ROMANCE: Sleeping With The Sheikh (Billionaire Alpha Male Sheikh Romance) (New Adult Forbidden Series Short Stories) (16 page)

Violet was angry with herself, she knew she'd screwed up big time. She texted her boss and let him know her cover had been compromised, but she may still be able to get information out of Burk. She knew she was skating on thin ice right now, both with her job, and with Burk. This was the type of situation that when your cover was blown, you were supposed to just get out and disappear with whatever information you had. She couldn't do that though, Burk was keeping her from doing what normal protocol was. She had to give him a chance to prove his innocence, and prove that their feelings for each other weren't just a passionate fling. The idea of never seeing him again made her heart hurt in a way where she felt like she couldn't breathe thinking about it.

She went home to get her ID, and strapped an extra gun to her thigh across from her knife. She wasn't taking any chances. She grabbed her wallet that had her badge and official ID in it, and went back to the office, dreading that she had to face him. The look of hurt and anger on his face had been unmistakable, and she knew that no matter what secrets he had, or was hiding from her, feeling betrayed by someone you thought you could trust was sometimes an injury you couldn't repair.

Hoping he'd forgive her, hoping he would cooperate and wasn't involved, she pushed the elevator on the main floor to go up to his office. She knew praying wasn't going to fix this, but she sent out her vibes to the universe anyways. Hoping the situation would have a good ending instead of two broken hearts, or a dead FBI agent. She logically knew all the stuff that could go wrong, but for once in her career, she didn't care about the potential consequences. She wanted to follow her heart, and her gut. It went against everything they'd ever taught her, but they never covered what happened when you met a man you thought would be your soul mate. She didn't even know she believed in that romantic mumbo jumbo until she'd met Burk.

Walking back to his office she knocked before entering.

"Lock the door." Burk said, his face a cold mask of indifference. Violet was concerned, but tried to act as cold as the expression on his face. She locked the door and brought her badge over to his desk, tossing it there for him, keeping a safe distance between the two of them.

He picked it up and opened the leather casing and stared at her ID for a few minutes before looking up at her. "Why didn't you tell me to begin with? I would have helped."

"You were our main suspect," Violet told him honestly. "I couldn't. We knew you were hiding something, but I never suspected it was all the information for who the traitor in your company was. Why didn't you speak up sooner?"

"Everything you need to know about the finances is on this CD here, I burned it for you while you were gone. It's a picture of all of the doctored records, every piece of information I collected and a list of how it would have been possible to do this. My main suspect is my assistant Alek. He has family back in Russia and ties to the Russian mafia." Burk's expression went dark with anger. "I trusted him, and he was setting me up to take the fall for this, and he was good, he clearly had help setting this up. I don't know who, but you may be able to get that out of him."

"You were investigating this on your own? Why?" Violet asked, surprised. She knew Burk was smart, and resourceful, but she never thought he would have gotten involved like this, it was dangerous. She wasn't sure if it made her respect him more, or worry that his stupidity could have cost him his life because he didn't really understand the danger he put himself in.

"I wanted to be sure before I handed him over to authorities. He's been my best friend for twenty years." Burk told her and slid the ID and CD across the desk to her. "Now you know my secret I guess."

"There's no other skeletons in your closet you want to tell me about?" Violet asked quietly as she tapped the CD and grabbed her ID and stuck them both in her purse.

"I guess we'll have to see where this goes between us, and you'll have to find out for yourself. I gave you the information you were hoping to find, so answer a question for me," Burk said quietly, watching her with intense eyes that had her hitching a breath in her chest as she stared back.

"Anything," Violet replied automatically, then realized there were some things she couldn't tell him, so she hoped he didn't ask questions she
couldn'
t answer.

"Was anything you felt for me real, or was this all part of your job?" Burk asked her, a flash of hurt showed in his eyes before it disappeared and Violet felt horrible for hurting him. Normally, in the past, they were angry because the men ended up in jail, but Burk appeared to be innocent, a good man, and she'd hurt him.

Oh, the guilt
.

