Читать книгу Tempted By The Bodyguard - Elle James - Страница 18

Shelby sat on the other side of the SUV, her mind on the man driving instead of the assignments and classes she’d missed. When she should have been planning ahead on the catch-up work she’d have to hustle to complete, she was thinking about how thick Daniel’s thighs were and wondering what they looked like beneath the denim of his jeans.

Hell, he’d seen her naked. She ought to have the same privilege. Not that she should be thinking about him that way at all, but she couldn’t help it.

Her core heated and she squirmed in her seat, inches away from his big hands gripping the steering wheel. The same hands that had carried her from the bath to her bed, naked.

“So how did you become a bodyguard?”

“I work for the Secret Service. I was detailed out to provide protection to former vice president Kate Winston.”

“Secret Service. Sounds impressive.” She tapped her fingers on the armrest. “And interesting. Are all Secret Service agents glorified bodyguards?”

His jaw tightened and his fingers curled around the steering wheel turned white around the knuckles.

She must have bruised his ego. She smiled inwardly, glad she’d gotten beneath his skin.

“Some of us work on investigations into threats against the president and vice president.”

“Why aren’t you working on the investigation? Did you make someone mad?”

His fingers loosened and he sighed. “I was injured when someone shot at Mrs. Winston. I’ve been sidelined from the investigation.”

“You were injured? Is that why you limp?” Now she felt bad for poking fun at the man.

He nodded. “I took the bullets meant to kill your grandmother.”

Shelby sat for a moment in silence, the full extent of what he was saying hitting hard. “Who would have it in for her and why?”

“If we had the answers, wouldn’t we have caught him by now?”

“I suppose.” She glanced out the window as they passed houses and businesses. “I don’t understand why people have to be so callous and angry all the time.”

“Being a part of the Winston family, with all their wealth and property, has its perks.”

“And apparently its price.” Shelby pushed a hand through her hair and stared forward. “I didn’t ask for it.”

“No, you didn’t. But you can’t deny it. You look just like a younger version of Kate. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see it.”

As they drove onto the university campus, Shelby stared at her reflection in the side mirror. She did look a little like her grandmother and a lot like the pictures of the younger Kate Winston.

Campus looked the same as it did the day she’d entered the library to research information for her paper. The sun was just as bright, the trees weren’t much different and the buildings were all still there.

The only thing that had changed was her. Two weeks ago, the most important thing in her life was getting a good education.

Her grandfather had done everything in his power to give her all the opportunities to improve her life. Despite his argument earlier that day about not needing an education to be a bartender, he’d been the first one to kick her butt and remind her of how important it was to get a degree that would provide a livable income. He’d drilled it into her head that she had to be able to support herself and anyone else who might come along. That anyone else being any children she might bring into the world.

Her grandfather worried that she wouldn’t be able to support herself when he was gone. He’d admitted he’d spoiled her mother and she’d been less than responsible when she’d been growing up, as evidenced by her pregnancy at age eighteen.

He’d raised Shelby to be more responsible. She’d helped out at the grill from a young age, earning her own spending money. Nothing was free in life, he’d told her. And she alone was responsible for her own actions.

She didn’t mind working, and she loved her grandfather more than anyone in the world because deep inside she knew he loved her, too. And she’d almost lost him. Or rather, they’d almost lost each other. With her life back in her own hands, she vowed never to be so vulnerable again.

She pointed to a brick structure, “Pull up beside that building. I’ll just run in and see if my professor is there.”

When she reached for the door handle, his hand snaked out and grabbed her arm. “We will go inside the building together.”

His unrelenting grip on her arm left her no choice.

“Seriously? Look around you. There are students everywhere, and faculty and staff. I can make it to my professor’s office and back with no problem.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather go with you.”

“It’s not all the same to me. I don’t need a bodyguard to lead me around on a leash.” Shelby yanked her arm free and pushed the door open, jumping out. She set off at a good pace, hoping to reach the building and duck inside before he could catch up.

She hadn’t gone five steps before Daniel was out of the car and at her side, matching her pace. Students passed on each side of her.

Each time one walked by, Daniel glared and moved closer to Shelby.

Finally Shelby stopped and faced him. “You can’t do this. You’re scaring the other students.”

“Do you realize how close they are getting? Anyone that close could jam a knife into you and you wouldn’t see it coming.”

“They’re students, damn it, not terrorists.” Shelby stomped away from him and pushed through the door into the building.

