by A. C. Arthur
“Good.” Bree unlocked her seat belt. “Just so we’re clear on things.”
Renny released his seat belt, as well. “We’re perfectly clear. You’re the bodyguard—”
“And you’re the client in need of protection. That’s all.”
Their eyes locked and in that moment their circumstances didn’t matter. He looked as if he wanted to say something else.
Her eyes seemed to call him, to welcome him inside her world; then she broke the contact and stepped out of the car.
Everything about the Silhouette Gallery screamed Lorenzo Bennett’s name. From the high ceilings to the pure white walls and the smoky-gray moldings, it was chic and understated, masculine and smooth, artistic and unique.
The outside of the building was deceiving, sturdy brick with no flare and no excitement. Just above the swinging glass doors the simple word Silhouette was scrawled in bold black script letters. The moment she entered, the clean lines and sharp angles greeted her. A pewter winding staircase shocked her as she found herself traveling to what should have been the basement, but was actually the main showroom.
Stone-gray marble floors and recessed lighting flanked her as she walked through absorbing either canvases on the walls or statues on podiums. It was class personified and Bree was simply amazed.
Renny walked beside her, afraid to ask what was going through that mind of hers. She always seemed to surprise him, so he decided he’d let her comment on her own.
“This is extraordinary, Renny. Did you do all this by yourself?” Bree finally said.
“I’d like to think I had a hand in it, as well.” Clicking heels and a sultry female voice interrupted the twosome.
Bree turned in the direction of the sound and nearly swallowed her tongue as she was faced with the most gorgeous female creature she’d ever seen. She had to be at least five feet eleven inches to six feet tall, limbs as fluid as liquid draped in a red crepe slip dress that accentuated her honey-toned skin. Bold, blond tresses cascaded past her shoulders while her flawless makeup let you know she was serious about her appearance. Her gaze briefly swept past Bree before resting comfortably on Renny.
“You’re late,” she said as her long arms twined around his neck, pulling him close for a hug.
Renny reciprocated. “I got caught up at the foundry. Is everything going okay?”
The hug was complete, but her arm stayed around his neck in a proprietary fashion that wasn’t totally lost on Bree. She took a step away from Renny to assure this platinum bombshell that she wasn’t stepping into her territory.
“Everything is just fabulous now that you’re here.” One long red-nailed finger stroked his chin as she spoke only to him.
Bree shifted from one foot to the other before clearing her throat. She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but she wasn’t about to be ignored, either. He’d have plenty of time to cozy up to this sex goddess when she was off duty, but until then he would give her a modicum of respect.
Renny had already released his hold on Yolanda, but since she hadn’t done the same he was sort of trapped in her embrace. He hadn’t forgotten that Sabrina was standing there, nor had he missed the implications this little display undoubtedly sent to her. “Sabrina, this is Yolanda Tate, my general manager. Yolanda, this is Sabrina, a friend of the family.”
Again he so effortlessly lied. Bree was careful to take note of that fact. She extended her hand and pasted a smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Tate. The place is wonderful. You’ve done a good job.”
Yolanda regarded the outstretched hand a moment, then turned to Renny. “Are you babysitting?”
Resisting the urge to put this Amazon in a Chinese headlock, Bree lifted a brow and then pulled her hand back. “It’s called a greeting. I say ‘nice to meet you’ and you say ‘same here’ or something to that effect. The handshake is optional, but I assure you I’m not contagious.” She shrugged. “Just a few things I’d think a general manager would know.”
Renny grinned. Clearly her size was an underestimation of any opponent. He’d be sure to take that into consideration at all times. Thankfully though, Yolanda took the bait and released him from her grasp.
“Your candor isn’t amusing. Still, if you’re a friend of the Bennetts I assume you know when and where to use it. Will you be visiting long?”
Bree slipped her hands into her pockets; that was the only way she could assure herself that she wouldn’t take a swing at the blond beauty. “I’m sure you and I will be seeing a lot of each other since I’ll be here for quite some time.”
As exciting as a catfight seemed to younger men, Renny was not about to let one break out in the middle of his gallery. “I’ve been showing Sabrina around today. We stopped at the foundry and now we’re going to look around here. She has a wonderful eye for detail and I thought I’d put it to good use.”
Bree looked at him as he talked about her. Something in the way his eyes roamed freely over her body made her fidget. She clearly paled in comparison to Yolanda, so his look must be intended to agitate, not excite her.
“She has an eye for detail?” Yolanda looked her up and down, clearly not impressed.
“She has an exceptional eye,” Renny said, still staring at Sabrina. He was talking about the intense pools of brown, how they swirled and tantalized him, and of course how she paid attention to her security detail. “We’ll just take the tour and I’ll speak with you before I leave.” He took Sabrina’s hand and led her away from Yolanda, not waiting for the woman’s reply.
“Your Amazon manager is going to need some etiquette classes before the opening or you’re never going to sell a thing,” she commented when they were only a few steps away from Yolanda.
Renny laughed. “She’s usually not so…blunt.” He led them around a sharp corner.
