In the long two hours since he’d been sitting here listening to her breathe, he’d considered calling Evan and letting him know what was happening. But his gut instinct to keep Evan in the dark—especially with little kids in the picture—was the right move, he knew it.

  A light noise came from outside the door. He shot off the bed and in three silent steps peeked out the hole and saw Swifthawk. He reached for the handle .

  With a glance over his shoulder at Ells, he cracked the door and slipped out, keeping a finger in the opening so the door didn’t close.

  He and Swifthawk had been through a lot last time they saw each other. Because of that, they formed a bond of friendship. Landon didn’t bring Ells here on some random whim—he knew Swifthawk would have his back, and he’d come to deliver on Landon’s request.

  His friend still wore a suit jacket, dress shirt and jeans, his usual work attire here at the Deer Mountain Casino. He held a black bag out to Landon.

  “The items you requested.”

  He took the bag that contained a laptop, burner phones, cash and a wireless endoscopic camera that would slide under a door. All things he and the rest of the WEST Protection team routinely had on hand but he’d left too quickly to gather.

  “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

  He gave a solemn nod. “I only ask one thing in return.”

  “Go on,” Landon said.

  “I ask that you remember there are other guests here. So please don’t put them in danger.” His eyes fixed on the door crack as if he could see Ells sleeping.

  “I’ll guard your guests the way I guard my ward’s life,” he said quietly. “I promise you that.”

  Swifthawk’s lips twitched. “You have a way of finding trouble.”

  “That’s a fair assessment.”

  He clapped Landon on the shoulder. “Feel free to use our full facility. You know our security is tight.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  Swifthawk took a step to go, then swung back. “And in future, you don’t need to cut our camera footage. It doesn’t go outside of this building.”

  Landon sliced a grin at him. “Noted.”

  Swifthawk returned his smile and headed down the corridor. The elevator door opened and he disappeared inside.

  Using his finger, Landon levered the door open and slipped into the room again. Ells lay in the same position, her breathing unchanged. He bypassed the bed—he was never going to sleep anyway—and walked to the mini-fridge. It was fully stocked with various drinks, including a nice cache of tiny bottles of liquor.

  He wet his dry lips, thinking how good a whiskey would go down right about now. But he selected a bottle of water instead, knowing he needed a clear head. He noiselessly pulled a chair away from the small table and sat in the dark.

  His mind wandered to the family wedding. He’d missed out on a lot, and that sucked. Family was everything to him. Ross told him that Corrine was pretty pissed about the champagne fountain at first. She believed he’d found a hot girl among the guests and they got a little too excited and bumped into the table. As soon as she was informed of the real situation, she’d been more understanding.

  No, he hadn’t found a hot girl. Ells had grown into a beautiful and smart woman. But unfortunately, she still possessed an impulsive streak. It had landed her in trouble more than once growing up, and now she was in a deeper mire.

  What started as an act of defiance for being snubbed at work uncovered a heinous crime. Skimming off the government through a Social Security scam would end Marvis Insurance. If she hadn’t discovered it, the crime might have gone on for decades.

  Being a whistleblower rarely got people a pat on the back, though. Other companies were reluctant to hire them. Where would that leave Ells? She was far too talented. She couldn’t let those skills lay stagnant.

  She pulled in an uneven breath. When she flipped onto her back, his stare latched on her.

  With one arm outflung and her face pivoted enough that he could make out her features in the light from the alarm clock on the nightstand, she appeared both beautiful and fragile.

  The blue ice of the light brushed over her cheekbones and touched the point of her chin, making her look like she could easily shatter. But he knew better.

  Any girl called Elliot was tough as steel. Not only had she endured a hell of a lot of ribbing from him and her brother over the years, but most kids in school poked fun at her name.

  By the age of seven, she’d refused to answer to anything but “Ells” and he couldn’t blame her for femininizing her name.

  Ells suited her far better. He always wondered what the hell Mr. and Mrs. Watson had been thinking, pinning that moniker on a sweet baby girl.

  Her lips parted in sleep.

  Something woke inside him every time he looked at those pouty lips. It started before she kissed him in order to conceal herself from the party crasher thug. But he’d been replaying the feel of her plush lips on his in his mind ever since.

  His body told him she was a gorgeous woman and some primal instinct to pursue her drove him to distraction. Then his brain would kick in and he’d remember who she was.

  His friend’s little sister. Hell, she was practically like his own sister after all these years.

  Looking at her, though, some very un-brotherly feelings surfaced.

  It was impossible to ignore her generous curves. Her line of cleavage had damn near split his balls at least twice today.

  But she was his buddy’s sister. They weren’t close these days, but nostalgia held him back.

  So what if they all grew up together? They were grown adults now.

  She let out a little moan in her sleep. The sound stabbed him low in the groin. In seconds, his cock was half hard, tenting his sweat shorts. Jesus, she was tormenting him even in sleep.

  She flipped onto her side and threw a foot off the bed. As kids, they always called the position of sleeping with a foot outside the covers a “snorkel.” She and Evan insisted they needed to do this in order to breathe. Which made him laugh at the thought, but it stuck with him all these years each time he woke with one foot hanging over the mattress.