Once inside, she mounted the stairs in the stairwell to the third floor and hurried toward her professor’s office.

Daniel dogged her footsteps, never more than a few steps behind, his limp more pronounced after climbing the stairs.

When they reached the office, Shelby faced Daniel. “I’m going inside. Alone.”

He frowned. “I’d rather check it out before you go in.”

“Too bad. I’ll take my chances. You’re staying out here.”

“But—”

She poked a finger into his chest. “Stay.”

His frown deepened. “I’m not a dog.”

“I know. A dog would have a much more obedient disposition.” Shelby slipped through the wood-paneled door into the professor’s office and closed it behind her. She waited on the other side, fully expecting Daniel to jerk the door open and follow her inside. When he didn’t, she was almost disappointed, then she shook her head and turned.

The professor wasn’t in, but his teaching assistant was.

Shelby wrote down all the assignments and promised the assistant she’d email the professor with her excuse.

She was sure most professors had heard every excuse in the books, but being kidnapped and held for two weeks had to be new, ranking right up there with being taken by aliens. And they might not believe her, since Kate’s team had kept the abduction below the radar from news and media sources.

Once she had a list of the assigned work, she braced herself for her next encounter with Daniel.

When she stepped out into the hallway, Daniel stood surrounded by several young, college coeds. And the jerk was smiling at them.

One batted her eyes and took his hand, penning her phone number on his palm. When she’d replaced her pen in her purse, she lifted her thumb to her ear and her pinky to her mouth and mouthed the words call me.

Shelby’s fingers curled into tight fists, her fingernails digging into her skin. She walked away without looking back. It wasn’t as if he was her boyfriend. She was the job to him.

So what if he’d seen her naked? As a Secret Service agent he’d probably seen lots of naked women. A girl on every job, like James Bond.

She heard him behind her say, “Sorry, ladies, I have to go.”

He had a job to do.

Her.

Shelby’s teeth ground together. As she passed the elevator the doors were closing. She ducked in before they closed all the way. Daniel ran the last couple steps, but didn’t make it in time to jam his hand between the doors and stop its progress.

Thankfully, the elevator was going down. But it stopped at the second floor. Damn.

If she gauged it right, Daniel would assume she would get off on the ground floor. What he didn’t realize was that there was a walkway across to the next building on campus from the second floor. And the entrances to that building led to the parking lot where she’d left her car.

Her grandfather had left it there, more worried about her return than bringing her car home. She kept a spare key in a magnetic box on the undercarriage of the vehicle. If she could get there before Daniel, she would take herself to the Outer Banks and collect her own clothing. Maybe she could help her grandfather out for a few hours at O’Hara’s Bar and Grill.

She stepped off the elevator and crossed the glassed-in walkway to the next building and took the stairs to the exit, all the while glancing over her shoulder for Daniel. Once outside the building, she hurried toward her car, sitting where it had been the night she’d been attacked.

The closer she got to the car, the faster her heart beat. She told herself there was nothing to worry about. The sun shone down on her, there were other people in the parking lot and she wasn’t a lone student asking to be abducted in an empty parking lot.

A white SUV backed out of a parking space, blocking her path to her car.

Shelby stopped and waited for the vehicle to move on.

The longer it took to complete the reverse, the more impatient she became. She glanced behind her, worried Daniel would figure it out and come after her before she reached her car.

The SUV turned, still backing toward her. Then when the driver should have shifted into drive, it continued backward, sliding up alongside the position where Shelby stood.

A door swung open.

Something clicked inside her, her heart rate skyrocketed and her senses jumped to full alert. Shelby backed up a step, turned and ran, daring only one glance over her shoulder.

A man in a black ski mask leaped out of the vehicle and gave chase.

Heart racing, she ran for her life, the nightmare happening all over again. “Help!” she cried.

Students stopped and stared, too shocked by what was happening to be of any use.

“Help!” Shelby cried, adrenaline the only fuel powering her legs. She refused to be caught; she couldn’t go back to a dark cellar where all she’d had were her thoughts to keep her from going insane.

She ran around a vehicle and headed for the building she’d just exited. Pushing through the glass doorway, she ran into a solid wall of muscle.

Shelby screamed and fought, every instinct geared for survival.

“Shelby, it’s me!” Daniel yelled. “Stop fighting.”

When she realized it was Daniel, she fell against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Don’t let them take me.”

“Shh…it’s okay.” His arms circled her, drawing her close. His hands ran down her back, stroking her to calm. “Now, tell me what you’re talking about.” He pushed her to arm’s length and stared into her face.