"It was part of my job, but what I feel for you wasn't. I shouldn't have gotten emotionally involved, but I did. Even before I knew you were innocent, turning you in, would break my heart. I'm glad I can take this to my bosses and tell them you appear to be innocent. What I can tell you, is this goes deeper than just Alek skimming funds. We have a kidnapped family being held hostage. We need to find out where, so we can try to get them out, they'll be offered asylum here if we can get to them in time." Violet told him quietly.

"Alek has family over there, is it possible it's his family? That would explain everything he's done," Burk said, shock skittered across his face. "But why wouldn't he tell me? Or ask for my help? I still have connections in Russia, I could have probably found his family and gotten them out."

"When your family's safety is on the line, you do whatever it takes to get and keep them safe, even when it's not the right thing to do. He'll still be held accountable for the illegal choices he's made, but we may be able to get this family safe before any harm can come to them, if they are still alive." Violet told him and then walked around the desk and put her arm on Burk's arm, feeling guilt when he flinched and pulled away. "I have to get this information to my bosses, but this conversation isn't over yet. What was going on between the two of us, we need to talk about that. I can't leave you until we've talked."

"You can come to my house tonight, but Violet, I don't know if I can handle this. I can't share you, and you going undercover for work. The risk to your life and safety and not being able to see you for long periods of time. It won't work for me, no matter how much I liked you." Burk told her gently and then excused himself to get some work done for the day.

Violet walked out of the room feeling completely rejected, but had a job to finish, so she took the files to her boss, and contemplated what she was going to do. She didn't want to lose Burk.

Violet took a deep breath before knocking on Burk's door that night, promising herself she wouldn't cry, no matter what he said. She'd followed her heart, she'd put herself out there for him and if he didn't want her, she couldn't force him.

Burk opened the door and let her in, and before he could open his mouth, Violet kissed him. Pressing her hands to both sides of his face, her tongue roughly mingling with his. Desperation made her do it. She needed him to feel what she did, to realize what he'd be throwing away if he ended it now.

Pulling away to look at him she refused to cry. "I need you Burk, I realize my job is something that we will need to discuss, but I've been thinking of getting out of field work for a while anyways. I can take a desk job, or if this works out together between us, I'd consider retiring altogether. I can get a different job, heck you're going to need a new assistant. They arrested Alek this afternoon and he confessed to everything, including all the names involved. They'll be trying to rescue his family tonight, they sent a special ops team. The information you gathered was invaluable. But enough about that, I need you Burk."

Burk just stared at her, not responding. He'd kissed her back but now he was silent, staring at her.

"Say something, please, I can't just stand here wondering if this is going to be the last conversation we ever have. I love you.
I love you
." Violet told him, her eyes going wide and she tried to push her panic down at his lack of a response to her words.

"You'd throw away your career on chance to be with me?" Burk finally asked her quietly, the expression on his face softened, though he didn't respond to her declaration of love.

"I wouldn't be throwing away my career, I'd be trading it for something better. You. I know we've only known each other a short while, but I want you in my life and if that means making changes to make it happen, I'll gladly do it. This will be my last mission in the field like this. I won't be going undercover anymore. I've accepted a promotion that will be a desk job, I'll be answering phones, filling out paperwork, but it's safe." Violet told him and took a step forward putting her hand on his cheek again, trying to get him to show some emotion that would let her read him. When he was closed off, he was one of the hardest to read people she'd ever met.

"Would you be happy?" Burk looked down at her and shook his head, "I can't take away your happiness, and if you change for me, and you come to resent me, this won't work."

"I was thinking of retiring from this type of undercover field work for a while, I'm getting too old. The statistics of something bad happening the longer I do it start going up. I'm smart enough to know when I've had a good run and should move on to something else." Violet told him and put her hands around his neck, pressing herself close to him. She could feel his cock respond through his pants, and knew at the very least he couldn't hide his attraction to her, even if he tried not to show any other emotions.

"How can I trust you if you have to keep secrets from me constantly?" Burk didn't move, but didn't go to hug her back, and he ignored her perky breasts rubbing against his chest. Or tried too.

"You kept a secret from me, a big secret. A secret that if I'd known earlier, would have gotten Alek arrested a lot faster." Violet whispered to him before pressing a kiss to his neck, her sharp little white teeth nibbling at his collar bone before she pressed another kiss to the base of his throat, feeling his pulse jump beneath her lips.

