But then my mind goes blank because—guess what—he just fucking pinched my nipple.
*
Tanner
She starts undressing right in front of me, reminding me what I’ve known for some time. Jordan Kane’s youngest daughter is a full-fledged woman now, with all the right curves in all the right places. I’ve spent a lot of energy avoiding illicit thoughts about her smooth, inviting skin. My senses sharpen on long drives home accompanying her from distant coffee shops or college libraries. I become hyper aware of her scents, her breathing, the shapes her lips make.
What the fuck is she doing? She’s taking off her shirt. I can see the reflection of her surprisingly bountiful tits in the darkening window glass, instantly giving me a hard-on.
She leans over to take something out of the suitcase that’s splayed on a foldout chair inside the closet, presenting me with a round, firm ass under a tiny pair of white cotton panties.
That fucking girl. She’s fucking perfect with her firm tits and soft hips and she damn well knows it. She wants to drive me crazy so I lose focus. It won’t work. My self-control is something she’d never understand.
I get up and reach her in two long strides, throwing a hand around her ribcage to find her right nipple. I pinch hard, letting her know I’m the boss.
The plan was to shock her because I’m getting tired of these games, but also because she’s a fucking distraction that won’t go away.
Touching her crudely wakes me up from any strange ideas as to what our actual relationship might be. I’m a hired hand. She’s a trust fund brat. That’s all there is to it.
Her nipple bunches up under my pinching fingers and she lets out a shocked gasp, eyes almost popping out of their sockets as she turns around to face me. She doesn’t know what to think of this new development which is good. Whatever game she thought she was playing is over. This is my world, my terms. I’m pleased to keep her speechless for a while.
“Behave,” I say. “I’m getting tired of your antics.”
She licks her lips but it’s not in a sexual way. It’s in a confused, I-didn’t-see-that-coming kind of way. Have I gone too far? All I know is touching her like that feels fucking good.
“Let go of me,” she says with quivering lips, “this second.” She can’t say it with any conviction. I think she likes it. Her confusion amuses me beyond words. She doesn’t put her hand on my hand to try to remove it. She’s not moving away at all.
Finally, she knows who dictates the rules here.
I release her hardened nipple, glaring at her. It takes a lot of focus not to stare at her naked body but I manage to keep my eyes locked on hers by some miracle. I’m not a pervert and I’m not a sex fiend. I knew she was only doing this to test me, to weaken me.
“I should bend you over my knee and spank your ass red,” I tell her, “but it’s the holidays and I’d like to be home before Christmas Eve.”
“You’re such a fucking asshole,” she says, still confused.
“I’d be much cooler if we could get going.”
“Wait, why Christmas Eve? Why can’t we be home today? You didn’t fly here? We’re actually driving all the way back?”
“Do I look like a bird to you?” I say, turning my face away. I can’t believe she’s already acting like nothing’s happened. Quick recovery. She’s tougher than I thought. “Get dressed,” I tell her. “No more of your delay tactics.”
I can hear how she slides her arms through the sleeves of her sweater.
“You better hope I never mention your tactics, you Neanderthal.”
She won’t. Despite all her rich girl drama, she has a sense of occasion. She knows she brought that on herself. Play with fire and you’ll get pinched.
The minute we get back home I’ll need a day off, far away from Tris.
Chapter 6
Trista
Oh my god, that just happened. I have no idea how to process this. Nothing, absolutely nothing could have prepared me for Tanner’s rough fingers on my sensitive nipple. I’m sure he thinks I was asking for it. I would be furious if I wasn’t so turned on. I’m actually hoping for more
What the hell is wrong with me? As soon as I’m dressed and my suitcase is packed, he nudges me to the door. It’s already getting dark. The snow falls like a dream. It seems to be falling even faster under the street lights.
“Are you sure it’s safe to drive in this blizzard?” I ask him when he takes me to his SUV.
