Vulnerable: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 1) (6 page)

Shane parked in his reserved slot in the underground parking garage of his apartment building and took the express elevator up to the penthouse floor. He stepped out into the private foyer and then walked into the apartment, which was silent at the moment, thank goodness. He really didn’t feel like explaining himself to anyone right now.

He’d half expected to find Cooper waiting to ambush him. While he loved the man like a brother, he wasn’t in the mood to be grilled. And Cooper would grill him. The man missed nothing.

He headed down the hall to the master suite, which was his private domain. Once in his own space, he stripped off his clothes, dropping them to the floor, as he headed for the bathroom. Right now the only thing he wanted to do was alleviate a very persistent erection.

He stepped into the granite-and-glass walk-in shower and flipped a couple of switches. Hot water shot out instantly from six different shower heads, and he groaned as he walked into the spray. His dick bobbed in the air, ruthlessly defying gravity like it had a mind of its own. The damn thing had been tormenting him all night, so he finally took hold of it and grabbed some body wash and began stroking.

A cold, clinical handjob held no appeal for him right then, so he closed his eyes and indulged himself in the remembered scent of Beth’s warm skin. He needed her scent in his nose again. Hell, he needed it all over his body; he wanted to be covered in it. He’d barely touched her, and he couldn’t get her out of his head.

He pictured Beth as she’d looked sitting in that damn cab, gazing up at him with those big, blue-green eyes, looking so damned lost. It had killed him to send her off alone in a cab. He’d wanted to take her home himself, but he could hardly have done that when she was in full flight mode. She wasn’t ready for that yet.

He’d had just enough presence of mind at the time to let her go – to give her some space. But his retreat was only temporary. One way or another, they’d be seeing each other again, soon. The only question was, how long did he have to wait?

Shane braced himself on the granite wall with one hand and pumped his erection with the other. He conjured up a pair of Caribbean ocean eyes, wide with anticipation.
God, he wanted her
. He wanted to feed his cock into her sweet body, one inch at a time, and watch her face as he filled her. He wanted to take her slowly, prolonging her pleasure and his, but he also wanted to drive his cock into her so hard and so deep that he banished thoughts of any previous lovers from her head.

His shout was loud and hoarse when he finally lost control and unloaded against the shower wall with a violence that surprised even him.
Fuck
! Cooper probably heard that.

Shane pulled on pair of gray sweats and one of his old Marine Corps t-shirts and padded barefoot to the kitchen. If he couldn’t satisfy his sexual appetite, at least he could fill his belly. He was grateful to find a pot of fresh coffee in the maker, and he knew he had Cooper to thank for it.

He threw together a deli sandwich – that was about the extent of his food preparation skills – and parked himself on a stool at the kitchen counter to eat, suck down some coffee, and peruse yesterday’s newspaper.

Cooper walked into the kitchen dressed for business in jeans and a black t-shirt, his empty gun holster strapped to his muscular chest.

Shane nodded in greeting. “Thanks for the coffee. You heading out?”

“Thought I’d go to the shooting range,” Cooper said. “What about you? It’s Saturday. I thought you’d be in Kenilworth already.”

Shane swallowed a mouthful of hot coffee and shrugged, aware of Cooper’s scrutiny. Apparently word got around fast. “I thought I’d stay in town this weekend.”

Cooper leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “And why is that?”

And here came the interrogation. “Do I have to have a reason to sleep in my own apartment?”

“No,” Cooper said. “I’m just wondering if this has anything to do with your moonlighting last night as a covert bodyguard after putting in a full day at the office. Do you plan to sleep any time soon?”

“I already have a mother, Cooper. But thanks.”

“Yeah? Well, your folks aren’t here right now, so guess what? I get to do the honors. I promised Peggy I’d keep an eye on all you kids.”

Shane threw Cooper a quelling glance, then picked up his plate and coffee. “I’ll be in the office. I’m going to finish eating, read the case reports from last night, and check e-mail. Then I’ll grab some shuteye. Satisfied?”

Cooper nodded. “Just doing my job, boss,” he said, grinning.

