BODYGUARD'S UNDENIABLE PULL

PTE

Elena

Elena

our bigg

gun fire, and the constant low buzz of a hundred smartphones recording every second of her arrival. She kept her chin h

against her legs with each step. It had cost more than most people's monthly rent but tonight it felt

ver here,

e rumor true

shed question was fishing for...the persistent whisper that s

st and closest confidante, was already speaking urgently into her earpiece, voice calm

re aggressive. An elbow jabbed into her arm hard enough to sting. Another hand...too bold, too low brushed the small of

ack against a solid wall of heat and muscle. Her breath caught sharply in her throat. The arm didn't loosen. Instead, it s

oice murmured directly against

swarm with cold precision. Black suit, black tie, black shirt everything about him was dark except for the thin white scar that curved

Ha

hen vanished, leaving them alone in three beats of awkward silence. He had assessed her the way a professional evaluates a complica

her stomach, guiding her with a grip that suggested she

ed her forward with controlled urgency, one large hand cupping the back of her head to protect it from the doorf

nto the Manhattan night. Streetlights streaked a

zed she'd been holding. Her hands trembled; she

harper cedar, maybe, or the faint metallic bite of gun oil. He stared straight ahead, one hand resting loosely on

ough to study him. "You alw

f and unreadable. "Only when t

breathless laugh. "

some guy tried to climb the barricade

idering him. "You think tha

l I say otherwise." His voice remained even, almost bored but an undercurre

he suit jacket effortlessly...thick wrists..hands across two knuckles, the kind

ou done this?" s

g en

o know I'm not

the full weight of his stare. The ice in

said, softer now. "You're a

g loomed ahead...sleek glass and steel, doorman

ens now? You camp in my hallwa

ing lik

w. "And the part whe

had encircled her waist earlier in the crush. Then bac

glided t

dewalk in a practiced left-right-left swe

alm, faint scars crisscrossi

her finge

nd hers warm, firm,

eartbeat, neith

he instant her heels met pavement, and fell

n her skin long after contact b

ered first, checked every corner, then motioned her in. The doors

watching the floor numbers clim

ed when people are

a near-la

pped out first again, scanned the empt

The lock clicked open.

lier, mingled with the faint trace of her signature perfume. Lights were dimmed low; the city

nitive thud. He didn't gawk at the view or the art. He m

hed her aching arches. "You want a drink? Water? Coffee?

r is

ss from the filtered tap, and carried it back. H

ank

otion of his throat working sent an

g," he said wi

y house. I g

not here to be stared at. I'

felt paper-thin. "I've been breathing ju

lat

of those cream envelopes again..the block handwriting, the sin

"I hate this. Feeling like I'm the

ou're valuable. That's w

in. "Valuable. Ni

, unflinching. "

ged, electric, the kind

said you're the best.

aven

I'm

as you

crow's feet at his eyes, the subtle tick of his ja

red. "Then we

. "Are you going to

have

y...simple, honest,

ne, adrenaline, the way he looked at her.... j

step. "You're n

scared of

ia

t a laugh. "Go to bed, Ms.

ong leather sectiona

ways se

at longer, then turn

there. Bed is made..

der the pillow. I have a thing

dge. "I'll b

your

er-aware of his gaze

or, she paused, f

ax

ooke

ou. For

nod. "Get

ide and closed

again

heartbeat...loud

this yet still felt...

toward the en-suite to sho

ot cracked thr

port..then d

he bedroom door rattled violently...some

ice...raw, urgent

Do not ope

ot..louder

somewhere in

oor...laughing now, b

otect her for

ts flick

hing plunge