“A blizzard? I forget how sheltered you’ve been. This is just regular snowfall.” He won’t even look at me. He’s too busy cleaning his mirror and checking his tires.
“There’s nothing regular about this,” I say. “It’s kind of magical.”
He finally gives me a small brow furrowing. “Sure. You think that because you’re a pure southern California breed. You’ve had no exposure to the seasons or standard weather changes.”
“Great, just keep insulting me. I’d prefer to hate you as much as possible.”
“Your feelings for me are irrelevant,” he says, opening the passenger door. “You must do whatever I command while you’re within my jurisdiction.”
“Jurisdiction? You have none. You’re such a dick.”
“Said the weakling,” he says, pushing my shoulder down to get me in the car.
Do you really call a girl a weakling? Challenging him right now has absolutely no benefit, but I can’t help myself. “Someday my father will kick the bucket and I’ll be your boss. I’d like to see how cocky you are then.”
“What you call cockiness, I call nerve. If you are in charge, my nerve will be the only thing to keep you from the wolves.”
I laugh. “The wolves? Your imagination is absolutely childlike.”
“When you talk to a child,” he says, “you talk this way.”
“You’re not cool,” I say, tiring of his constant condescension.
“Honestly, if the old man dies, it’ll be the last you’ll see of me.”
“Really? So much for your legendary loyalty. Typical bullshit.”
“Thought you’d be thrilled to see me go,” he says with a wink before he eases the car forward through fresh snow and out onto a narrow road.
*
Tanner
I’m pushing her as hard as I can, button after button. A smart college girl like her always needs to feel in control and sure of herself. I’m stripping all that away bit by bit to keep the distance between us growing. I learned long ago not to get too close.
I’ve not allowed anyone to get close since Anisa died. I won’t let that happen again. Emotions lead to hesitation and he who hesitates is lost. I don’t handle loss well. It drove me into a destructive hole. I made a lot of bad decisions before I could dig myself out, including ending up as Kane’s henchman.
The old man is powerful and equally despicable, but he gave me a job when nobody else would. I was a wreck, drowning in self-pity and alcohol. Kane knew I could channel my regret before I did. He saw right through the mess I had become and offered me a helping hand. Like all successful men he has vision. He can read men.
We drive silent but I know it can’t last. Tris Kane doesn’t know how to stay quiet for long stretches. Talking is her way of coping, I guess, like booze used to be for me.
I stay ten miles below the speed limit. The weather has taken a turn for the worse. The snow gets progressively thicker. Ice forms on the road, making the tires spin and slide a little.
Tris fumbles with the radio buttons until she settles on holiday music. She lies back on her seat, closing her eyes. Could the stars be taking pity on me and she’s falling asleep?
“I’m a pure southern California breed? What does that even mean?”
I knew it was too good to be true. She’s wide awake, kicking the small compartment in front of her where I keep a gun at all times.
“Would you mind not kicking that?”
She stops, pulling her knees onto her lap. “Do you ever give a straight answer?”
/>
It seems that if I don’t, she’ll never stop. “It’s not your fault. All that sunshine and money blinded you from all the variations outside the gates of your sheltered world and climate.”
“You say silly things,” she says. “It’s almost as if you care about people. We both know that’s not true, because if you did, you would let me leave my sheltered life so I can see these places and climates on my own terms.”
“I prefer not saying anything,” I tell her.
“I noticed that,” she says. “It’s sad. What do you think you’ll get at the end of your life? A medal for being Mr. Cool? You’re a sad little man, actually.”
“There’s nothing little about me,” I say, not quite realizing how tacky it would sound.
“There goes your Mr. Cool award,” she says with a grin that suggests she’s enjoying the conversation or at least the parts where I say stupid stuff. “So, big guy, what exactly have you seen in your unsheltered life? Was it all so wonderful?”
“New subject,” I say succinctly.
“Touchy, touchy,” she says. “Okay, new subject. You seem like you yourself are full of variations. I never could figure out whether you were white, black, native, Irish, Martian.”
