Seducing the Bodyguard (13 page)

“I so didn’t need to know that.”

“Best night of my life,” she winked. “In bed that is…although we made the couch, the kitchen counter…”

“Mom! Jeeze,” she tossed up her hands. “Let’s just go rescue Harrison.” This was seriously not the conversation she wanted to have with her mother. She smiled and shook her head. They were more like best friends now than mother and daughter. Her mother never had been one to pull her punches or curtail her speech. While her mother had been less than inhibited with her, she had been right about her feelings. She did like Harrison, a lot. She could even say she felt herself falling in love with the sometimes overly cocky man, but she couldn’t let him know that. She couldn’t admit it because admitting it would be like giving him permission to try to conquer her heart and she needed to guard her heart. She needed to keep it safe from the pain it had felt before. What Darryl had done broke a part of her and she didn’t want to feel that pain again. She wouldn’t feel that pain again because she wouldn’t let Harrison Sinclair in. Who was she kidding? He had already found a way in. When her assignment was over it wasn’t going to hurt any less just because she hadn’t told him how she felt, because she hadn’t given in to what he wanted—what they both wanted; no, it wouldn’t hurt any less. But in her mind this was the only way.

When Valencia and her mother rounded the corner they heard laughter. She was going to rescue Harrison, who by no means seemed as if he needed to be rescued at the present moment. He was laughing with her father? Wow, not even Darryl had gotten laughter—acceptance maybe, but never laughter as if they were old friends. The sound of their merriment had just tilted her world off its axis. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“We should go now,” she said to Harrison before leaning in and hugging her father. “We’ll just be here a few days. Harrison has to get back to Arizona.”

“JJ and I train together. His father and my father were the best of friends. His dad died six years ago and he’s really been like family around here since the day he was born. We trained together a lot—still do.”

“Oh.”

“She’s like a surrogate sister to him. I think he took to her because she’s the only one he has a hard time beating when they fight.” Her father smiled warmly at her.

She laughed. “One of these days, Dad, and he’s not going to win.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he said. “You have what it takes, but you must stop letting him distract you,” he tapped his finger gently against her forehead. “You know that fighting is not just what you can do with your body, but what you can do with your mind. You also know that you never let your guard down no matter how friendly you are with the person you’re fighting.”

“I know,” she said because she did know. But JJ was the one guy who could get past her armor, break through her concentration barrier and knock her flat on her behind before calling endgame.

“Good, because tomorrow you will train with the swords.”

“Is that…” Harrison started to question and Valencia held up her hand to stop him. Her dad might have been laughing with him just seconds ago, but he didn’t like being questioned, especially not on family matters.

“I’ll be ready.”

“Good, because I’d hate to think you’re getting soft after only a few weeks away,” JJ stepped out onto the veranda. “I pulled the car around for you so it’s ready when you are.”

“Thanks,” she laughed before giving him a soft punch to the shoulder. They trained almost every day with each other, although they did also fight with other skilled men and women. For some reason they seemed to get the most enjoyment out of fighting with each other. She was in constant training. You don’t use it you lose it was true on so many levels and in her line of work she couldn’t afford to let her senses get dull.

“You know, maybe you can show me how to do that thing you pulled on me in our last one on one,” he winked at her. They were always willing to share new moves with each other. JJ was the guy who seemed to invent something new every month while her sharable knowledge wasn’t as extensive. They had studied the same martial arts but it was almost as if JJ lived and breathed the art. It was more a part of him than anything else. She was thankful they were on the same side of the fence because going up against him in battle would probably end unfavorably for her.

She could tell Harrison’s wheels were turning and she knew it was only a matter of time before he verbally expressed what was on his mind. She had been right. No sooner than she shut the car door he looked at her and said, “thing; what thing? Who is this guy to you really?”

She laughed. “Do I sense some jealousy in your words?” She knew she did, but she had already told him, in a way, that it wasn’t necessary. “I just did a move that knocked him on his butt. I almost had him too, but as always, he beat me.”

“Hard to imagine you not winning in any fight.”

“There’s always somebody better, Harrison.” She wasn’t stuck on herself. She knew that her next opponent could be the opponent to deliver her end game. Maybe that humility was what kept her alive because she, in no way, thought she was the best in the world. “JJ and I had the same training when we started out. Our fathers were the best of friends and between the two of them we had the education we needed. Leo was a step ahead of us because he’s a year older than I am, but that didn’t last long. Dad separated us in training because he said Leo was holding me back.” She laughed. “People just pick up things differently, some better than others. JJ and I were on par for a long time, but life took us in separate directions. His dad sent him back to Japan when he was twelve to study at his grandfather’s training camp and I was already deeply entrenched with my government training…and working there too…we just had separate paths. His path made him the better warrior. Let’s just say I’m glad he’s on our side.” She put the car in gear and eased the car down the long drive to the road.

“I’m not fully Japanese. I’m a “half breed,” as some would call it. I don’t really belong to any one group of people and while his dad loved my dad and my family, he would never want a half breed for his son’s wife. Tradition and honor mean a lot to his family, and mine really. It’s just that my dad had the power and the guts to make his own way. He met my mom, fell in love and said to hell with all of them. He married her. She didn’t fit in there. She made them fit her, and now it’s like she’s such a part of the family that nobody can remember that at one point even my grandmother denounced the union.” Life was so strange. Nobody in her family’s circle ever made her feel like a “half breed.” She figured part of it was fear of her father’s wrath, part of it was respect for the family, and the other part was that people truly loved her mother and accepted her as one of their own.