“A man in a ski mask.” She pointed toward the door as the white SUV raced past. “He came out of that SUV.”

Daniel shoved her to the side and sprinted out the door. Shelby followed behind him, refusing to let him out of her sight.

He didn’t go far before he stopped. “Damn. No license plate.” Daniel pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit one of his contact numbers. “Why the hell did you run from me?” He glared at her as he put the phone to his ear. “How can I protect you if you don’t cooperate?”

“I didn’t think it would happen in broad daylight.” Shelby stood like a recalcitrant child, her head hanging low. “Why is this happening to me?”

He shook his head, the anger melting from his face. He gathered her against him with one arm, while he held the phone to his ear. “Do us both a favor and don’t run from me. I might not find you in time if it happens again.”

Shelby nodded, thankful for his arm around her and completely terrified by the thought that it could happen.

Again.

When Jed Kincannon picked up on the other end, Daniel didn’t waste time on pleasantries. “Henderson here. There’s been another attempt to kidnap Kate Winston’s granddaughter.” He gave the details and a description of the white SUV. “It didn’t have a license plate.”

“I’ll get on the horn with the local police immediately. Stay with the girl,” Kincannon said. “You’re headed back to the Winston Estate?”

He could feel Shelby trembling against him and his arm tightened around her. “Yes, sir.” Damn right he was taking her back where there were pretty stiff security measures in place, and not only would it be difficult for someone to get in, it would be almost impossible for someone to leave unnoticed.

“Good,” Kincannon said. “Keep her there as much as possible.”

Daniel wanted to laugh at the man. That would be like caging a wild cat. She’d eventually find her way out and he’d be running to keep up with her. His bum knee throbbed in anticipation. Daniel clicked the off button and pocketed the phone. “Come on. We should be getting back to the estate.”

“I’m not going back,” she said into his shirt, the tremors subsiding. She pushed back and stared up into his eyes. “I’m going home.”

“Like hell you are. It’s not safe.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m going home to get my own clothes. Then you can take me back to the Winston Estate.”

He didn’t like the idea of driving all the way over to the Outer Banks. It would take a couple of hours to get there from where they were and even longer to get back to Raleigh. “It’ll put us getting back after dark.”

“I’m not going back without my own clothes. I’ll take my own car if I have to.”

Anger and frustration mixed and boiled over. “You were almost kidnapped again. Don’t you get it?”

She stared up at him. “Yes, I get it. I was stupid to run away from you.”

“Then why did you do it?”

She looked away. “You’re pushy, and I’m not used to someone telling me what to do and following me around like I’m a child to be coddled.”

“Then stop acting like a child.” He gripped her chin in his fingers and tipped her head up. “I can’t help you if you don’t let me.” With her face turned up to him and her lips only inches from his, he realized his error too late. All the anger at having been duped, followed by the surge of emotion he’d experienced when he’d seen her running toward him with fear and desperation in her eyes welled up in him and he took it out on her. He pressed his lips to hers in a searing kiss, one that took his breath away and left him dizzy with the intensity.

When he broke away, he whispered against her lips, “Don’t run from me.”

She braced her hands on his chest, curling her fingers into his shirt, clinging to him.

“Promise.” His hands slid over her shoulders to grip her arms. “Promise you won’t run from me,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I promise,” she whispered. Then her hands circled the back of his neck, bringing his lips back to hers. She gave as good as she got, her tongue pushing past his lips to take his in a long, slow glide. Her hips pressed against his as she moved closer, her calf curling around the back of his leg.

They could have been anywhere, but he felt as though they were alone on a deserted island, only him and Shelby.

A horn honked, shaking him out of the dream he’d been in, waking him to reality. They were standing in a parking lot. People were moving around them and anyone could have run them over and they would never have seen it coming.

“Come on.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the other building’s parking lot.

She ran to keep up, her fingers wrapped in his. When they reached his SUV, he gave it a quick once-over, checking for bombs, before he allowed her to get in. Given her track record, a bomb could happen again, just like a kidnapping had almost succeeded.

He shivered at the thought. Even more than his promise to Patrick to keep her safe, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost her.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she buckled her seat belt across her lap and settled back against the leather seats.

He shifted into Reverse, backed out of the parking space and drove toward the exit, his focus on the road, the vehicles around him and everything else but that kiss. “We’re going to the Outer Banks, damn it.”

Ah, who was he kidding? He couldn’t think of anything but the kiss.