“Is that the best you could do? I was thinking more along the lines of shallow, rude…”
Renny squeezed her hand gently. “I get the picture. But she looks good and the men will come in just to see her alone.”
“Is that why she was scarcely dressed and draped all over you?” She sounded jealous. She could hear the cold tint of her voice and didn’t like it one bit. “I mean, if she hangs on to you like that, they’ll assume she’s taken and go on about their business elsewhere.” Goodness, was it hot in here, too?
His thumb played over her skin as he listened to her. She sounded jealous, but then that was impossible, or was it? He decided to find out if his bodyguard was indeed feeling the same attraction he was. “Do I detect a note of jealousy?”
She tugged on her hand, but he didn’t let go. “You don’t detect anything. I’m just making a point to rebut your reasons for having her around. At any rate, you’re touching me again.”
She was definitely shaken. He couldn’t help but grin. If she was shaken, then she was affected, if she was affected, then the attraction wasn’t entirely one-sided. He lifted her hand to his lips, placed a whisper-soft kiss over her knuckles and watched her eyes darken. There it was as plain as the day, desire. Dark as sin and as alluring as fool’s gold. This was exactly what he wanted his art to bring to the surface. The liberation and release of pent-up desire in everyone.
“Let me go,” she said softly and without any conviction. What was it about him that appealed to her? She knew and yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Sure, he was fine and he seemed intelligent enough, but there was something else—something inside him that called to her.
“Is that what you really want, Sabrina?”
Her name rolled off his tongue like a rush of warm water and she almost drowned in its effect. He kissed her knuckles again, this time letting his warm lips linger, his thin mustache prickling her sensitive skin. He was smooth. That was his reputation, and as of this morning she’d been forewarned. With a forceful tug she retrieved her hand and glared at him. “I always say what I mean, Bennett. Don’t forget that.”
And there it was, the door had been closed and from the look
s of it, locked securely. She was the bodyguard again, the professional. But for the briefest moment, just like back in that room at the foundry, she’d been something else. She’d been the woman, the enigma that plagued him.
She hadn’t a clue how she’d let Renny talk her into dinner. Maybe it was his plea that he needed to eat and she was his bodyguard so she had to follow him wherever he went. She’d rolled her eyes and clasped her seat belt without another word to him. They’d driven in silence and were now seated in a booth near the back of Thataway Café, one of Greenwich’s trendy restaurants.
“Are you hungry?” he asked while he perused the menu.
“No.”
He peeped at her above his menu and took note of the folded arms and bored expression. She was angry with him. Funny how he’d only known her three days and her moods were already as transparent to him as if they’d known each other forever. What was even funnier was the way her anger affected him. He didn’t like it, to put it simply. He didn’t like when she wasn’t smiling, when her eyes were brewing instead of smoldering or sparkling. He didn’t like when she folded her arms, effectively closing him out of her world.
“You haven’t eaten all day, Sabrina. How about a hamburger?”
“I said I’m not hungry.”
He expelled a deep breath. “How do you propose to protect anybody when you’re weak from malnourishment?”
She cut her eyes at him, released her arms and placed her palms flat on the table. “I’m getting sick of you using my position to your advantage.”
He feigned innocence. “Would I do something like that?” He lifted his menu to hide his smirk. Sabrina was very serious about her job. The mere mention of her not being able to do it to the best of her ability had her agreeing to almost anything. He’d have to remember that in the future. “I’m going to have a bacon cheeseburger with everything on it, French fries and whatever you have on tap,” Renny told the waiter who’d mysteriously appeared.
Bree picked up her menu and scanned the contents. When she looked up the waiter was standing in front of her, pen poised and waiting for her order. “I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with mustard only, French fries and a glass of water. And the gentleman doesn’t want onions on his burger.”
The waiter looked at Renny in question and Renny looked at Bree in the same way.
“I’m not smelling onion breath for the rest of the night. How do you expect me to protect you if I can’t stand being near you?” she said smugly.
It was back, that sparkle in her eyes he was quickly becoming used to. “No onions, please.”
They talked amicably after that, in which time Bree learned more about the infamous Lorenzo Bennett. He wasn’t shallow like his reputation painted him. Instead he was very passionate about his work and about his family. She watched him as he spoke of his younger sisters and their future, of his brothers and their childhood escapades, of his parents and how much they loved each other. As she ate, she found herself wishing for just a moment that he was her man. She could tell he’d love her and cherish her, he was just that way. Too bad she wasn’t looking for a man right now. If she’d met him two years ago, maybe…no, she would still be Sabrina the tomboy and he’d still be the gorgeous millionaire with his pick of the world’s most beautiful women.
“Sabrina?”
He touched her hand as he said her name and she focused on his mouth.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. What were you saying?”
“I was asking about your life as a soldier. How was it for you personally? Did you date?”
She stuck a fry into her mouth to give herself a moment to think about the question. “We had personal time to do with as we pleased, if that’s what you mean.”
He’d finished his food and was actually enjoying watching her eat. She didn’t pick like the other women he’d dated. She hadn’t ordered a salad and then acted as if those bits of leaves and vegetables had filled her up. No, she tackled that burger with as much enthusiasm as she tackled everything else she did. “I meant were you seeing anyone special?”