"I guess we both kept secrets. Do you think we can base a relationship that was started on lies and secrets Violet?" Burk asked her, and finally his hands came up to grab her waist, and he was undecided if he wanted to grip her harder, or push her away.

"I think we can sit down and make this work. No more secrets. I may not be able to tell you every detail at work, but I won't be doing anything I can't generically talk about. I'll be here for you, it will be regular hours, and I want to give this a shot between us Burk. Please...." Violet trailed off, realizing that if he said no, she'd leave here and wouldn't know what to do with herself. The fear of a broken heart suddenly overwhelmed her and she felt the urge to jerk away from him. Burk must have felt her tense, because he tightened his grip on her and held her close.

"I don't know where this will lead us Violet, but you've worked your way into my heart, and I'm scared of having it broken. You're the first woman I've met that had me breaking all my rules. Bringing you to my home, dating someone from work. When I'm not with you, I think about you. When my cell phone rings, I check it constantly thinking and hoping it might be you. I can't just walk away from you. I thought maybe I could but this afternoon, all I could think about was you." Burk told her and then sighed. "This isn't going to be easy to work out. I work long hours sometimes, and some of the people I work for are shady and may or may not have criminal backgrounds. I don't get involved, and you have to promise to stay out of my business unless the law actually gets broken. You're inquisitive, or you wouldn't have done undercover work and I need to be able to trust that our personal life and work life isn't going to completely collide and destroy whatever we have together."

"That's fair, but if something happens, and the agency investigates it, I can stay out of it and support you, but I can't lie, hide, or do anything illegal for you. I'm sorry I had to lie to you while I was undercover." Violet told him bluntly. She had her rules too, and criminal activities was a hard limit, except when working undercover and it had been part of her job description.

"I can live with the first part, and I accept your apology. I won't apologize for trying to save my company my way though." Burk told her. Then he kissed her before she could respond, his hand coming up to press on the back of her head, and his arm tightened around her waist. A few moments later, he scooped her up in his arms, still kissing her and carried her to his bedroom. Walking over to the bed, he set her down and started to work on taking off his clothes.

"I love you Burk," Violet whispered as she took her clothes off and kneeled naked on his bed, watching him slowly strip off his clothes in front of her.

Burk nodded at her, and then proceeded to make love to her for the rest of the night, when he thought she was asleep and curled in his arms, warm and sated, he whispered that he loved her too.

She heard him and smiled silently into the pillow. Burk always had to do things on his terms, but she could live with that.

THE END

Protector For Hire

"Because your case is so unusual," the marshal mused, tapping the back end of his pen against the desk, "I have no choice but to propose an unusual solution."

The meeting had started not even five minutes ago, but April already wished that it was over. Sitting in the closet sized office of a U.S. Marshal was not how she wanted to spend her Friday.

"Unusual as in I don't need to be assigned a new identity and I am free to go home? Or unusual as in things are about to get a lot more complicated for me than they have to be?"

The marshal looked at her from across the desk in exasperation.

"Whatever perceived complications you face are set in place for your own safety. We take gang activity very seriously, Ms. Cosden. That's why we're going to break from our usual procedures and set you up with more than just a new identity."

A leathery hand sank down upon one of the manila folders on the marshal's desk, and he pushed it towards her. April noticed her name inscribed on the tab. Without hesitation she centered it in front of her and opened it up to sort through the papers within. Two distinct stacks were grouped together with paper clips. The first collection detailed the name and history of a woman named Tristan Webber, but it was the second that drew April's attention.

"Byron Black," she murmured, eyes tracing over the bolded name in the top left corner before turning to the passport sized image clipped to the top right. A man glared up at her, his dark brown hair kept short along the sides and just long enough at the crown to tease up so that it looked messy and windblown. A pronounced brow shaded his eyes, which seemed to pierce through the photograph and right through her. His jaw was strong and broad, lined with unkempt stubble. Based on his head shot, April assumed that this man was one of the people who wanted her dead.

"Is this the gang leader?" she asked. He seemed young to be a crime boss, somewhere in his early thirties. "Why is he in my file?"

The marshal shook his head slowly.

