Rescued, page 4
part #1 of Holt Agency, Book One Series
Every bodyguard she’d ever had had done similar things. Somehow with Tavis, it felt different. Like he was a gentleman instead of doing a job. She would bet, based on what he’d said about his mother, he’d been raised to treat women a certain way that came naturally to him and wasn’t just a job.
“Keep in mind,” he said as they entered, “the university is informed about me. I have paperwork on me at all times indicating who I am and what my assignment is. I can’t have someone chasing me off the campus because I seem suspicious. I’m not buying you a semester of anonymity. Just a few days.”
“Got it.”
“I don’t need to come inside rooms with you, Colette, but I’d feel much better if I were stationed outside the door, not the building.” He lifted a brow.
“Okay. Okay. A few days, please.”
“Yep.” He smiled. “And don’t make me bring out those handcuffs.”
Ah, so playful Tavis is back. “Just out of curiosity, do you actually have handcuffs?”
“Of course.” He didn’t flinch.
She did. And then she glanced up and down his frame. He was wearing a long-sleeved untucked shirt over jeans. He had on comfortable boots and had carried a backpack slung over his shoulder all morning.
“I’m armed, Colette. At all times. I’m a former SEAL. I have skills that far exceed any of your previous bodyguards and the equipment to go with it.” He stepped closer, making her breath hitch. “And, just for the record, I’m not remotely convinced you’re in no danger.”
She drew in a breath. “What makes you say that?”
He shrugged. “Intuition. Has anyone ever bothered you before?”
She dropped her shoulders. “No one worth mentioning.”
He lifted a brow. “Everyone who has even glanced at you sideways is worth mentioning, Colette.” He pointed at the couch. “Sit. Tell me everything that’s ever been even remotely suspicious. Don’t leave out a single detail.”
She sighed as she dropped onto the couch. “It’s not that interesting, Tavis. I’m not kidding. Mostly guys in bars who recognize me and hit on me, or sometimes guys in bars who don’t recognize me and still hit on me.”
“You said you don’t go to many bars,” he pointed out as he dropped onto the other end of the sofa and angled himself to face her.
“I don’t, but you wanted every sordid detail.”
“When was the last time a guy bothered you in a bar?”
She laughed. “Two nights ago before I left town?”
He frowned. “Was anyone with you besides your posse?”
“Nope. I snuck out like an underage grounded teenager. It’s what I do when I’m displeased with my father.”
“Why?” He looked genuinely confused, brow furrowed and all. “You’re twenty-seven. By all counts brilliant, overly educated, good head on your shoulders. Why such defiance?”
“I’ve told you. I hate being followed all the time. This thing…” She waved a hand between them to indicate both of them. “You seem like a nice enough guy. So far, I’m relieved to have someone in my space I can at least carry on a conversation with and not feel like I’m tiptoeing around. You have no idea how frustrating it is to have some giant, silent, overbearing man standing in my damn space all the time, watching me. Hovering. I can’t even be myself, be comfortable in my own space.” She shuddered.
“Has other protection been paid to stay inside your apartment before?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Never. This is a first.”
“Well, this is a third-world country. There’s more danger than what you’re used to in the States.”
“I did enough research to know this is a relatively safe place. There are more dangerous spots in North America than here.”
“True, on the whole, but if there is any kind of ongoing threat to your life, this is the perfect place for someone to try to act on it. The police can be bought for a small fee here.”
She sighed.
Tavis watched her closely. “Have you had any trouble with any of your bodyguards?”
“What kind of trouble?” she asked, glancing at her lap and then picking imaginary lint from her jeans. Tavis was so intrusive.
“Whatever trouble has made you glance away to avoid eye contact.” He leaned forward. “Colette.” His voice was firm. Demanding.
She glanced up. “Not a big deal. Some of them have made me uncomfortable at times. Wandering eyes and shit.”
“Leering at you when they were supposed to be guarding you?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes.” She shoved off the couch and headed for the kitchen area to grab a water and break up this line of questioning.
When she spun back around from the fridge, she nearly jumped out of her skin. A gasp escaped her lips. Tavis was right behind her, hands on his hips. He reached out quickly to steady her when she swayed.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Elaborate. Right now.”
“I don’t feel like it, okay? It’s embarrassing.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Not okay. Spill. Every detail of anything that’s ever been even remotely unprofessional with a bodyguard. Don’t leave out a single thing.”
She took a sip of water and set it on the island. “Most things were my fault. In my first few years of college, I used to flirt with them rather mercilessly. I probably looked like a complete fool. I have no skills at flirting. I was antagonizing them to infuriate my parents more than anything.”
He chuckled. At least he wasn’t quite as serious and stern. “I’m struggling to picture this, but no matter how much you may have flirted with any of them, they shouldn’t have responded. They were there to do a job. Period.”
She scrunched up her face. “I probably took things a bit too far a few times. Traipsing around in my towel or half dressed.”
He lifted a brow. “Did any of them approach you inappropriately?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Told you, I’m not good at flirting.” She brushed past Tavis, hoping this line of questioning was over.
