Page 8 of Sultry Bodyguard Summer

"I heard you."

While the server sets down our margaritas, Sienna tells me about attempting golf when she was younger.

We say cheers and clink glasses. The drink is soothing cool. I take a long sip. “They make a good margarita, don’t you think?”

“I do.” She places her glass on the table. “So, how did you end up working with Darcy?” she asks.

I'm inclined to brush off the question. It's deeper than casual conversation, and I don't like going there. Unfortunately, we need to appear to everyone in this bar like we're going deep. I take another sip of margarita. "She heard about me leaving my former job and told her boss to hire me.

"Before Sunbreak Security I was working for the Brenner County Police. It was my first job out of the academy. There was an internal review of the department that revealed inconsistencies in evidence collection. I wasn’t surprised at who got implicated. Internal Affairs had a field-day with my department. The politics of it all made quitting imperative."

Quickly, I scan the patio for threats and return my gaze to Sienna. “I was going to move to another part of the state maybe get a job in another department, but I knew Darcy from an investigation she did into a coastal smuggling ring. She got her boss, Sloane, to offer me a job, and I've been working for at Sunbreak Security since.”

“What made you get into law enforcement?” Sienna looks at me like she’s so wrapped up in what I’m saying that nothing and no one could tear her away.

I open my mouth to give therightanswer and catch myself. When people ask, I tell them I always wanted to be a cop. They buy it. All boys want to be cops at one point or another. But the way she’s poised to listen makes me feel like I can talk without her judging. Damn, she's a good therapist.

“I didn’t want to end up like my brother.”

She sips the margarita, nodding.

I sneak a glance around the patio and tell her about growing up halfway across the state with an elementary school teachermom and ophthalmologist dad. I talk about my older sister Megan, her husband and the kids. I explain how my older brother Ethan went through bouts of depression growing up.

“In college, things went from bad to worse. He went to school in Alabama. Ended up getting involved in drugs and illicit stuff. Eventually, he was arrested for possession and attempted robbery. My parents got him lawyered out of doing jail time.

“His school kicked him out. Then he was in and out of rehab for a few years. He’s clean now. Well, mostly clean. And he has a great girlfriend. He works for my uncle’s construction business. And because of him, I ended up becoming a cop. Then an ex-cop and onto security services.”

“Your family is amazing to be that supportive." She brushes a lock of hair behind her ear.

Is she actually flirting with me? Or is this part of the lovey-dovey act? Funny thing is, I don’t care. I'm doing my job monitoring the patio, and the margarita is chilling me out. I'm enjoying myself. “How about your family?”

“They’re supportive of what I do. They know what I do online with the sexual wellness videos on social media. They tell everyone I’m afamily therapist. They don’t know about the escorting. I could never tell them. At the time, they thought I was living in Houston and waitressing.…”

Her gaze shifts At once, her body tenses and pure fear widens her eyes.

I snap to where she's looking. A guy stands at a tall table across the patio with his gaze fixed on us. I shift to see him through the dozens of people between us.

He’s almost my height. Dark hair, receding hairline. Fit but not muscled. He’s got an alcoholic’s gut. His expression is still and steady. Shadows around his nose and mouth make me think of a mammalian predator. His eyes have the dark depthsof a creature who achieves sustenance through death. “Is that Blake?”

“Yes.”

I move closer to Sienna. The assignment is to make this ludicrous asshole stalker stay the fuck away. I put a finger under her chin and tilt her head upward. “It's just you and I. We're the only people on the patio. He means nothing.”

“Okay.” She wraps her arms around my midsection.

Her touch sends shockwaves across my skin. My dick gets heavy and needy. “Sienna, I’m going to kiss you now,” I whisper.

“Okay.”

I slant my head and brush my lips against hers.My woman.He has to believe she’s mine. I cup her nape and shift one leg forward, bringing her into the curve of my body. Her breasts press against my chest. My body jerks with the onslaught of lust and adoration. This is too real. It feels too good.

She gasps in a little sound that hits the feral part of my brain.

Why the fuck not?

I let the raw, primal desire I’ve been holding onto unleash itself in delicious sweet and sour open-mouthed kisses. Her hands come to the sides of my face. Our tongues roll. Unruly, hungry noises come from my throat.

Who am I? The bodyguard? The man? Her man?