"No, Mr. Black is—"

Before he could finish the sentence, the door swung open. April turned in her chair to face the disruption only to find herself pinned by the dark, scrutinizing gaze she'd seen in the photograph. Byron Black dominated the doorway, a black full face helmet tucked under his arm. He wore a thick leather jacket, and the grey t-shirt beneath it stretched across his pecs. A worn pair of dark jeans clung to him in all the right ways, but April was sure that he was the kind of man who didn't care about how he dressed. He just happened to look good naturally, his body filling out his clothes just right.

She swallowed. There was no denying that he was attractive.

"Mr. Black is what?" he asked. The voice rumbled like gravel, dark and deep.

"Here, evidently," the marshal sighed. "Ms.
Webber
, meet Mr. Black. Your assigned security and new boyfriend."

April whipped around in her chair to face the marshal in full.

"My
what
?"

"Yeah," Byron commented dryly from the doorway, "nice to meet you too,
Webber
."

April's blood boiled. Whoever this Byron guy was, he had a lot of nerve to burst into the office unannounced and then mouth off at her shock.

"In order to protect you and to add authenticity to your new identity, we've made arrangements with Mr. Black that Tristan Webber will be his live-in girlfriend. As long as you confirm with us that he is actively guarding you and playing the role of significant other while under the public eye, he will be compensated."

Was he serious? April studied the marshal's face and saw no sign of humor. If they were going for authenticity, why would a man as attractive as Byron settle for a girl like her? April didn't think she was hideous, but she knew she was a little too curvy to be considered conventionally attractive. It didn't matter that she had a sweet face and great hair, or that her fashion sense was on point; men that looked like Byron didn't dig curvy chicks.

"And now that the introductions are out of the way," Byron said flatly, "can I take my
girlfriend
and get out of here, please? I've got a lot going on this afternoon."

The marshal's lips grew thin as he stared at Byron from across the room. There was tension between them, and April wondered why someone as serious and professional as a U.S. marshal would hire someone like Byron Black to look after her. Out of all the men and women enlisted in the army and the police force, surely there were better bodyguards.

But here Byron was, helmet under his arm, ready to take her away.

April slipped her file from the table and stood, turning towards the hunk of a man blocking the door. It didn't matter how attractive he was — his attitude was ugly. Who did he think he was?

"Remember," the marshal bade her, "you must report to us weekly to let us know he's holding up his end of the contract. As I said, it's not often at all that we have an arrangement like this made, but as your case is so sensitive..."

"I got it," April said. Byron had turned and stepped into the hall, starting to head towards the lobby. "He makes sure I'm safe, I make sure he makes sure I'm safe. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that setup." Unnecessary complications was right. How was she supposed to stay safe when she had to be mindful of policing her new ‘boyfriend’ bodyguard?

The marshal said nothing, but April could feel him silently seething behind her. Rather than linger, she slipped out into the hall and followed Byron towards the lobby. As she did he turned his head to look back at her.

"Catch." He pitched the helmet back to her in a high arc, and April caught it with ease. "You ever ride a motorcycle before?"

"No," April replied. Why anyone would want to risk their lives on one of those deathtraps was beyond her.

"Well, I hope you learn fast." There was playful snark in Byron's tone. He hitched a dark brow, turned his head to face straight, and stepped out into the lobby.

April turned the helmet in her hands, dumbstruck. The Witness Protection Program was all about assigning new identities to the people it protected, but never had she thought that she'd face changes so drastic.

"Can't we just take a cab?" she asked, jogging to catch up with him. Byron walked fast, and even a moment's hesitation had distanced him from her.

"My girlfriend," Byron said, "my rules. We ride, and if you don't stop complaining about it, I won't hesitate to pull out all the stops."

How rude. April bristled and scowled, but continued to follow. Byron didn't seem like the type who'd cater to her, and if she didn't keep up she was sure he'd leave her behind. The click of her heels against the polished tile increased their tempo, and soon she stood outside in the late afternoon sun by a stunning piece of machinery.

Byron's bike was chrome plated and unmarred by even a single fingerprint. Beneath the sun it glistened, and April wondered how something so bright could be street legal. Unlike some of the bikes she'd seen, this one looked skeletal. All of the inner workings, gleaming just as brightly as the exterior did, were uncovered. April didn't know much about bikes, but she knew enough to recognize that what she was about to ride upon was expensive, and likely custom made.