“Where would I fit in?”

She didn’t miss the fact that he was starting to wonder if he could be part of her family. Something in his tone, and in his words, told her this man was serious about his intentions toward her. This wasn’t just about getting her flat on her back in his bed. Maybe she had read him wrong. “My dad would prefer I marry a Japanese man I’m sure. I think he wants to keep that part of the bloodline strong. But he’s always told me to marry for love and everything else can be worked out. So I think if we were to marry you would find a home within my home. They would welcome you because they would trust my decision enough to know you are an honorable man. Besides,” she let her tone drop from serious to soft. “You saw my mom right? Polynesian and black. They’re definitely not prejudice.” She shook her head.

“Your mom is beautiful,” he turned his head to watch her as she drove them home.

“She’s like a friggin’ goddess,” she smiled. “Her skin is flawless, her hair is amazing. It’s long and silky, but it’s not so straight that it can’t hold a style. She’s aging well too. Nobody would know she’s in her sixties.”

“Runs in the family I guess.” She smiled. “I used to wish I had inherited her height. She could have been a model with that body, those looks, and her five eleven stature…wow.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately I didn’t get her height. Leo got her height and then some, but not me. Such is life. Besides, being small has gotten me into and out of some tight situations.”

“You’re beautiful,” he reached out to brush one steady finger across the delicate skin of her cheek. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m not just talking physically. The more I get to know you the more I want to know you. You’re good, and honest, and…perfect,” he said breathlessly. “I never thought I’d meet a woman who would make me want to take the next step. But then I met you. I want more with you, Valencia. I want more than just client and bodyguard. I don’t care if you deny me sex;” she cut him a sideways look and he chuckled nervously. “Okay, I’d miss it. I would be in a world of hurt too, but if you wanted to wait to give that part of yourself to me until you’re sure of the man I am then I would wait for you, Valencia. I just…I need to know you won’t lump me in the bottom of the client basket with all your other clients. I need to know I can be more…that I am more. Being honest,” he paused to gather his words. “This JJ guy worries me. I’m afraid with his father gone now that maybe he’s sticking around because of you.”

She laughed. “No. Trust me, that’s not it. Look, his dad lost all of the family money, the respect, everything. But because he was my father’s best friend people didn’t jump on his son because of it. And on his death bed, his father asked my father to watch over JJ, to take him into his fold, and to give him a place in our family that would be one of honor for him. So, I guess you can say he’s with us as an honor to his father’s memory.”

“I see.” He said. “I’m glad I don’t need to feel threatened by this guy. I just…I guess I just need to know that I’m more than a client to you.”

She didn’t take her eyes off the road. The last thing she wanted to do was kill them both by driving off the side of a cliff. She took a shallow breath before she said, “You are more.” And she meant every word. He was more to her than just a client. She knew exactly when the tables turned for her. She knew it because the moment she realized it she tried to fortify her guard, to resist the feelings, but she couldn’t. Each day that passed she wanted more with Harrison, and the only thing she could do was tell herself that it was only about sex for him. If she could keep that line of thinking then she could keep her heart in the safe zone. But he had proved it wasn’t just about sex for him. He had just sat through dinner with her family. He had survived Leo and her mother and her father and he still wanted to be in her life. That was not a man dead set on just getting sex. That was a man who wanted more; he wanted her love.

Chapter Nine

S
he looked at the piece of paper in front of her. She had never been angrier in her life. How dare he continue to date another woman? He promised. He promised himself to her. Clearly this wasn’t his fault; it was that hussy who was shacking up in his hotel room. She had spun a spell on him. Well it had to end. She was going to make sure it ended. The Internet was a blessing sometimes because she could find any service she needed at any time just so long as she had the currency to hire the person to perform the services. She would have to explain to Harrison. He needed to be rescued and he had to know that’s what she was doing. She had to save him before he completely forgot his promise. “You’re mine and I love you always,” he had said. She would have to remind him of that before it was too late.

My dear Harrison. I have to remind you of the promise you made me. Don’t you remember your words? “You’re mine and I love you always.” Those words meant everything to me. At one point I know they meant everything to you too. But that woman has come into your life and cast a spell on you. She must be stopped if we have any chance of saving us. I know one day you’ll understand why I did what I had to do.

Love always,

The woman of your heart.

He would understand. She knew he would because he loved her. He had written it to her. She would save him and then they could be together forever.

Harrison had watched Valencia and JJ fight for almost two hours before her mother came and took him away. She showed him around the grounds. The entire time he walked around the highly secure paradise all he could do was think about Valencia. He was worried about her. She was holding her own very well, but she had taken some pretty hard hits. She had even been knocked into a wall. He wanted to go to her and help her, but her father kept him seated. Her own father could watch without even flinching. He gave instructions, kept them fighting and training. “This will help her,” he said. While Harrison understood constant training he didn’t understand why they were fighting each other as if their lives depended on it. He would have expected both to pull their punches and kicks, but neither did. She wasn’t losing, but she wasn’t exactly on top either. She had been right. JJ was the more advanced fighter, but even against him she had done well. They had started off fighting with swords and then other weapons before going hand to hand. There was one time when he thought, while they were fighting with the swords, that she might lose her head, but she had avoided the blade efficiently.