Guarding His Body

by A. C. Arthur

  Sam grinned. “Actually, I’ve been wondering if the playboy can handle you.”

  Chapter 5

  “Hello?”

  Silence.

  “Hello?” Bree called again, this time pulling the phone away from her ear to look at the number displayed on the screen.

  Still silence.

  On the table behind her, Renny’s house phone rang and she turned toward it with a start.

  “Who is this?” she asked one final time before disconnecting the cell phone line.

  Renny’s telephone rang one more time before it stopped abruptly, signaling he’d just picked it up. Again she looked at the turquoise screen of her phone, trying to place the number displayed there. It was an odd area code, but with a lurch of her heart Bree realized it was familiar. “No,” she whispered.

  Renny had been in the studio frantically sculpting the emotions he’d seen play across Sabrina’s face, the exact curve of her chin, the tilt of her head as she began to feel his entrance. His fingers moved wildly over the cool clay, his heart beating as he, too, felt the rising heat between him and the woman that was hired to guard his body. Instead she seemed to be wreaking her own special havoc on it.

  The phone rang, jarring his concentration. Under normal circumstances he would have ignored it while he worked, but Sabrina and her brother were in the other room discussing the case, and too many strange things were going on. So with a low growl he snatched up the receiver.

  “Renny! You’ve got to get over here quick!” Yolanda screeched into the phone.

  “Yolanda? What’s going on? Where are you?”

  “I’m at the gallery. Someone tried to break in, Renny. The police are here and everything. You’ve got to hurry!”

  He didn’t say another word, simply hung up the phone and wiped his hands on the smock he never wore but always had hanging on the back of his chair. He wrenched the door open only to be stopped again by the sight of Sabrina sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. “Sabrina?” In two strides he was next to her. “Are you all right?”

  Bree jumped as his hand touched her shoulder. No, she wasn’t all right, but that wasn’t any of his business. “I’m fine.” She blinked and shifted so that he was no longer touching her. “What’s going on?”

  Now she didn’t want him to touch her. Renny grimaced. They needed to have a serious talk about what was going on between them. “I’ve got to go to the gallery. That was Yolanda on the phone. She says someone tried to break in.”

  Bree was on her feet in an instant. “Okay, let’s go.” She clipped her phone back to her hip and grabbed her jacket on her way to the door. She paused and was about to put in the security code when Renny swiped her hands away.

  “Go ahead, I’ll do it.” Why did she think she had to do everything all the time? He was willing to concede that guarding him was her job, but that didn’t mean he had to stand by and watch her take complete control. He was still the man in this situation and she was going to realize that sooner or later.

  They pulled up in front of the gallery, Renny glaring angrily at the three police cars with flashing lights occupying the first three parking spaces. Bree was out of the car before he had a chance to get around to opening her door and he cursed under his breath. So many things were going on in his mind he wasn’t sure if he was coming or going. His feet ate up the asphalt as he vowed to deal with one thing at a time—who tried to break into his gallery, and Sabrina, in that order.

  He managed to break stride in front of her and grabbed the front door before she could get to it. She looked up at him quizzically and he gave her a deep flourish with his arm, signaling for her to go in.

  Once they were both inside Yolanda threw her arms around Renny. “Oh, Renny, I’m so glad you’re here. I was so frightened.”

  Bree was just about to go over and talk to the policemen when Yolanda brushed past her in a flurry of winter-white and too damn much perfume. She turned just in time to see the woman plastered to Renny as if she couldn’t breathe without him. Her stomach twisted, heated and burned with unfamiliar feelings.

  She turned quickly and moved to the first officer, determined to find out what had happened. “Hi, I’m Mr. Bennett’s partner. Can you tell me what happened here?”

  The tallest officer, the one with the intense blue eyes, looked down at her, quickly assessing her before licking his lips.

  Is he serious? Bree thought with impatience, then figured she might as well play his obvious delusion to her advantage. “Is there anything you can tell me, Officer?” She took a step closer to him for good measure. Just as she thought, those crystal-blue eyes sparkled and he smiled.