She’d figured as much. “Then why didn’t you just say that?”
“I just did.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious.”
She picked up her napkin, wiped her mouth and sat back against the chair. “It’s really none of your business.”
“Look, we’re two adults sharing a meal. We’re going to be working together until this merger is wrapped up. We might as well have some type of friendship between us.” She wasn’t budging. “Okay, if you answer me, then you can ask me a really personal question in return. Deal?”
She drummed her blunt fingernails on the table. “Fine. Yes, I dated. And once I had a serious relationship.”
He’d thought as much. “Was he a soldier, too?”
“Uh-uh, I answered you. Now it’s my turn.”
He nodded in compliance. He was enjoying his time with her, more so than he’d enjoyed an evening with a woman in a long time. “Go ahead.”
“Why do you use women?”
“Who told you I use women?”
She shook her head. “You can’t answer a question with a question.”
“Okay. I don’t use women. At least I don’t think I do. I see a woman I like, I ask her out. We may or may not sleep together and then it’s done. That doesn’t sound like using to me.”
“Why do you sleep with them if you don’t want a relationship with them?”
That was two questions, but he was going to answer her; it would indebt her to him in the future. Sabrina was nothing if not honorable. “I don’t sleep with every woman I go out with. And I make my limitations perfectly clear from the get-go. It’s their choice whether to proceed or not.”
“How long do you plan on sleeping with women and dumping them?” She’d leaned forward now, her arms folded on the table in front of her.
“Until I find the right one.” He didn’t know why he said it. He’d already decided that there was no right one for him, that a committed relationship was simply not in the cards of his life. Yet the answer had come so quickly, so honestly that he thought there might be some semblance of truth to it.
That wasn’t the answer she expected. She blinked and tried to retrain her thoughts.
His cell phone rang, effectively ending the conversation. She sat back against the chair piecing together all that she’d just learned. Renny Bennett was one hell of a man and she suspected she was being treated to something people outside his family rarely saw—the real him.
“I’ll be right there,” she heard him say before disconnecting his phone and putting it back into his pocket. He pulled out some bills and stood.
“Adriana is stranded. I have to go and get her. I’ll call you a cab.”
Bree stood, looked at her watch. “No, you won’t. As long as you’re out, I’m on duty. I’m going with you.”
Renny started to argue, then thought better of it. She would remind him it was her job, and he didn’t really feel like spoiling the camaraderie they’d just forged. “Let’s go. It’s getting dark and I don’t like the idea of her stranded on some side road by herself.”
They trudged out of the restaurant and toward his car.
“Why is she by herself? Gary is supposed to be guarding her,” Bree said as she climbed into his car.
“I’m not sure. She just said she was stranded and told me where to meet her.”
They drove through the city until they hit the rural roads. Streetlights were a good distance apart and like Renny said, it was getting dark. “Why would she be out here? Does she know people out this way?” They were miles away from the city and even farther away from the Bennett estate where Adriana lived. Adriana was a grown woman, so she could go about as she pleased, but Bree sensed something wasn’t right.
She kept looking out the windows memorizing her surroundings even as she mentally went down her checklist. Her gun was holstered
at her ankle, a knife was in her pack along with her cell phone and mace. Gary should have called if they needed a ride. Why hadn’t he called? She was about to reach into her pack for her phone when Renny’s voice stopped her.
“There she is.” He swerved off the road, pulling up behind the stalled vehicle.
Before Bree could stop him he’d jumped out of the car and was heading toward the driver’s side. Bree reached down, retrieved her gun and stepped out of the car, as well. She watched as Renny bent over, looked into the driver’s side window, then walked around to the passenger door.
Her gun down by her side, Bree came up on the back of the car, passed the driver’s side while peeking in herself, then began to make her way around the front of the car. She heard it before she saw it, a speeding vehicle. When she turned, there were no headlights, but she could see the phantom outline. Renny was just standing there, looking into the passenger-side window.
“There’s nobody in there. Where is she?” He stood, his body halfway in the street as the car got closer. He turned the moment he heard the engine behind him and was about to jump onto the hood of the car when he felt something slam into him, knocking him to the ground. The car whizzed by as he lay there. He rolled over, trapping the person who had tackled him. He heard something fall, looked to his right and saw a gun slide over the asphalt. Then he looked down into her face.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled when they were safely inside his car pulling back onto the road ahead. “Why would you jump out there when you saw that car coming? Are you crazy?” His heart was pumping, his mind reeling with possible scenarios.
“I was doing my job, thank you very much.” Bree leaned over to strap her gun back to her leg.
“And what the hell is that? Why didn’t you tell me you were strapped?” He was driving like a maniac, in a hurry to get to his parents’ house to see if Adriana was okay.
“I’m a bodyguard. It makes sense that I’d be armed. And for your information that’s what I was doing when I tackled you to the ground. The car was coming right at you. I saved your life, Bennett!” She wasn’t accustomed to being yelled at by people whose lives she saved. She reached into her pack and dug out her phone.