Shane dropped into his desk chair and booted up his PC. He was exhausted and needed sleep, but of course he’d never admit that to Cooper. Cooper was old enough to be his father, but he had the energy of ten men. As far as Shane knew, the man never slept or took a break. The hypocrite.

As he ate, Shane read the new case reports that had come in from the field overnight. He would have to write one himself on his overnight surveillance of Beth, but he’d leave out the fact that he’d hit on her. He’d also leave out the part about his raging all-night hard-on.

His company had about two dozen surveillance jobs underway in the city right then, but the only one he was interested in at that moment was Howard Kline. The Kline surveillance team had reported a quiet night. While Shane had been camped outside of Beth’s house, Kline had been at home with his mother watching reruns of 1980’s sitcoms until the wee hours of the morning. Kline’s inactivity worried Shane. The man hardly ever left the house, and that just wasn’t right. It was a huge fucking red flag. He made a mental note to go out on one of the surveillance runs himself, so he could get a firsthand glimpse of Kline. He could tell a lot about a man from watching him.

He took a few minutes to write up his own report from the night before, leaving out the many ways he’d screwed up. He refrained from mentioning that he’d held her hand and whispered in her ear as he’d inhaled her tantalizing scent.
Damn
.

He read the report his brother Liam had filed on Miles’ trip to the ER and subsequent hospitalization. It must’ve been one hell of a case of food poisoning, the poor guy. According to Liam, Miles was due to be released from the hospital later that afternoon, and he’d return to his shift as Beth’s overnight bodyguard that night.

Shane picked up the desk phone and dialed Liam’s cell.

“Jesus, Shane,” his youngest brother said with a voice that sounded like crushed gravel. “It’s six-thirty on a Saturday morning! Something had better be on fire.”

“How’s Miles?”

“You woke me up to ask me that?” Liam made a disgusted noise. “Miles is fine. He’ll be sprung from the hospital sometime today, and he should be able to return to work this evening.”

“Tell him that won’t be necessary,” Shane said. “I’m taking over his night shift with Beth Jamison until further notice. Give Miles a few days off to recuperate, then assign him to another case.”

“Why the change?” Liam said.

“Just do it.”

* * *

Beth woke Saturday morning to the warm, yeasty aroma of homemade pancakes. She cracked open her eyes and blinked at Gabrielle, who sat on the side of her bed holding a wooden tray. Gabrielle was dressed in black yoga pants and a purple sports bra, and she looked gorgeous, as always.

According to the digital clock on her nightstand, it was eight-thirty.  “You’ve already been out for a run
and
made breakfast?”

“Yep. Four miles,” Gabrielle said, grinning at Beth. “Now rise and shine, sleepy head.”

Beth glared at her best friend. Gabrielle’s cheeks, which were flecked with a light dusting of cinnamon freckles, were flushed and her green eyes sparkled. She looked far too amazing for this early on a weekend morning. She was gorgeous, with a body to die for, and she cooked like a boss. She was going to make some guy very lucky one day.

Beth groaned as she rolled over to hide her face in her pillow. “I hate you.”

“Come on! I made pancakes,” Gabrielle said. “You love pancakes.”

Beth rolled back and eyed the tray in Gabrielle’s lap. There was a stack of three enormous pancakes on a plate, a small pitcher of maple syrup, two forks, napkins, and a glass of what Beth knew was fresh-squeezed orange juice. Gabrielle never took short-cuts in the kitchen.

“Thanks, Gabrielle,” Beth said as she scooted up in bed to lean against the headboard. “I really don’t deserve this.”

Gabrielle set the tray on Beth’s lap. “Of course you do. You’re my best friend.”

“Then I guess I don’t deserve
you.
” Beth picked up the knife and cut the stack of pancakes in half. “I hope you’re planning to share this with me. I couldn’t possibly eat this much. Besides, Tyler’s picking me up for lunch in a few hours.”

Gabrielle grinned as she picked up the extra fork. “Why do you think I brought two forks?”

Beth took a bite of the pancakes and moaned. “Oh my God, this is so good,” she said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. So, did you have a good evening last night?”

Beth’s face heated. “I did, actually. I sort of met someone last night at Clancy’s.”