He reached out and grabbed her biceps to stop her.
Her breath hitched at the contact. He was so close and smelled so good, and she liked how it felt to have his fingers around her arm. She didn’t lift her gaze. Embarrassed mostly.
How ironic that she was telling him all about her flirting antics from the past while she had the overwhelming urge to literally throw herself at this man. She may have flaunted herself in front of others, but that had been a game. This time it was real. She liked Tavis. Or at least she was physically attracted to him in a way she’d never really experienced before.
He slowly released her. His voice was lower when he spoke. “You’re avoiding my questions entirely and you know it. I don’t care about what you did at eighteen to get your security detail to notice you. I want to know what any of them ever did to get you to notice them.”
“Doesn’t matter because it was unsuccessful.” She shrugged him off, still not looking up, beyond aware of his proximity, especially when he stepped closer.
“Colette…” He reached out with a finger and lifted her chin. His eyes were narrowed with concern.
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “A few years ago, one of them made a pass at me. Several passes actually. I told him I wasn’t interested and tried to ignore him. I didn’t want to have to tell my father what was happening because I didn’t think he would believe me after the shit I had pulled in my late teens.”
“What happened then?”
“I decided to lose him. Permanently. I snuck away while he was in the shower and went to some friends’ apartment and hid out for two weeks.”
“Shit. Did you tell your parents where you were?”
“I messaged them that I was safe and to call off their dog or I wouldn’t come back out of hiding. It worked. They fired him for losing me, which was exactly what I wanted.”
“And that was it? He left and never came back? You’ve never seen him again?”
“Nope. Done and gone. Don’t even care if the door hit him in the ass on his way out or not.” She angled around Tavis and headed for the stairs, needing space. He made her tongue tied.
“Colette… I’m not done.”
She turned on the first step and faced him. “Could we table this?”
“No.” He followed her.
She continued up the stairs. Maybe he wouldn’t press further if she fled.
“Do you always walk away from people when they’re talking to you?” he asked, hot on her heels. Maybe he would follow her.
“Actually, yes,” she tossed over her shoulder. “When it’s a topic I don’t want to discuss.” She could feel his breath on her neck. He was one step behind her.
“Can you tell me why?” He followed her into her bedroom.
She spun around and faced him. “Already told you. It’s embarrassing.”
He inhaled slowly and then spoke in a level voice. “I have two more issues, and then I’ll leave you alone. Tell me what happened the night before you flew here.”
Colette shook her head. “Not a chance in hell. Everything you need to know was probably flashed all over social media.”
“Were there any men I need to be worried about from that night?”
“Nope,” she lied. “Just me and my friends out drinking too much and dancing. Like regular humans are wont to do.”
He stared at her a minute, not buying her story. “Okay, fine. Keep your secrets. For now. You don’t lie well though. One other thing—”
She put out a hand. “No. No more things. I don’t want to discuss my stupid love life with you.” She set her palm on his chest in attempt to push him out of the room.
He didn’t budge, but he did set his hand on top of hers.
She shoved her entire body into him, hip first, trying to get him to back up. “Tavis, please.” Her heart was racing. Her body was shaking. She’d gone from sort of hot for him to full-on flammable.
Everything about him crawled under her skin like no man ever had in her life. She’d never been so attracted to anyone in all her twenty-seven years. She’d spent less than two days with him and for most of that time she’d had wet panties and stiff nipples.
He was going to see through her any minute, and then she’d be far more mortified than she already was.
Why was she touching him? It was only making things worse. And she was acting like a lunatic in her desperation to put some distance between them.
Every time he spoke, his words sent shivers up her spine. His tone or something. She couldn’t put her finger on it. And dammit, but he seemed to care. As if he really wanted to get to the bottom of her imaginary threat. Her other bodyguards just did their jobs. They didn’t speak more than necessary. They didn’t ask questions. They just guarded her because her father paid them to.
Tavis was pushy and insistent. Inquisitive. In her face. He’d said he wasn’t a bodyguard at all. No wonder. He clearly didn’t know the rules or what his job was or that he should just watch her and leave her alone.
She gave another shove. He didn’t budge an inch, but his fingers wrapped around hers against his chest and squeezed. “Talk to me,” he stated calmly.
“No. Get out.” She said the words, but there was no force behind them, and she was glad there weren’t cameras in the room because a replay of this would be humiliating.
His free hand came to the back of her head and he pulled her flush against him, pressing her face into his chest next to their combined hands.
She breathed heavily, her entire body shooting through the roof with arousal. The way he cupped the back of her head. The way he stroked her fingers in his fist. The way he started whispering kind words to her.
“Shhh. You’re okay. Take a deep breath.”
She inhaled long and slow, furious for following his orders.
“There you go. Let it out.”
When she did so, he continued. “Now, why are you trying to push me away?”
She tipped her head back and met his gaze. “Why are you trying to pry so much information out of me?”
“Because I want you to be safe.”