  “And what is your name, ma’am?”

  His voice was deep, smooth and did absolutely nothing for her, but Bree kept her smile in place and even managed to bat her eyes a few times. “I’m Sabrina Desdune and you are?” She angled her head to see his badge more clearly. “Officer Mathison.”

  Old Blue Eyes extended his hand. “Officer Tony Mathison. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Desdune.”

  He’d put an emphasis on Ms. as a way of asking if she were married. Bree suppressed a chuckle. He was so typical. “The pleasure is all mine, Officer.”

  “Please, call me Tony.”

  This crap was wearing thin. “Okay. Tony, tell me what happened.”

  “Ah, sure. At about 11:00 a.m. the alarm went off, a call came into the station and my partner and I were first on the scene. We gained entrance and disengaged the alarm before searching the premises. We didn’t spot a suspect, so we secured the scene and waited for backup. Ms. Tate over there arrived about fifteen minutes after we got here and said she was the manager and that the gallery hadn’t opened to the public yet. She’s supposed to be seeing if anything is missing.”

  Both Officer Mathison and Bree turned to see Yolanda still wrapped in Renny’s arms as she gave him a very dramatic account of what happened. Bree’s hands fisted at her sides, but the moment Renny looked over toward her she put on a perfect smile and turned to Officer Mathison again. “Was there a point of entry?”

  “Yes, it’s in the back. Do you want to see it?”

  “Definitely,” she said through clenched teeth. The sooner she got away from those blossoming lovebirds, the better. As she followed the officer toward the back of the gallery her head started to pound. She was not jealous! Renny Bennett was nothing but her client. Who gave a damn about that woman draped all over him like she owned him? She didn’t, that was for damn sure! If that’s the type of woman he wanted, then so be it.

  Renny watched as Sabrina walked off with the cop that was ogling her as if she were his lunch buffet. His jaw had clenched at the smiles she willingly gave the stranger—the same ones he had to fight tooth and nail to get from her. He wanted to follow them, but Yolanda was being exceptionally clingy today. He wasn’t an idiot and knew the games women played very well, so he was sure that Yolanda’s overzealousness was for Sabrina’s benefit. He’d let it go originally because he wanted to see if it affected Sabrina in any way, but she seemed to move right along to Officer Friendly without giving him a second thought.

  How could she be so warm and willing in his arms a few hours ago and now so quick to jump into another man’s graces? Because she was a woman, that’s why, and that’s what women did. Still, he didn’t like it.

  Grabbing Yolanda’s wrists, he took a step away from her. “Yolanda, is there anything missing?”

  “Um, no. No, I don’t think so. I looked around twice before you got here and everything seems to be here. Most of our stock is still at the warehouse. I didn’t want to bring it in until we were closer to opening.”

  Renny released her hands and moved around the white-painted rooms. “That was probably a good idea.”

  “The only place I didn’t check was your office. But that’s always kept locked, so I doubt they could have gotten in there.” She followed him like a sick puppy. “If I had a key I could have checked it out for you,”
she added.

  Renny didn’t even turn to face her; they’d been down this road before. “You don’t need a key to my office, Yolanda. Everything you need is either at the front desk or in your office. My office is private and off-limits to anyone but me.”

  They were rounding the corner that led to his office as he spoke. They both stopped short.

  “It’s off-limits, huh?” Yolanda grimaced.

  Sabrina was just rising from the floor with Officer Friendly standing right behind her. With a twist of her hand she turned the knob and the door to his office opened before them.

  Anger and just a spark of pride coursed through Renny as he walked toward her with Yolanda close behind him. When he skirted around the officer and grabbed Sabrina by the elbow he wished that the two people in the room with them would disappear. Instead, he frowned down at her. “You could have simply asked for the key.”

  Yolanda plopped down on the leather couch to the left side of the room. “Why? I did and it didn’t work.”

  Renny ignored her and so did Bree. “You were otherwise occupied,” she said with a raised brow, then jerked her arm free.