“It’s part of my allure.”
“You think you have an allure?” she says and then laughs.
“It’s a joke,” I say.
“You think you have jokes?” she says but doesn’t laugh.
I chuckle. “You always had that acid tongue,” I say. “I’m not anything, really, but the result of my own will power. I get things done. I’m not colorful like all those frat boys with their Hawaiian shirts and Coachella tickets.”
She shakes her head. “You’re so stubborn. You have got to be Irish to some degree.”
That’s right, her mother is Irish so she thinks she has it all figured out. I stay focused on the road for a while before I humor her. “Some Irish blood in the mix, yes.”
“Tris knows all,” she says, proudly.
“And some African American and some French-Italian and a spot of Cherokee.”
“Cherokee? That rocks.”
“I’m just little old me,” I say to remind her of her earlier slight.
“Ah hah, but I thought there was nothing little about you?”
Tris smiles as we both see the sign for the Inn I’ve been hoping to find before we get stuck in the snow. She practically yanks the steering wheel from me and I have to twist my body to push her off of me.
“What the fuck, Tris?”
“We’re not stopping so you can have a drink. We’ve only been on the road, what? Three hours? We haven’t even crossed the border yet?”
“What’s your fucking problem?” I say as I turn off the engine. Has she gone mad? “What do you want me to do, drive all night?”
“I’d rather drive all night than spend an extra minute with you.”
Yep, she’s totally gone mad. “We can’t drive any more tonight. The weather’s not safe.”
That admission definitely cheers her up. “I told you it was a blizzard! And I also told you, Tris knows all.”
“Well, I’m sure they’ll have a cookie waiting for you.”
Surprisingly, she doesn’t fight me when I lead her to the reception desk, nor is she particularly upset when I ask for a double room. The more compliant she becomes, the more suspicious I get, but she’ll be unpleasantly surprised if she tries to pull a fast one on me. My patience with this long trip is running thin.
The room is larger than expected and has a rustic wood floor as well as wood paneled walls. What gets her attention right away is the fireplace with the two armchairs facing it and a tiny Christmas tree on top of the mantel. I had to pay extra money for this shit but I need to keep her as pleased as possible so she doesn’t bleed my ears with her whining. I’m sure the boss won’t mind reimbursing me anyway.
I kneel down to get a fire going if I can remember how. It’s been a while since I was a boy in Montana. It’s all here—tinder, a few logs, matchsticks.
I begin stacking some logs on top of the tinder and then strike a match. It takes a few seconds but in the end I get a spark to grow into a fire.
As I turn to get up, I come face to face with her. All her smugness is gone. She looks up into my eyes with a sweetness beyond beautiful as the light cast by the flames sparkles in her eyes.
“Please, Tanner, just let me go. Pretend you didn’t find me. You know what to say. You always know what to say. Don’t you have a heart? I want to see the world and I don’t mean at some five-star resort with bodyguards in the bushes.”
She’s trying to appeal to my good side now? I don’t have one. But there is that little soft spot I have for her, damn it. It’s always been there. I have to fight it like a motherfucker. Because as much as this girl’s life is screwed, it’s nothing compared to mine.
“I can’t do that,” I say, roughly, to cut her off once and for all.
Her face goes all gloomy as disappointment takes over. Her bottom lip trembles a little as she pushes her hair back behind her ears.
Damn her. “I am tempted,” I say in a softer tone. “Believe me, I am.”
“Tempted to let me go? Yeah, right.”
“I take no pleasure in seeing you suffer like this,” I say. “But I also happen to want you alive. Preferably, in one piece.”
“Do you always take your work so seriously?”
Once again, she recovers quickly. Her eyes are mocking me now, but there’s also something else there. Is she working an escape plan in her head as she speaks? I’d like to see her try that.
“Enough of that shit,” I say. “We’re leaving at first light.”