“Why not just follow me around like everyone else and not worry about the past?”
“Because I care about more than my paycheck. Because you deserve a life that doesn’t make you feel like you’re suffocating.”
She drew in another breath. “Okay, fine. What’s your last concern?” The fastest way to get him out of her room was obviously to answer his damn question. And she desperately needed him to leave her room before he realized how affected she was by him. How humiliating.
His brows drew together and he threaded his fingers in her hair. “It hasn’t slipped my attention that while my hackles are raised about any former bodyguard you’ve had that may have behaved inappropriately toward you, I’ve broken every rule in my own playbook, including currently holding you in my arms.”
She swallowed hard. “Well, it turns out I kinda like it. And it’s also scary. And I’m not used to feeling like this.” She was trembling in his grip. Why the hell did I just tell him all that? Jesus. This was why she needed him gone.
“Okay. I’m going to apologize and back off and leave you be, but I want you to do something for me.”
She nodded. At the moment she was putty in his hands, an odd feeling that made her nervous.
“Please think back. If you can recall anyone from any time who might have a reason to be disgruntled with you, no matter how farfetched it might seem, please tell me so I can look into it.”
“Okay.” She frowned. “I still don’t understand why you think there’s any threat. Why can’t you just accept that my father is overprotective?”
He shrugged. “Humor me.”
Chapter 6
“Ryker. How’s it going?” Tavis asked him when he placed his late-night call after Colette went to bed.
“Going well here. How about there? I heard your latest assignment might be a handful.”
Tavis chuckled. “Yeah, I think I nipped that in the bud. Hopefully. Can you do me a favor and have someone look into Colette’s past bodyguards?”
Ryker whistled. “That’s quite a list.”
“Yeah, I know. Maybe gloss over most of them. See where they are and what they’re doing. I’m most interested in the one who hit on her a few years back and got fired.”
“Will do. I’m sure I can get a list from someone in her father’s office.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
“Anything else?”
Tavis glanced at the stairs. He was sitting in the living room. Colette hadn’t opened the door since she’d offered an awkward goodnight a few hours ago, but he didn’t want her to hear him. “Can you dig a little deeper into what transpired the night before she flew here?”
“Sure thing. I know she slipped out undetected, but there were pictures and I can probably pinpoint destinations and times from credit card reports.”
Tavis ran his hand over his head. He hated going behind her back and digging around in her private life, but he also thought she was holding back. Something happened that night. He’d bet money on it. “Thanks.”
“Okay, you just keep doing that cushy job in Kampala. We’ll do all the hard work over here,” Ryker joked.
Tavis rolled his eyes even though no one could see him. “Wanna trade? Six months here following around a grad student versus holding down the fort in Indiana with Xena by your side?” he shot back, teasingly.
“Nope. I’m good. I’ll call you when I have anything interesting.”
“Later.” Tavis ended the call, rubbed his eyes, and shoved to standing. He needed sleep.
He needed to put what happened earlier out of his head. He never should have touched Colette in the first place. He’d been in the middle of mentally reprimanding every previous bodyguard who’d had the balls to even glance at her while he’d reached out and grabbed her arm.
They’d brushed against each other in the kitchen a few times prior, but that was the first time he’d blatantly wrapped his fingers around her warm skin. He had no idea why he’d done it. He shouldn’t have.
Nor should he have grabbed her hand when she shoved at his chest. And he definitely shouldn’t have cupped the back of her head, held her against him, and threaded his fingers in her soft hair.
He wasn’t sure why or how he’d had the balls to point all of that out, but he’d nearly choked when she’d admitted that she’d liked his touch.
Shit.
What a mess. This was a job, not someone he could fuck on the side. He was supposed to protect her for the next six months. Not sleep with her.
From the moment he’d gripped her hand and felt her thick hair running between his fingers, he’d been hard. How he’d managed to cook dinner alongside her and make small talk was a miracle.
He’d left her in her room for a few hours, but when she’d emerged to cook with him, she’d pretended nothing had happened between them. That was fine. For now. Not forever, but for a while.
He headed to bed, pausing at the top of the stairs to stare at her closed door. What did she really wear to bed? She’d insinuated the first night that she’d intended to strip down to her panties and climb between the sheets.
Lord knows it had been difficult for him to slowly wander from corner to corner of her bed lowering the mosquito netting after that declaration. At that point, he’d only known her for about an hour, and she’d been nothing but combative with him, but somehow, he’d already been drawn to her.
He liked that she was feisty and determined. Not to mention gorgeous even after traveling for nearly thirty hours.
He smiled as he stared at her door and then swiped his hand down his face to wipe away the inappropriate grin. Turning toward his own room, he took a deep breath. “Let it go,” he muttered. “Don’t even think about starting something with her.”
The next week flew by as Tavis settled into his odd assignment. Neither of them mentioned a word about their exchange the night he’d held her in his arms. Hopefully she’d recognized the same as him that nothing could happen between them because if she ever blinked at him again with that same expression of desire, he wasn’t sure how strong he could be.