Gabrielle looked at her in surprise. “You ‘sort of’ met someone? Who?”

Beth shrugged. “His name’s Shane McIntyre. He gave me his number and asked me to call him.”

Gabrielle’s eyes narrowed. “Really.”

Beth took another bite. “He bought me a smoothie in the café. He was really nice, but I kind of freaked out on him and bolted.”

Gabrielle laid down her fork. “Are you going to call him?”

Beth shook her head. “No. He’s way too far out of my league. Besides... well, you know.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” Gabrielle said.

* * *

Tyler arrived at half past eleven and let himself in. Beth ran down the stairs to meet him.

Her brother stood in the foyer dressed in his typical weekend attire – black jeans, a white collared shirt, and a pair of black running shoes. She had to admit, from a purely objective perspective, her brother was all kinds of hot, if you liked your guys tall, dark, and controlling. No wonder he couldn’t keep a girlfriend.

Tyler ruffled the top of Beth’s head. “Ready, kiddo?”

She ducked out from beneath his hand and smiled. “Yes.”

Tyler had been calling her “kiddo” for as long as she could remember. She’d always been a kid to him, and probably always would be.

Beth grabbed her purse from off the hall table. “Bye, Gabrielle! I’m leaving!”

“Bye!” Gabrielle called from the kitchen. “Have fun!”

Tyler steered Beth out the front door and locked the door behind him.

She walked down to the curb and found the front passenger door of Tyler’s black pick-up truck locked. Glancing back, she spotted Tyler back at her front stoop reading something on his phone. His brow was heavily furrowed, and he was frowning. After he keyed a quick response, he slipped his phone into the holder at his waist.

“Sorry about that,” he said, jogging down the front steps.

Tyler unlocked her door with his key fob, and she slid into the truck cab.

They drove a couple of miles in silence, which was unusual for them. Tyler usually grilled Beth on how her week went. But today, he seemed preoccupied.

“Was that work?” she said. “On your phone?” Her brother never stopped working.

“Yeah,” Tyler said. “Just something about a case I’m working on.”

When they entered the restaurant, they were seated promptly in their favorite back corner booth. A petite brunette with short, curly hair and dimples arrived to take their order: a large, deep dish pizza with everything. Tyler ordered a Coke for Beth, and a bottle of the local Goose Island summer ale for himself. When their server returned with their drinks, her eyes lingered on Tyler.

“Our server is crushing on you,” Beth said, once the girl had gone.

Tyler scowled. “No, she isn’t. So, how was work?”

“It was fine.”

She told him all about her week, and he entertained her with a story about an extracurricular departmental game of basketball that had gone bad that week – ending with both of them laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. They were still laughing when their pizza arrived.

“Thanks,” Tyler told the girl, as she set the pizza on their table.

“Can I get you anything else?” she said.

“No, thank you,” Tyler said. “This should do it.”

“Okay.” She smiled at him, showing off those dimples. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I will, thanks,” Tyler said.

Their server stood there smiling at Tyler for a few more seconds, and then she blushed and walked away.

“See? I told you she was crushing on you,” Beth said, grinning at her brother as he placed a slice of pizza on her plate.

Before he could reply, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. When he gazed at the screen to check the caller ID, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

“Excuse me,” he said as he accepted the call. “What is it?” He listened intently for half a minute. “Understood. But now’s not a good time. I’ll call you later.” And then he abruptly ended the call.

“Work again?” Beth said.

“Yeah. Nothing to worry about,” Tyler said, smiling at her. “How’s your pizza?”

After they finished their meal, Tyler paid the bill and they left. When they got back to her house, he double parked and walked her up to her door.

“Beth, do you need anything?” he said, as he unlocked her front door with his key.

“No, thanks,” she said. “I’m good.”

“How about money?”

Beth smiled at her brother. She loved him dearly, but sometimes he drove her nuts. “Nope. All good.”

He nodded. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“I will. Thank you, Tyler.”

Tyler leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything, kiddo.”

“I will.”

He started to walk away, but then he turned back and wrapped his arms around her. “Be careful, Beth,” he murmured. “Be vigilant. And always let Gabrielle know where you are and when you’ll be home.”