Natural-Born Protector / Saved by the Monarch

by Carla Cassidy

  He’d spoken at length about the ranch he’d owned. As he had, his eyes had lit with a glow that they never had when he talked about becoming a bodyguard.

  Although having him close to her in the dark of the night made her feel safe and secure, it also made her yearn for something more.

  Even though her ribs still hurt, the pain wasn’t enough to douse her desire for him. She could smell him now, that clean, crisp scent that she would be able to identify even in the dark.

  Sleeping with him at night had become a curious form of torture. He was careful to keep his distance from her, but each morning when she woke up she was spooned against him, taking in the warmth of his body and memorizing his contours.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked suddenly.

  She reached for a potato chip. “Why do you think I’m thinking about anything?”

  “I can see it in your eyes. There’s a wicked glow there,” he teased.

  “That’s because I’m having wicked thoughts,” she replied, a breathlessness sweeping over her that had nothing to do with her bruised ribs.

  He took the chip from her hand and popped it into his mouth. “How wicked are they?”

  She smiled. “Very wicked. I was just wondering how fast we could lose this lunch tray so you could make love to me.”

  He stopped chewing mid-crunch, his eyes narrowing as he finally swallowed. “Your pain medication has obviously made you delusional.”

  “I’m not delusional. I’m a woman who knows what I want, and I want you.” Her heartbeat raced as she waited for him to say something, to do something.

  “I’ll hurt you.” He stared at her with such longing it cascaded warmth inside her.

  “You’ll be gentle,” she replied, her voice a mere whisper.

  He seemed frozen to the chair, then that sexy, slow grin spread across his face. “I’ll be very gentle.” He got up from the chair and removed the lunch tray from the bed.

  A shiver of delight raised goose bumps on her skin as she watched him pull his shirt over his head. His chest gleamed bronze in the midafternoon sunshine that drifted through the window. He took off his jeans and she could see that he was already aroused.

  “Are you sure?” he asked as he paused at the side of the bed. A pulse throbbed in his jaw as he looked at her.

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” she replied. Her ribs didn’t hurt half as much as her desire for him.

  He eased onto the bed next to her and leaned over to take her lips with his. He held himself on his arms so that there was no other point of contact, just their mouths meeting in a hungry kiss.

  Their tongues swirled and danced together and any pain that might have lingered in her disappeared beneath the intense pleasure.

  Within minutes she’d pulled off her nightgown and panties and he’d taken off his briefs and their touches grew more intimate.

  He leaned forward and captured the tip of one of her breasts in his mouth, his tongue teasing it to pebble hardness. The electric heat of his mouth shot directly to her groin and she moaned with a desire she’d never felt before.

  “Am I hurting you?” he asked quickly and raised his head to look at her, his eyes glowing with hot intensity.

  “No, it’s fine. You’re great,” she replied huskily, just wanting him to continue.

  And he did. He stroked the length of her legs, up to where she most wanted him to touch her, but denied her the ultimate pleasure of release. He touched her with only his hands and his mouth, keeping his body away from hers.

  There was something incredibly erotic about the lack of skin-to-skin contact. It made each flick of his tongue, every caress of his hand that much more intense.

  As his hand once again moved up her leg, lingering on her inner thigh, she reached down and took his hard length in her hand. He groaned as she stroked him and although she would have thought it impossible, he hardened even more.

  With another, louder groan, he reached down and covered her hand with his, stopping her from doing any more. “You drive me crazy,” he said, his eyes glowing with primeval lust. “Sleeping next to you and not touching you has made me insane.”

  “I know. I’ve felt the same way. I want you, Hank. I want you now, inside me.” She didn’t care about her ribs. She didn’t care about anything but having this man take her over the edge, having him fill her up not only physically, but emotionally as well.

  He moved away from her only long enough to get a condom from the nightstand and then he moved between her thighs, his arms on either side of her as he held his weight above her.

  He entered her with a low, uneven hiss and she closed her eyes as waves of sweet sensation rippled through her. Although her ribs ached, she rose up to meet his thrusts.

  As he looked down at her, his arms trembled and his features were taut. Once again, as she gazed into his eyes, she felt the kind of magic she’d once dreamed of finding with a man. As he increased his pace, she closed her eyes, losing herself to the moment, the man and the act of loving him.

  She climaxed first, shudder after shudder convulsing her body as she cried out his name. He quickly followed, stiffening against her and closing his eyes.

  Intense. Amazing. Magic.

  “Wow,” he said as he rolled onto his back next to her.

  She giggled. “Wow back at you.”

  He propped himself up on one elbow and reached out to smooth a strand of her hair off her face. The tenderness in his eyes and in his touch suddenly filled her chest and unexpected tears sprang to her eyes.

  “Did I hurt you?” His handsome face paled.

  “No, not at all,” she said, half laughing and half crying. “I’m fine, really. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”

  Her reply didn’t erase the stricken look from his face. “Do you need a pain pill?”