“First light. All right, which bed do you want?” she says, studying the two twin beds in the room.
“Yeah, in your dreams, princess. We’re sharing a bed. So you pick which one it will be.”
I like how I constantly catch her off guard. “You want me to sleep in the same bed as you? Over my dead body.”
“You fucking stripped down to your undies without even blinking. You’re not exactly the shy type so don’t give me crap. I have zero trust in you. I need to feel where you are and the only way to do that is to share a bed.”
“Oh my God, you’re so full of it. What if I wait for you to fall asleep and then sneak out? A man asleep is as good as a man in the grave.”
I laugh loudly. “Was there a threat in there? Sweetheart, you don’t survive a war by not developing a sixth sense.”
“I’m not your sweetheart. Don’t call me any chauvinistic names ever again,” she demands, pursing her perfect lips.
“Whatever you say, little sugar,” I say to immediately violate her request.
She shakes her head and picks a bed. “You’re such a nightmare.”
Chapter 7
Trista
He’s lying next to me in a white t-shirt and boxer briefs, his thigh rubbing against my sweat pants, arm against arm. He said he needs for our bodies to be in constant contact so that he instinctively knows where I am even when he’s asleep.
The truth is I couldn’t avoid touching him. His thick body is all long, strong bones and muscles, taking up like two thirds of the bed. Even if I lie on the very edge, I’m still in contact with some part of him or other.
I turn to my side, feeling his chest rise and fall abruptly behind me, a little slower every time. Is he falling asleep? Of course he is. Assholes like him don’t waste any chance for oblivion. Maybe if I can keep up this line of thinking, I won’t have to go to that place in my mind where I admit Tanner Hayes is the hottest man on Earth and I yearn to feel his weight on me just once.
“How much trouble?” I say.
“I’m sorry?” he says groggily, as if I just woke him up.
“With my father. How angry will he be, you think?”
He gives me a long sigh. “If I take you there on time, he won’t even know you’re gone, so relax and just sleep. Please.”
&n
bsp; Excuse me, what? I spin around like I’ve been stung in the butt. “What are you talking about? Didn’t my father send you?”
Silence. And then, “Fucking hell, Tris. You made me lose focus again.”
“Come clean, Tanner. How could you be here and he not know? You’re like codependent.”
He’s fuming inside, I know that, but fuck him and his secrets.
“Okay, but you’re a god-damned hemorrhoid. Your father doesn’t know you’ve run away. He thinks you felt sick at the gathering and went home to rest.”
“Why would he think that?”
“Because that’s what I told him. He was going to San Francisco for two days. With any luck, we’ll get back before him.”
“How the hell did you know I was gone then?”
“You’re not that stealth, kid.”
“But you weren’t there. You had the day off. That’s precisely why I picked that day.”
He laughs happily. “The day off was to give you the opportunity. I knew you had to get this out of your system. Again.”
I’m seriously considering kicking his balls. “You’re fucking creepy, dude. Don’t you have anything better to do than to entrap a college girl? Just watching me all the time and following me up here and grabbing me under the guise of whatever bullshit code you live by… it’s totally psycho. If you saw me leave, why didn’t you stop me right away?”
He says nothing for a while. “I don’t know, Tris. Boredom, maybe. I thought if you accomplished part of your plan, you’d get it out of your system once and for all. Despite what you think, I am human. I can feel sorry for people.”
“People? Like me you mean? Screw you, Tanner. You’re a big dick.”
He blushes. I immediately get nervous. Butterflies race into my belly and explode out in every direction.
“I didn’t think you noticed,” he says.
I catch him glancing at my lips. “Oh my god, Tanner,” I say. “You’re an asshole and delusional.”
He cuts me short by gripping my hair, pulling my face to his. His breath is surprisingly soft and fresh as it hits my nostrils. I feel my legs tremble a little and then I try to push him away, palms against his chest.
Bodyguard Dearest (Bodyguard #1) Page 4