  His gaze roamed up her bare toes to her shapely ankle. How many times had she sprained it? Or had he been forced to piggyback her home so her mother could ice it?

  It didn’t look any worse for wear. In fact, the delicate lines had his cock fully hard.

  He slipped to his feet without a sound and stepped into the bathroom. With the door barely shut so the loud click didn’t awaken her, he dug his fingers into his hair.

  What he needed was release. A hard, fast pump of his cock through his fist, ending in streams of cum to ease this tension she raised in him.

  Then she’d be worked out of his system, and he could walk out there, once again her brotherly bodyguard.

  He shoved the front of his shorts and boxer briefs down. His thick cock was in his hand before he could think about the repercussions of jacking off with the cause of all this strain sleeping feet away.

  Curling his fingers around the base, he swallowed a groan. The mushroomed head of his cock was swollen with need.

  He tried like hell to put Ells out of his mind—he really did. But from the first jack, it was her face fixed in his head. Her breasts spilling out of that steely blue dress. The same dress hiked up over her rounded thighs as she walked up the stairs.

  “Jesus!” he breathed on a pant and rolled his cock head through his fist again and again.

  His balls clenched. He battled with his breathing and the urge to roar. Or better yet, walk out there and climb on top of the woman who was making him lose his mind.

  A pang deep in his groin made him pump his cock faster. But a rustling noise from outside the door stopped him dead.

  With his fist mid-jack, he squeezed his cock hard to stave off his release as he focused on what was going on outside the door.

  A low crumpling noise of paper raised the hair on his nape. He shoved his cock into his boxer briefs and yanked the shorts up over the rigid length. Whipping open the door, he stepped out and stared at Ells.

  She froze in her tracks, shopping bag in hand. Her eyes flew wide.

  He braced his legs wider, hoping she couldn’t make out the steel rod in his shorts. “Going somewhere?”

  She dragged in a shaky breath and nodded. “Thanks for getting me to safety. You have all the information and I’m sure you can proceed from here without me.”

  “Without you,” he echoed flatly. Anger flared his nostrils, but it did nothing to ease the throb in his cock. Actually, he found he wanted her more. Angry sex sounded damn good right now.

  He rolled his shoulders at the imagined feel of her nails scraping down his back while he rammed his cock into her slick heat.

  Her nod cut through his lurid thoughts. “I want to find Evan. Tell him I’m okay.”

  “We agreed to leave Evan out of this—for the sake of his family.”

  “I’m sure Marvis sent more people after me. What if they find out where he lives? It wouldn’t be too hard to trace my brother and his family.”

  “I’ll handle it. Go back to bed, Ells.”

  She shook her head. Even in the light cast by the clock, he saw tendrils of hair slide over her breasts.

  Biting off a groan, he stepped closer to her—damn dangerous when he’d just been jacking off to thoughts of her. He caught her personal scent radiating off her body. Her sleep-tousled hair had his orgasm half a fist pump away.

  He hovered close to her. “Go back to bed, Ells. You’re not going anywhere tonight.”

  She ran her tongue over her plump lower lip. “I made the wrong decision, dragging you into this. I should have gone to the cops.”

  “Too late for that. I’m involved. And you’re under my protection. Which means you don’t go anywhere without me.”

  Her stare on his chest left him fighting the urge to drag her against it. What would it hurt to hold her?

  It would unhinge him.

  He had to keep his hands off her.

  A quiet noise of despair broke from her, and she bowed her head. “I can’t stand the thought of them getting to Evan. Or his wife and kids. Landon! You have to understand where I’m coming from!”

  She stole a peek at him, and he moved before he thought twice. He caught her face in his hands and smoothed his thumbs across the crests of her cheeks. They weren’t frozen ice about to shatter but were just as delicate.

  His cock pulsated as he leaned close and pressed his lips between her furrowed brows. He dragged in a deep breath of her scent and rasped, “You can call him in the morning. Hear his voice, make sure that he’s okay. All right?”

  She nodded.

  He cradled her face a beat longer before he released her and reached to take the shopping bag from her grip. She let him have it and even allowed him to steer her back to bed.

  He tucked her under the covers and hovered over her. “Get some sleep. But don’t try to leave again. You won’t get past me. Understand?”

  “Yes,” she said quietly.

  He straightened but couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to stroke a lock of hair off her brow. She reached up and grasped his wrist. “I’m so sorry I dragged the people I care about into my mess.”

  “I know you are.” He started to pull away, but she tightened her grip on his arm.

  “That includes you, Landon.”

  He managed a simple nod but her words knotted his insides.

  Instead of calming his libido with sweet, innocent declarations, her statement only confused him more.

  * * * * *

  When Ells opened her eyes, her stare was trained on the other bed—and Landon was not in it.

  The covers were still tucked into place, as if he hadn’t even slept there.

  She lifted her head off the pillow. As her eyes hit the man sitting in the chair positioned in front of the door, her heart gave a hard squeeze of remorse.