  She drew a deep breath and tried to steady her erratic emotions. She hadn’t had any pain medication for the last twenty-four hours, afraid that taking it any longer would create more problems than the little pills solved. “No, really I’m okay.” She smiled to assure him.

  “I’ll be right back.” He slid off the bed and disappeared into the adjoining bathroom.

  Melody threw an arm across her eyes as she once again felt the press of hot tears. She’d lied to him when she’d told him she didn’t know what the matter was with her. She knew exactly what caused the thick emotion that clogged the back of her throat and evoked the tears.

  He hadn’t hurt her by making love to her. But he was going to hurt her eventually because she’d made the incredibly stupid mistake of falling in love with Hank Tyler.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Hank asked as he led Melody to the folding chair in Lainie’s living room. “You know you can stay at my place for as long as you want.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but it’s time I got out of your life and back into my own,” she replied. “Besides, Mary Jane is showing the place at noon today and I want to be here.”

  He frowned and looked around the empty room. “You can’t be comfortable here. Other than that chair you’re sitting on there’s no furniture.”

  “I still have my bed in the bedroom and that’s really all I need.”

  There was a part of him that was almost relieved that she had awakened that morning and insisted she wanted to return here.

  She had gotten too close. She’d made him remember laughter and shared morning coffee and secrets whispered in the night. She’d made him remember all the things he’d loved about being married, about sharing his life.

  “I’ll be fine here, Hank,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “And I’ll never be able to repay you for your kindness.”

  She’d been distant since waking up but now her eyes shone with an emotion that looked like caring, one that looked like love. It was there only a moment then gone and she quickly gave him a bright, but brittle, smile.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and moved toward the
front door, oddly reluctant to leave her. “You have enough food? You need me to go to the grocery store for you?”

  “I should be fine. Besides, I’m feeling much better.” She rubbed her hands together as if to prove they were no longer sore. Her cheek wound was healing nicely and would leave no scar. “I can even laugh now without my ribs hurting.”

  He smiled but the gesture did nothing to ease a crazy little pain inside him. This felt like goodbye. Something had changed between them after their lovemaking the night before.

  He should be glad that she wanted to get out of his life, that the intimacy they’d shared over the past couple of days hadn’t made her believe they had a future together. But glad wasn’t in his heart at the moment.

  “Does Mary Jane think she’ll be able to move this place quickly?” he asked.

  “According to her, these units are highly desirable places to live. I don’t think it will take her long to sell it.”

  And then she’d go back to Chicago. Eventually she’d fall in love and build a life with some lucky man. Strange how this thought shot a tiny shard of pain through him. But that’s what he wanted for her—happiness and love—and he wasn’t the man to give her those. Nor had she given him any real sign that she wanted him to be that man.

  “You’ll call me if you need anything?” he asked as he edged toward the door. She nodded, and for just a moment her eyes were filled with an incredible sadness.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” She drew a deep breath. “I was just thinking that once this place sells my last link with Lainie will be broken.”

  “That’s not true,” he replied. “You’ll always have your memories of her.”

  This time her smile was beatific. “And they are such wonderful memories.” Her smile faltered. “I just wish the person who took her from me was behind bars.”

  “Contrary to the television shows we watch, murders aren’t usually solved overnight,” he said. “It might be months before Zack has the guilty party in jail.”

  “Not if I have anything to say about it,” she replied with a fierceness that caused his heart to plummet.

  “What are you talking about?” He stepped away from the door and closer to where she sat.

  “Even though James wasn’t the person who attacked me in the parking lot, that doesn’t mean he isn’t Lainie’s killer. I want to talk to his mother, find out if she lied for her son on the night of the murder. I also want to talk to Forest Burke and find out why he didn’t take Lainie out that night.”

  Hank’s blood went cold as he stared at her in disbelief. “Are you crazy? Wasn’t the beating you took the other night enough for you?”

  “Of course it was frightening and horrible, but I just need to be smarter and make sure I’m not out alone after dark,” she replied.

  “For the last couple of days and nights you haven’t mentioned any more nonsense about doing your own investigating. I figured you’d come to your senses,” he said flatly.

  “I never lost my senses.” There was a definite coolness in her voice and a hot fire in her eyes.

  “What you need to do is stop it,” he exclaimed. “You need to leave it alone, Melody, before you get killed.”

  “I can’t leave it alone,” she retorted as she rose from the chair. “Lainie needed me while she was alive and she still needs me to find her killer.”

  He rocked back on his heels, anger rising inside him. He stared at her for a long moment, trying to temper his words, but was unsuccessful and instead just let his thoughts rip out of his mouth. “You know what I think? I think it was never about Lainie’s needs. I think it’s always been about your needs. You needed her and now that she’s gone you’re clinging to her because you’re afraid to face your own life.”

  He wasn’t sure where the words had come from, but they felt right falling from his mouth. Throughout the last couple of days he’d heard plenty about her relationship with her sister and he knew the fancy term code-pendent definitely applied.

