katina hesitated. “Is everything all right?”
“I’ll find out when I talk to Tim.” He held up his hand at Doreen. “Hang right there. We’ll walk you back to the parking lot.”
Katina hurried belowdecks, grabbed her bag, and looked longingly at the bed. Excitement let her leave and climb back dockside. There would be more days like this one. She was sure of it.
Trent waited for her and then locked the door. He helped her exit the yacht and grabbed her hand on the dock. Wanting to share her high spirits, she grabbed Doreen with the other hand and swung their arms as they all walked three abreast toward land.
Trent shook his head, Doreen joined right in and skipped with her, and the few other boat owners who were out attending to their yachts smiled as they passed by. Katina bumped her hip against Trent.
“Don’t be old,” she said.
“Cute.” He grunted, and yet his face relaxed in amusement.
After climbing the fifty or so steps up to the parking lot, Doreen pointed to the limousine where Tim stood, and Trent lengthened his stride. Katina picked up the pace to match Trent’s faster steps.
He’d gone into serious, badass mode, and the hold on her hand tightened when he’d spotted Tim. She glanced at Doreen, who shrugged and screwed up her mouth, obviously clueless but curious about what was happening.
“What’s up?” Trent stopped in front of Tim.
“Senator Canham refused coverage and requested that you head the Durango team. Apparently Cummings denied him an earlier clearance into the senator’s convention. Barbara forwarded the package to the airport for you to pick up. Security has already been briefed about the change.” Tim glanced at Katina before half turning and speaking to Trent alone.
She looked at Doreen and frowned. Whatever was going on seemed serious. She didn’t know enough of the lingo to understand what Tim was insinuating, and for the first time she realized Bauer Enterprise was Trent’s sole responsibility as founder and owner.
“All right.” Trent’s mouth tightened. “Let’s get the ladies home. Give Barbara a call back, and have her rush my bag. I’ll pick it up at check-in.”
“Got it, boss.” Tim walked off.
The somber mood played over everyone, settling them down. She moved next to Trent. “Everything okay?”
He shook his head. “We’re going to have to alter our plans. I’m going out on a mission.”
“How long will you be gone?” she asked.
“Not sure yet. I’ll be able to contact Tim once I get briefed, and I’ll have him get ahold of you.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. “Sorry. This can’t be helped.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
It was easier to imagine what Trent did for a living when he went to his office downtown. Knowing he was going to protect someone, an important someone, meant his life was on the line, and he’d do anything to protect that person. The thought scared her.
She knew him well enough to know when he did a job, he did it 110 percent. He was also highly attuned to danger and possible situations, imagined and real. She couldn’t ask him to stay, so she did the only thing she could think of.
“Do you mind if I stay at your house while you’re gone?” She bit down on her lower lip. Until she actually said it, she had no idea how much she wanted him to say yes. At his house, she’d at least know she’d see him the moment he got back.
He tilted his head. “If that’s what you want.”
She nodded. “It’ll just be at night, because I’ll be working.”
“That’s okay.” He pulled her to him. “Make sure you set the alarm.”
She hid her face in his chest. The last thing he needed was to worry about her. She’d keep her concerns over how dangerous his job was to herself and talk to him once his assignment was over.
“Everything is settled. You’re due at the airport in two hours.” Tim returned his cell to his pocket.
Trent rubbed her arms briskly. “Let’s get you home. After Tim drops me off, he can swing back and pick you up at the apartment. Wait for him to ring you before coming down, okay?”
“Yeah.” She walked with him to the car and climbed in after Doreen and before Trent.
Tim and Doreen kept the conversation going on the ride. Katina sat next to Trent and held his hand. He was distracted, and it unsettled her. He’d always focused on her, and she could feel him slipping away.
“Trent?” she said. “It’s not dangerous, right?”
He turned and looked at her. “Nah. It’s a job. I’ll finish and come home the moment I’m done.” He squeezed her fingers. “Plan something special for when I get back. I’ll be home before you can miss me.”
She leaned against his shoulder. “I already miss you,” she whispered.
He was only doing a job. She knew that. Her heart didn’t. She wanted him back with her, so she knew he was safe.
Chapter Thirteen
The door clicked, locking them in the file room on the fifteenth floor of the Steward building, which housed the headquarters of Bauer Enterprise. Trent stalked Katina. Too long out on assignment, guarding Senator Canham, and away from Katina made him determined.
Katina shook her head, waving her hands to hold him back. “Trent. You can’t be serious.” She squealed. “You have employees right outside this door.”
“Been away a long time.” He continued moving toward her, undoing his belt.
“Four days.” She bit her lower lip and moaned. “What if they walk in?”
“Don’t care.” He pulled his jeans down to his hips and released his hard cock. “Take the edge off, baby, so I’ll last until we get home. I need you.”
Her eyelids fluttered. His balls grew tighter. He could almost smell her arousal. She’d run to him the moment Tim brought her up in the elevator, and melted against his side. Through the introduction to his team, he’d felt her tremble.