  Because of her attempt to sneak out last night, he’d been too afraid to lie down and rest. Had he been sitting upright asleep in front of the door all night?

  As if sensing her gaze on him, he opened his eyes and looked straight at her. Silence hung between them, and then he scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “Mornin’.” His rough tone rippled through her, leaving her feeling like he’d rubbed his callused fingers over her sensitive skin.

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Judging by your expression, you haven’t forgotten what I said about calling your brother in the morning.”

  “I haven’t.”

  He checked a sports watch strapped to his wrist. “It’s still early.”

  “That’s even better. It means he’ll still be home.”

  Planting his hands on his thighs, he pushed to his feet and stretched his arms overhead. Watching the virile cowboy move his body that way reminded her of past lovers who wanted early morning sex she was never in the mood for. If any of them had looked like Landon Trace, she could have been persuaded.

  She twisted her face into the pillow in case her expression gave anything else away. She needed to wake up, to realize who shared the room with her.

  This was Landon. She shouldn’t be thinking of how he’d react if she straddled him on that chair. Or he put her against the wall.

  He was only here to keep those guys hired by Marvis from getting to her. Sure, he was gorgeous and hot and his muscled body struck all the right chords in her, especially this morning when her defenses were at a low.

  “Since I took the bed you wanted, you get first dibs on the bathroom.” He walked over to the window and hooked a finger in the separation between the draperies. He peeked out.

  She pushed into a sitting position and swung her legs out of bed, remembering how he’d so gently drawn the covers over her the previous night.

  Wordlessly, she hopped out of bed, grabbed the shopping bag filled with all the items she had in the world right now and shut herself inside the bathroom.

  Minutes later, she stepped out again, wearing a pair of new leggings, a tank top and a pair of flip-flops, all purchased in the gift shop. These small possessions, along with the ability to brush her hair and teeth, made her feel human again.

  Landon pivoted from the window. His stare swept her from head to toe. “You look like the casino poster girl.”

  She laughed. “You look like my sidekick.”

  His lips tugged into a smile. “We’ll buy some other things later today.”

  She waved at the bathroom. “It’s all yours.”

  His eyes narrowed on her. “Are you going to try to leave if I go in there?”

  Compressing her lips, she gave an embarrassed shake of her head. “I shouldn’t have tried to run. As soon as you stopped me, I knew I’d never get far without your help.”

  A gleam hit his eyes, and that twist of his manly lips left her feeling as if she’d been shoved and couldn’t find her balance.

  “I’m going to take you at your word, Ells. Don’t make me hunt you down.” He entered the bathroom and firmly closed the door.

  She let a sigh whisper past her lips and set down the shopping bag. Would he really hunt her down?

  Yes, he would. A man like that didn’t make empty threats.

  She sat on the bed, running her palms down her thighs over and over again. She popped to her feet as soon as Landon came out. “I’m ready to make that call now.”

  “You never were patient.” He softened his statement about her character flaw with a smile. In a few steps, he crossed the room to her and held out a hand. A cheap, pay-by-the-minute phone lay on his palm.

  With butterflies doing nosedives in her stomach, she took the device. “Uh…I don’t know the number off the top of my head.”

  “I do.” He recited the set of numbers. Impressed, she entered them.

  “How do you know Evan’s number?”

  He leveled a look at her. “Don’t speak when someone answers.”

  “I really shouldn’t say anything?”

  He pinned her in a look. “You do not want to involve your brother and his family. Only hear his voice so you feel better.”

  “Fair point.” Swallowing hard against the lump bobbing in her throat, she hit another button to connect the call. She’d never felt so jittery, sitting in a hotel room wearing gift shop clothes, her old tormentor looming over her, ready to snatch the phone out of her hand the minute she opened her mouth and went against his command not to speak.

  And waiting to hear her brother’s voice, to know that the mess she was in hadn’t reached him, made her think there weren’t only butterflies in her stomach but a swarm of locusts.

  After two rings, a deep, familiar voice flooded into her ear and wiped anything she might have wanted to say right out of her mind.

  “Hello?” Evan repeated louder.

  She bit down on her lip hard. Landon’s brown eyes floated in front of her vision, narrowed in warning.

  Do not speak, he mouthed.

  “Hello?” her brother asked a third time.

  In the background, she heard a TV playing what sounded like cartoons. Childish voices reached her too. And her sister-in-law called out, “Pancakes are ready!”

  “Are mine in the shape of a bear, Mom?” one of the girls cried.

  A second later, a click sounded on the other end as her brother hung up. She could hear him now, complaining about telemarketers and robo-calls.

  Stunned by what her life had become, she lowered the phone from her ear.

  “Did he answer?” Landon asked.

  She gave a jerky nod. Not being able to confide in her brother hurt. Keeping anything from him went against the grain, and knowing that her action might still endanger him and his family made those locusts in her stomach feel like daggers, slicing her from the inside to the point of pain.

  Hunching, she thrust the phone at Landon. “It sounds like a normal Sunday morning.”

  He didn’t speak, only studied her.

  The man had intensity down to a science. It was eight in the morning—did he ever let down his guard even for a second?

 

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