"Helmet on," Byron instructed. He swung his leg over the motorcycle and sat comfortably in the seat, looking her over with his dark eyes.

"What about you?" April asked. "Where's your helmet?" As she asked she secured the helmet over her head. The visor was spotless and the interior smelled brand new, like he'd stopped to buy it on his way over.

"Don't need one — I don't crash. But I can see you falling off. I'm supposed to protect those brains of yours, not see them scattered across the asphalt. Now get on." He patted the seat extension behind him, jerking his head in its direction.

"I've got a lot to get done today, and we're wasting daylight."

The motorcycle. The leather jacket. The attitude. As April struggled to mount the bike she realized why Byron rubbed her the wrong way. He was exactly like Eric. And in the end, she'd had Eric put in jail. It was part of what had gotten her into this whole mess in the first place. That and her idiot brother, Ryan, also behind bars by her doing. What was the marshal thinking, assigning her to a man like this?

The engine revved to life, and the flawless machinery beneath them vibrated as power coursed through it. April wrapped her arms around Byron's waist for safety, and he laughed.

"The helmet's looking more and more like a good idea," he jabbed. "Hold on tight; I'm not going to go easy on you just because it's your first time."

"You bastard," April gasped as the bike lurched back and then shot through the parking lot. The helmet she wore muffled most of what she'd said, and the speed they moved at obscured the rest. She clutched tighter. Riding a motorcycle was probably the craziest thing she'd ever done, and if she had her way it would be the last crazy thing she'd ever do. Between the arrest and her new bad boy bodyguard, April had enough excitement to last the rest of her life.

Without stopping to look for traffic, Byron cut out onto the street and sped towards the highway. The wind whipped by them, and April quickly understood why he wore leather. Not only was it cold, but it stung. When they came to a stop at a traffic light just before the on ramp to the highway, she pressed her chest against his back and closed her eyes. Why would anyone choose this above a car? A safe, enclosed, normal car?

The light flashed green and they sped off once more, gaining speed as they cut onto the highway. Soon tracks of city whipped by them, exit after exit disappearing. When Byron made a sharp exit off of a ramp leading to the heart of the downtown core, April was surprised. She assumed they'd be heading to one of the run down urban housing districts, but instead it looked like they were heading to the heart of the commercial area.

Skyscrapers with more floors than April could imagine and towering buildings made of gleaming glass flashed by them. Every structure they passed gleamed in the sunlight, modern and chillingly beautiful. April had never had reason to come out to the commercial sector of her city, let alone this new one; she had worked a part time retail job and had been working on completing a university degree at night, but now that her life had been reassigned to her by the government, everything was different.

Byron's hand slipped across to press a discrete black button hidden near the throttle, and ahead a windowless building with a shuttered door that looked like a parking garage opened. With ease, hardly slowing, he turned the bike into it and followed the winding passage into the depths. There were two basement levels. The first, from what April could see, was near empty. Two cars sat on opposite ends of the landing, both of them polished to gleam as if they were new. The second level housed motorcycles. As they slowed and pulled into an empty spot, April tried to count. Twelve bikes excluding the one they were on filled the area, all spotless. Black and red and blue and chrome, the different marks and makes seemed endless. When the engine died, April tore off the helmet and shook her head free, eager to ask Byron where they were. Byron wasn't looking to answer any questions. He'd already dismounted from the bike and was heading across the garage to a door.

"Hey!"

Byron turned his head, but he did not stop walking.

"What?"

"You're supposed to be taking care of me," April called after him. She struggled to dismount, and when she did she had to run to catch up. "If you're not going to do your job, I'm going to tell them as much. Then you won't get paid."

Byron's face soured. He stopped and waited for her to join him, then gestured towards the door.

"We're taking the elevator up. I'm going to get you settled, and then I'm going to get to work. You'll be safe here."

"And where is here?" April asked. "Do you work security in the garage or something?"

A curt laugh was her answer. Byron shook his head and shouldered the door open. Two elevators waited there, and once April was through he moved over to the control panel. Instead of hail the elevator using the button, Byron took a key from his back pocket and turned it in the keyhole located over the up button.