Bodyguard Boyfriend

She flinched, her full lips drawing together in a tight line.

He’d offended her. But that was all he’d done since they met. Hell, his appearance alone seemed to offend her.

“I have obligations,” she said. “I have events I must attend.”

“Or the world will end?” he asked.

“My world,” she said. “This is my world. And I’m not going to stop living because of some threats. The trial hasn’t even started yet.”

She was right. Luther would probably wait to act on his threats against her until it mattered most—during the trial. That was when he would need the judge to rule on the evidence and eyewitness’s testimony.

“Aren’t you up for the job?” she asked, obviously goading him now.

“As your bodyguard or your boyfriend?” he asked. Since he’d caught her staring at him, he was actually up to both jobs, the tension still gripping his body.

“You’re only acting like my boyfriend,” she said as if he needed the clarification. “But you’re going to have to do something to make that believable.”

He nodded in agreement and rose from the couch.

While he’d taken off his shirt, he’d left on his jeans. He’d just unbuttoned the button. They hung low on his hips and her gaze dropped there, to where his erection strained against the fly. Her eyes widened even more.

He chuckled.

And her face flushed. She met his gaze with her eyes narrowed into a glare now.

“Yeah,” he said. “You need to stop looking at me like you hate my guts. You need to stop cringing when I touch you.”

“You need to stop calling me ‘Princess’ and treating me like I’m the snob,” she told him.

He grimaced, not certain he could stop himself from teasing her. He loved her reaction too much.

“And there’s one other thing,” she said.

He had an idea, too. She needed to get used to him touching her, maybe even kissing her...so that they actually acted like boyfriend and girlfriend.

Before he could offer to make such a sacrifice, she said, “You need to get a haircut and shave.”

“What?” His hand went protectively to his beard. He didn’t remember the last time he’d shaved. It had gotten quite long.

“I can’t even see your face,” she said.

That was why he liked it; after so many years undercover, he’d gotten used to hiding his face, his feelings, his...

“And nobody I know has a beard,” she added.

He couldn’t remember if he’d seen any on the men in that ballroom last night. The guy he’d seen leaving her apartment certainly hadn’t had one—but then he probably wasn’t even able to grow one.

“And that’s not all we need to change for anyone to actually believe that you’re my boyfriend,” she continued.

He wasn’t going to hold his breath hoping she’d suggest his idea of getting used to intimacy with each other. She obviously wasn’t worried about anything deeper than the surface, just like those other women he’d known.

“You need new clothes,” she continued, confirming his suspicion.

“You really are a princess,” he said. “Too good to be seen with someone like me.”

Totally unrepentant, she nodded. “You’re right. I don’t want to be seen with someone easily recognizable as a drug dealer.”

“By your boyfriend,” he reminded her.

She flinched. “Michael is not my boyfriend any longer. I broke up with him last night. That’s why I left the Payne Protection Agency. I wanted to talk to him alone.”

Was talking all they’d done? Tyce felt some strange tightening in his stomach muscles and he wasn’t sure what it was. Jealousy?

He snorted. He wasn’t jealous of the princess. Sure, he was physically attracted to her. She was gorgeous. He really would have to be dead not to notice her face or her body. But she was also high maintenance as hell, like those other women he’d dated, and he wanted no part of that again. Michael hadn’t seemed particularly upset when he’d left, either. He was probably relieved. “He took it well.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Were you listening outside the door?”

“I’m your bodyguard, Princess. I’m going to watch and listen to everything you do and say.”

She shivered despite her bulky velour robe. But even through that robe, he’d felt the heat and softness of her body. She was tall with a fullness to her curves he appreciated. Too much.

He’d just reminded her that he was her bodyguard. Now he had to remind himself—that was all he was. She was just an assignment to him. Nothing more.

Her eyes widened as if she’d had a sudden shock. And, in apparent horror, she murmured, “Michael might not be the only one who recognized you last night.”

He chuckled. “If anyone recognized me from my days in vice, then those fancy friends of yours are some upstanding citizens, Princess. Doesn’t that prove you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover?” Like she had apparently judged him of being unworthy of even pretending to be her boyfriend.

She glared at him. “You know I have a point. We can’t risk anyone else realizing who you are or who you were pretending to be.”

Unfortunately, she did have a point, and she wasn’t the first one who’d suggested he needed to lose his undercover persona. His grandma hated it. Every Sunday when he went home for dinner, she implored him to shave and get a haircut. She’d even gone so far as to pull out his photo from boot camp graduation for the US Marine Corps. So not only would he be making the princess happy, he’d be making Grandma happy, too.

He sighed in resignation and begrudgingly agreed. “Okay.”

Bella smiled—so brightly that he had to squint and not at the sunshine pouring through the tall living room windows. He even had to suck in a breath because he felt like he’d been punched in the gut again. Damn, she was beautiful.

She clapped her hands together. “I’ll call Daddy’s barber.”

He sighed again but with disgust now. “I don’t need your daddy’s barber to work me in today. I’m sure I can get in somewhere else.”