  He wanted to grab her and pull her to him, but thought better of it. “So, what are you looking for in here, Officer?” Renny looked at the tall man, hoping he could read his mind—Sabrina was off-limits to him. He didn’t want him gazing at her or giving her those charming-ass smiles anymore.

  Officer Mathison cleared his throat. “Ms. Desdune wanted to make sure nothing in here had been disturbed. When we realized the door was still locked she became suspicious.”

  That sounded liked Sabrina.

  “And it’s a good thing I always follow my hunches,” she said as she lifted a white envelope from the floor near the door with a pair of tweezers that she kept in her personal break-in kit, which had been in her purse.

  Renny’s gut clenched.

  “Officer Mathison, do you have a pair of gloves I could borrow?” She waved the envelope in the air for all to see.

  Renny was at her side instantly.

  “They’re in my car,” Officer Mathison said quickly. “I’ll go get them.”

  He made his way out of the office just as Yolanda stood, coming up behind Renny and entwining an arm through his. “What’s that, Renny?”

  Her voice was so sugary sweet that Bree wanted to puke. “Renny, I think this will be better viewed by you and me alone.” Her strong emphasis on the word alone was not lost on Yolanda, who tossed her an evil glare.

  No longer concerned with the brewing catfight around him, Renny remained focused on that envelope. “You’re right. Yolanda, can you wait outside?”

  Yolanda’s perfectly glossed lips didn’t hesitate to pout. “But Renny, I’m a part of this business, too, and if someone broke in here to put a note under your door I should know what it’s about. It’s not fair that a friend of your family gets to stay and I don’t.”

  Bree itched to punch her just one good time. The woman was a disgrace to all females with a backbone. “Actually, the fewer people that know about this, the better. We wouldn’t want to give the burglar the upper hand.”

  Yolanda took a step toward Bree, who only raised a brow at her approach. Bree hoped she was going to get the opportunity to lay this tramp out.

  “Listen here, missy. You can’t just appear on the scene and—”

  Renny stepped between the two women, facing Yolanda. “This has to remain private, Yolanda. You understand how I feel about my privacy.”

  Yolanda backed down, placing her palms on his chest. “Okay, Renny. I’ll go outside, but you and I need to spend some time together…going over business, that is.” She smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

  Bree rolled her eyes at the smacking sound and looked away. Yolanda sashayed past her as if she’d won the battle. Bree almost tripped her. Officer Mathison had returned with the gloves and Bree asked him sweetly to wait outside, then closed the door behind him, too. Slipping her small hands into the much larger gloves, she opened the letter and stood close to Renny so he could read it with her.

  What’s done in the dark will eventually come to light.

  Like father, like son.

  Of course it wasn’t signed and it was typed in a large bold font. Bree read it over again, then read it out aloud. Renny read along silently beside her.

  She looked up at him, noticed the smudge of lipstick on his jaw and frowned. “It looks like you’ve managed to piss somebody off.”

  The muscle in his jaw twitched. “It would appear so. The question is, who?”

  Because she couldn’t resist another moment Bree reached up and wiped his cheek clean. “I wonder,” she sniped before showing him the smudge of lipstick on her gloved hand. “Everybody seems to love you.”

  She put the letter back into the envelope, then looked around his desk until she found a folder. She dumped out the contents and slipped the letter inside. “I’m calling Sam.” And then she left him in his office alone.

  Renny sat down in his chair with a thud. This stalker thing was becoming all too real to him. First it was the car almost running him down and now this. He didn’t like the implications. Without a thought his fingers went to his cheek where Sabrina had just touched him. A smile ghosted across his face. She was jealous of Yolanda.

  Which meant she felt something for him. Not that he’d doubted that, especially after this morning. His smile broadened. Well, at least one good thing was bound to come out of this mess.

  Sabrina Desdune would be his.

  It was after eight in the evening by the time Bree and Renny walked through the door to his condo again. Sam, Alex and Rico had come to the gallery once Bree reported the letter found in Renny’s office. From that moment on ideas had been tossed around, the gallery was locked down tight and the infamous Yolanda, to Bree’s utter relief, sent on her way. The woman was past infuriating; she was downright annoying, and Bree had already decided that she didn’t like her. Something in the way the woman watched her, like she for one minute believed that Bree was competition for Renny’s affections.