“Promise?” She dropped to her knees in front of him.
With eyes so trusting, she looked to him not to let her down. He caressed her cheek, a primal need coming over him as she leaned into his touch.
“Gave you my word.” He stepped closer, grasping his hardness in his hand and putting his cock in front of her face. “Show me how much you missed me.”
She was so close. Fucking close. Unbelievably close, and he was about to come.
Her hand, smooth and soft, wrapped around the root of his dick. His hips surged forward. She wet her lips, staring up into his eyes. His chest expanded. She was his woman in every way.
Her pink tongue came out and met the tip of his cock. Precum dotted the end, and his knees weakened as she licked every drop. He held himself back from thrusting into her mouth, letting her set the pace.
Obviously in the mood to savor, she slid her fingers along his length, circling her tongue around the tip. Right that moment, he couldn’t think of anything better.
He felt wonderful. Close to perfect. “Suck me.”
She opened her mouth, and then her wet warmth embraced him. He threaded his fingers through her hair, guiding her head. He arched his back, and pitched his hips forward. A shiver crawled down his spine and between his legs.
He pulled her hair. Enough pressure to bring her to her feet. Backing her up
to a filing cabinet, he braced her against the metal. “Tell me you don’t have any panties on.”
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Blue.”
“Fuck me. Even better,” he muttered. “Bra?”
“White.”
“Killing me.” He stepped back, widening his stance to keep his jeans on his hips. “Take your panties off.”
She slipped her hands under her skirt and wiggled her panties down her legs. Instead of dropping them, she tucked the blue material into the pocket of his blue dress shirt. He picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and sank down on his cock. Shocked with so many sensations, he stared into her eyes, gasping for breath.
He had a hard time thinking with her legs wrapped around him, her pussy squeezing him, and her nails digging into his shoulders. But one thing was clear. “I missed you.”
She tightened her hold on him and put her mouth at the base of his ear. “Show me, honey.”
He wouldn’t disappoint her. Leaning her against the filing cabinet, his hands braced behind her, protecting her tender skin, he showed her how much he missed her. He showed her how many times he’d thought of her. He also showed her how she’d reduced him to a desperate man in need of his woman.
She moaned on each thrust. He grunted on each stroke. Unable to stop the wild way he took her standing up, he captured her mouth. Fuck, he loved this. Loved every fucking minute.
“Let it go, baby,” he ordered, his voice thick and deep. “That’s it.”
She moved with him, grinding herself down on him, lifting her hips, and taking the force of his need. She came hard and fast, squeezing the life out of him.
He held her hips, driving deep, and not stopping as he climaxed.
His legs gave out first, and he held her against his chest as he propped himself against the cabinet. He stroked the rounded slopes of her ass, her lower back, her hips, up her sides, and finally lifted her off him.
When she stumbled, he held on. “Okay?”
“You’ve made me a slut.” She backhanded his chest and laughed.
He chuckled, ending his amusement on a satisfied exhale. “Yeah, but you’re my slut.”
She straightened her skirt. “I need…” She searched the area, found a box of Kleenex, and hurried over. “Don’t move.”
He tucked in his shirt. “Not going anywhere.”
She deposited the used tissue in the trashcan, threw a few clean sheets on top, and stared down into the garbage. He frowned. “Kat?”
She pulled her gaze over to him. Her mouth softened, and her shoulders fell. “Do you realize how much I missed you? Missed this craziness that happens when we’re together?”
“Tell me,” he said.
“There were nights that all I could do is hug your pillow to my chest and watch the clock numbers change.” She gave him one of her tender smiles that made him feel ten feet tall. “Thank you for letting me stay at your house. It helped, a little.”
“Come here.”
She walked to him, slipped her arm around his back, and put her other hand on his stomach. Then her head met his chest. She sniffed. “I’m glad you’re back, and you’re safe.”
“Hey.” He pulled back, gazing down at her. “You were scared?”
“Honey, you carry a gun and were protecting a political figure with a lot of enemies in an election year. Anything could’ve happened.”
“But it won’t.” He kissed her and moved to open the door. He paused. “I only go on assignment a few times a year for those who request me personally. The rest of the time, I’m sitting in the office out there, letting my team do the dirty work.”
“But—”
“Katina. Nothing will happen.” He gave her a look to tell her the subject was closed.
She pursed her lips. He shook his head, amused by her concern, and pulled her out of the file room. Her cell rang. He motioned down the hall and left her there to answer her call.
All he’d known was the security business. He’d worked his way up from being an unarmed mall security guard out of college to owning the biggest corporate security team on the western coast. What he’d seen, lived through, and experienced marked his life, and the sooner Katina understood that, the easier it’d be on her.