  The fact that she’d been beaten and could have died was bad enough. The fact that she didn’t intend to stop both terrified and enraged him.

  “I think you’ve said enough,” she exclaimed, a warning light shining from her eyes.

  He was angry and reckless. The anger was a clean, uncomplicated emotion compared to his feelings for her, and he embraced it. “Dammit, Melody, go home. Go back to Chicago and forget all this. Let Zack catch the killer.”

  Her chest heaved and she stalked up directly in front of him. “Nobody decides when it’s time for me to go back to Chicago except me.” She poked him in the chest with two fingers. “And that includes you.”

  He grabbed her hand in his. “You’re on a fool’s mission and I can’t be a part of your madness any longer.”

  She jerked her hand from his. “Then don’t.”

  Shrugging his shoulders, he once again shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for the door. “Okay then, you’re on your own.”

  He hoped that his bowing out would make her come to her senses and stop pursuing things that could only get her hurt. Dammit, what he wanted to do was tie her to his bedposts until she had a plane ticket back to Chicago in her hand.

  “You have to let go of the grief and get on with your life,” he said. As much as he’d hate to tell her goodbye, he knew with a gut-burning certainty that at the moment she was bent on a course of disaster.

  He opened the door with every intention of barreling out of it and out of her life, but he paused as she called after him.

  “Hank Tyler, you stop right there. You’ve said your piece and now I’m about to say mine,” she exclaimed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Melody was mad enough to spit. Who did he think he was to say the things he had, then just waltz out the door? “If we’re talking truths here, then let me tell you what I think,” she began.

  He slammed the door with his heel and faced her, those blue eyes of his filled with confrontation. “And what would that be?”

  “I think you have a lot of nerve telling me I need to let go of my grief. I’ve had less than a month to mourn for my sister. You’ve had over two years to mourn your wife and get on with your life, but you seem hell-bent on punishing yourself, denying yourself any chance at happiness.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but she saw that her words had hit a sore place by the tightening of his facial features.

  Thick emotion pressed against her chest, making her ribs ache as much as her heart. Tears misted her vision but she refused to let her tears or the love she had for him keep her silent.

  “I’ll tell you what I do know,” she said, her voice trembling. “I know that you’re a cowboy…a rancher. Every time you talk about the ranch you owned, your eyes light up and you smile from your heart. I don’t know why you’ve chosen the path you’ve taken to become a bodyguard, but if anyone is flirting with disaster, it’s you.”

  “I can take care of myself,” he scoffed.

  Melody drew a deep breath, recognizing that the next words she intended to say would cross a line from which there would probably be no going back. But, if she could accomplish only one thing while she was here, this would be her choice for the child she’d grown to love.

  “Yes, you can take care of yourself and you’re doing a damn fine selfish job of it.”

  His eyes narrowed to dark blue slits and knotted muscles formed in his jaw. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re taking a job that in a worst-case scenario might see you dead and in the best-case scenario will see you weeks away from your home…away from your daughter. She needs you, Hank. Did you know she has nightmares? Nightmares about you going away and never coming back?”

  His face paled but his features remained taut and unyielding. “All kids have nightmares.”

  “About monsters…about ghosts, but not about daddies who go away and never come back,” she exclaimed. “You’ve
wrapped your grief around you so tightly you’ve made not only yourself but your daughter a prisoner of it. I’m sure that’s not what Rebecca would have wanted for either of you.”

  “Are you through?” he asked, his voice tightly controlled and cool.

  No, she wasn’t through. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, tell him she loved him. She wanted to ask him to take a chance with her, to seek the magic that she knew they could find together if he’d just trust in it.

  Instead she wrapped her arms around her aching ribs and nodded. “I’m through.”

  He whirled on his heels and went out the door without saying another word. She stared after him for several moments, a wash of tears making the wooden door wave and dance.

  The silence that followed echoed in every chamber of her heart. She reached inside for anger, needing it to staunch her tears. Damn him. Damn him for not understanding. Damn him for speaking things she didn’t want to hear, for confronting her with hard truths she hadn’t wanted to face.

  But more than anything, damn him for making her fall in love with him. More tears cascaded down her cheeks and a sob welled up, begging to be released. She swallowed hard, refusing to cry for him.

  She glanced at her watch and realized Mary Jane would be there with potential buyers in half an hour. Good, because Melody desperately needed a distraction from her thoughts. Even if the people who looked today didn’t buy, it was time for her to leave. All she had to do was decide if she wanted to return to her mother’s house or get a motel room until she decided to go back to Chicago.

  Mary Jane was on time and brought with her an older married couple whose children were grown. “We like the idea of no yard work or maintenance,” Sarah Hunter said as she held tight to her husband’s arm. She smiled up at him, her love obvious. “We’re at a place in our lives where we’d like to do a little traveling, but we need a home base.”