  Bree went straight to the bathroom and closed the door with a loud thump. Well, hadn’t Renny said he wanted her? That had only been this morning, but then hours later he’d been enfolded in Yolanda’s arms. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror. “You are simply not his type,” she murmured. Then she turned sideways, standing on tiptoe to get a full view of her body in the small vanity mirror. Okay, so she was curvy; that just meant he’d like to sleep with her. That did not mean that she was girlfriend material or even wife material for that matter. “Neither is she.” She thought aloud with Yolanda in mind.

  Vowing to steer clear of Renny and his insatiable kisses for the remainder of this job, she washed her face and pulled her hair free of the ponytail that was probably contributing to her growing headache. Coming out of the bathroom, she leaned on one leg taking off each of her shoes, then carrying them to the living room where her bag was. But her bag wasn’t there.

  “I put it in the extra bedroom.” Renny’s deep voice sounded from behind her.

  She spun around, not really surprised to see him; she was in his house, after all. “I was fine out here on the couch,” she snapped.

  “Sleeping on the couch is insane when there’s a perfectly good bed in the other room. Since you’ll be here for a while that’s where you’ll be sleeping.”

  His tone suggested the decision was final. Bree didn’t really want to argue with him. In fact, she didn’t want to be in the same room with him, so she held tight to her shoes and began walking in the direction of the bedroom.

  Renny extended an arm to stop her. “Sabrina, we need to talk.”

  She expelled the breath she’d been holding. “Forget it, Bennett. I’m all talked out for the day. I’d really just like to crash.” She paused, gave him a questioning look. “That is, if you’re not planning on going back out.”

  Renny read into that question just the way he was supposed to. She wa
s referring, once again, to Yolanda. The entire time they were at the gallery Sabrina hadn’t missed the opportunity to jab at his relationship with Yolanda. At first he’d found it amusing; they were, after all, at the gallery and Yolanda’s presence was overwhelmingly felt there. But now they were in his apartment and he didn’t want to think about the break-in, the letter, his brothers or Yolanda. He’d been impatient all day, wishing all the formalities could be done with so he could be alone with her.

  While the anonymous letter seemed to frighten everyone else, Renny didn’t really give it that much thought. He wasn’t about to run scared from someone who was too afraid to sign his name to a damn letter. They were all baffled by the culprit, but Renny refused to give the person any more of his time. If and when this person got bold enough to approach him face-to-face, he’d deal with him or her swiftly and in a manner that made police brutality look innocent. But in the meantime there was something—someone—else dominating his thoughts.

  “I’m not going anywhere. I thought we’d have some dessert and talk.”

  They had ordered pizza while they were still at the gallery brainstorming, so dinner was already out of the way, much to Bree’s relief. “I don’t want dessert.” She moved his arm out of her way.

  Renny grabbed her elbow, stopping her departure again. “Then we’ll have a drink by the fire.”

  Bree looked over her shoulder. “There is no fire.”

  Renny gave her a half grin. She was so stubborn. “By the time you go into your room and change, I’ll have your drink and the fire ready.”

  She wasn’t really sleepy and she knew she’d only sit in that room, wondering what he was doing, so she reluctantly nodded and then stared down at his hand on her arm. “You can let me go now.”

  He released her arm and watched her disappear into the guest bedroom and close the door securely behind her.

  “I really don’t know if I can let you go, Sabrina,” he whispered when she was gone. He went to his own room, pulling his shirt over his head as he moved to the master bath. A quick wash of his face and he changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt. He normally slept nude, but he had company in the house, so that was out of the question…unless she insisted. With a bold grin he made his way back into the living room, fixing Bree a glass of champagne and stoking the fireplace. Renny preferred lighter drinks, at the distinct criticism of his brothers. Wines and champagne were more his speed. He heard her door open just as he was dropping a fleece blanket onto the floor. He reached for a couple of pillows as she entered the now-dim living room.