Sawyer, his top security leader, sat in Trent’s office. At six feet five inches, two hundred and thirty pounds of muscle, Sawyer joined Bauer Enterprise last year after leaving the United States president’s brigade. Unfortunately his displacement was because he’d taken a gunshot to the shoulder.
“Sawyer.” He lifted his chin. “Brief the Anthony and Durango teams. I’ll be heading home in a few.”
Sawyer nodded. “Got it, boss.”
Trent lifted his pistol from the desk, slipped it into his side holster, and grabbed his jacket.
“Trent?” Katina called from the hallway.
“In here.” He turned.
Katina rounded the corner, came to a complete stop, and gaped at him. Sawyer laughed and quickly snuffed the sound. Trent glanced between the two, followed their gaze, and looked down the front of his shirt. Fuck.
He pulled out Katina’s panties hanging out of his pocket, wadded the material, and shoved his hand into his jeans’ front pocket, hiding the evidence. He fought a grin and shrugged apologetically at Katina.
Her cheeks flushed, and she backed out of the room and around the corner. He looked at Sawyer, raised his brows in a silent threat that what he saw should not leave the room, and then followed Katina down the hallway.
In the closed elevator, she smacked him on the arm. Hard. “I can’t believe you.”
“I forgot.” He chuckled.
“Now everyone who saw you walk through the office knows I’m not wearing any panties under my skirt, and they know what you did to me in the file room.” She rolled her eyes.
“Who cares?” He shrugged.
“I do.” She glared. “It’s embarrassing.”
He pulled her to him, his arm around her shoulders. “Baby, every single one of the guys back there is trained in keeping secrets. It’s a must with the level of security they perform.”
“You’re their boss,” she hissed.
He couldn’t hold it in any longer. He tilted back his head and laughed. God, she was hilarious.
“This isn’t funny.” She elbowed his ribs.
He nodded his head. “The fuck it isn’t. I’m their boss, but right now they all know what I have, whom I’m going home with, and what’s in store for me when I get home. Right now, they’re all wishing they were me, and I’m damn glad I am who I am.”
She stared at him, her mouth open, her eyes studying him. He slid his hand down her back and patted her ass. Knowing it was just her skirt keeping him from touching bare skin got him hard again.
She snorted, but her mouth softened, and her hand went to his stomach as she turned toward him. “Remember this. I took one for the team. You owe me.”
The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. He smiled as they walked through the parking garage. He had a million ways he could pay her back.
At his car, her phone rang. He pushed the remote, unlocking the car, and noticed she wasn’t answering her cell. “Don’t you want to get that?”
“No.” She slid into the seat.
He walked around the back of the vehicle and climbed behind the steering wheel. “Is there a problem?”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she muttered.
“Kat…”
She peered at him behind her hair. “Colby keeps calling.”
“How long has this been going on?” His gut tightened. He remembered at the restaurant her ex-boyfriend claiming to have left messages and her mentioning earlier calls too.
“Since the night you punched him.” She tossed her phone into her purse. “He’ll give up eventually.”
“Baby…” He lowered his voice. “I’ll deal with this.”
“I got it covered, Trent. You can’t control everything. This is old news. I’ll continue to ignor
e him, and he’ll go away.” She strapped her seat belt around her. “You’re off duty, honey. I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Don’t answer his calls.” He started the car and hesitated. “Continue to have Tim take you everywhere you need to go if I’m not around. I’m going to have a talk with your doorman at Swanson Skyrise too.”
“Let it go, honey.” She leaned over and kissed him. “I want to go home and make up for all the time we were apart this week, and I don’t want to talk about an ex-boyfriend.”
He nodded before pulling out of the parking spot. The situation was not finished. First thing in the morning, he’d talk to the door attendant at her apartment building and then convince Katina to move in permanently with him. He didn’t want another man around her, and it seemed like her ex-boyfriend had a hard time understanding his attention wasn’t wanted.
Chapter Fourteen
The purple accents in the Mitchells’ recreation room cooled the ambience, leaving a relaxed and homey feel perfect for the Mitchells’ two children. Katina stood back and studied the room. “Something’s missing.”
“We still have the canvas baskets that go in the bookcase.” Doreen tied the window sash back.
“Right.” Katina nodded. “Maybe that’s it.”
The six long weeks of reconstruction, redecorating, and pleasing Celine Mitchell was worth the amount of money she was paying Katina. Katina ran her hands down her thighs. With the deposit alone, she was able to add more promotions and advertisement to her business plan.
Doreen climbed off the step stool and glanced across the room at her. “You’re quiet today. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” Katina bent over the coffee table and brought up visual plans on her laptop.
Doreen moved the fern off the hearth to the end table. “Are you sure?”
Katina straightened. “No, not really. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Doreen walked to the couch and sat. “Spill, girlfriend. Let me solve all your life problems with a wave of my”—she wiggled her fingers in the air—”hand.”
“How do you handle Tim’s job?” Katina paced in front of the coffee table. “Not the driving part but when he gets called up to do security.”