“There’s no time for that,” she said and glanced at the thin gold watch on her delicate wrist. “Not with my luncheon coming up. He’ll come here. And after he’s done with you, we’ll go buy you some clothes.”

Tyce groaned. He’d known he’d gotten the worst of all the assignments for this protection detail. He just hadn’t realized how much it would change him—physically at least. Emotionally, he wasn’t going to let Bella Holmes get to him. Like all his undercover assignments, he had a job to do. Just a job...

Parker picked up the cell phone that vibrated on his desktop. He’d not been this busy since he’d opened his own franchise of the Payne Protection Agency nearly a year ago. Then again, this was an extraordinary assignment. He didn’t have just one person’s safety to worry about but the safety of everyone associated with Luther Mills’s trial.

And also every member of Parker’s team...

Luther had every reason to want to take them out, as well. Not only were they going to stop him from carrying out his nefarious plans, they were going to make sure he was finally prosecuted and punished for his crimes. Crimes for which they had all, Parker included, tried to nail him over the years.

“Tyce,” he greeted his caller.

The guy had slipped away last night before Parker had had the chance to talk to him again. But the chief had assured Parker that he’d made it clear to Tyce how important his assignment—how important Bella Holmes—was.

“Is everything all right?” he asked. He hoped like hell that it was. Thanks to Luther and the enormous crew of people who worked for him, none of the bodyguards was having an easy time with this job. The assistant DA, Jocelyn Gerber, had even gone so far as to accuse him of having a leak within his agency. Because Luther’s crew had found the safe house where Clint had brought the eyewitness, she figured someone on his team was working for the drug dealer. That wasn’t possible, though.

“No,” Tyce answered.

Parker tensed, rising from the chair behind his desk. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything!” Tyce replied.

“Oh, no!” Parker should have had backup for Tyce. But he hadn’t thought he would need it yet—not until after the trial began and the judge had to start ruling.

Clint needed reinforcements with the eyewitness because taking her out was Luther’s top priority, which he’d already proved with the attempts made on Rosie Mendez’s life. Hart also needed backup with the evidence technician because Luther was determined to get rid of all the proof of his guilt before the trial began.

Tyce was the biggest, most fearless bodyguard on Parker’s team. He didn’t sound fearless now, though.

“What do you need?” Parker asked. “How many? Have you called the police?”

“Police?” Tyce repeated.

“Yeah, we really can’t do that,” Parker said with a heavy sigh. “Not until the chief figures out who’s Luther’s mole within the department.” That was where the mole was, not within his agency.

“I don’t need the police,” Tyce said. “I need someone else to take over this damn assignment.”

“What’s wrong?” Parker asked.

“I’m done,” Tyce said. “I agreed to the haircut and the shave. But I’m not playing dress up and tea party with the judge’s little girl.”

Parker dropped back into his chair. “What?” Hart’s young daughter was the one with the tea parties and the dress-up clothes. Judge Holmes’s daughter was somewhere in her twenties.

“She thinks I’m what Spencer calls Keeli—a bodyguard Barbie doll.”

A deep laugh rumbled in Parker’s chest. He needed this—with all the danger. He needed this break from the seriousness of the situation everyone found themselves in—apparently, everyone but Tyce.

Though he did sound scared.

Parker laughed harder.

“I’m glad you’re so damn amused,” Tyce said, his gruff voice even deeper with resentment.

“You’re not a Barbie doll,” Parker assured him. “Since you’re male, you would be a Ken doll. Or maybe a G.I. Joe.” He and his brothers had had those growing up. His mother had thought that was why his brother Cooper had decided to become a Marine. But their sister had played with the G.I. Joes more than they had.

Tyce cursed him. “This isn’t funny!”

“Yeah, it really is,” Parker said. “You’re just going to have to suck it up and deal with her. Everybody else is busy.”

“Everything okay?” Tyce anxiously asked. “Is everybody okay?”

Tyce Jackson acted all tough and independent, but just like he was the biggest guy on Parker’s team, he had the biggest heart, as well. He fought so hard to hide it to protect himself. But Parker had been there when Tyce had had his heart broken.

“Yeah,” Parker said. “Everybody’s fine.” For now. But Clint and Rosie had already had too many close calls. How the hell had Luther known where the safe house was? While they’d survived the latest attack, Luther Mills wasn’t about to give up. And because of that everybody was in danger.

And though it might not be as immediate as the eyewitness and the evidence tech, the judge’s daughter was in danger, too. The photograph her father had received was proof of the threat. Luther had someone watching her, waiting until he needed her.

“You need to do whatever you have to in order to stick close to her,” Parker advised his employee.

Tyce groaned. “I know. I’m trying, but there’s already been bloodshed.”

“What!” Parker jumped out of his chair again. “Whose? Who’s hurt?”

“Damn barber of her father’s nearly cut my throat,” Tyce grumbled.

Parker heard a giggle in the background. Bella Holmes was as amused as he was. That was good. When she’d seen that photograph of herself the night before, she’d looked terrified. Maybe she’d realized that Tyce would keep her safe.

But now Parker wondered who would protect Tyce from Bella Holmes?

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