TooDangeroustoLove Read online

“I told you. I won’t accept a bodyguard, much less a woman.” Brandt snapped the words, full of contempt, angry at himself for his response to her and the plain fact she was to be his bodyguard. Brandt Fowler couldn’t believe it had come to this. His complete livelihood relied on this woman’s assistance. His father was a man of extreme means and had made many enemies during his climb for wealth and power in a world of dishonest businessmen. But he was the one with a woman for a bodyguard.

  “You will,” his father thundered. “He will.” That last bit was added in a lower tone to Raven, who had no reaction at all.

  In fact, she didn’t speak for the whole meal. He and his father yelled back and forth for the whole thing, tensions running high. No matter what went on around her, she remained impassive. There was no emotion at all in her.

  After dinner, she excused herself, speaking in her throaty way, and headed back upstairs. Brandt saw his opportunity and went to sneak away from his newly appointed, decidedly unwanted yet very desirable guard. He headed to his room to get ready for his date.

  As he slipped behind the wheel of his car, he realized that he was being childish, but damn it he didn’t need a babysitter. And he had a date.

  Brandt pulled into the parking lot of a local watering hole and found Melissa waiting for him outside. She was a small blonde girl with green eyes and a sparkling smile. Together they went into the bar and before long, he was thoroughly enjoying himself with her, although in the back of his mind lurked a silent sienna-skinned woman watching him, expressionless.

  The music was loud and the dancing alternated between fast and slow. As he moved around the room with his date in his strong arms he saw her. One second she was just a picture in his mind the next she was there in flesh and blood.

  Along the back wall, she stood in silence with her glasses on her face but he knew she watched him. He could feel her eyes on him. Raven was dressed in all black and she had a drink in her gloved hand. He would bet almost anything it was a soft drink.

  After the dance was over he left Melissa with the excuse of going to the bathroom and headed towards his unwanted sentry. Men were trying to get her attention but she ignored them all. She was the only person of color in the place and the men were practically lusting after her. He noticed that and it gave him a surly attitude.

  “What are you doing here?” he hissed. People around them looked between them as if something were about to happen.

  “My job.”

  “Fine, stay here and do it. I will leave.”

  “Go wherever you want.” Again, no emotion. The others got mad when he slipped them and they had to find him. They would have preferred it if he had just stayed home the whole time.

  “I’m on a date.”

  “Congratulations. I’m not bothering you, you approached me. I was content to just be in the shadows.”

  His mouth opened and shut but he couldn’t argue that. She wasn’t interfering with him. The men before placed themselves really close to him and made it hard for him to do anything. Not her.

  “Make sure you don’t bother me.”

  “Let’s get something straight, I don’t give a damn whether I bother you or not. I have a job to do and I will do it. It can be done easy or hard. I have no use for people who act like you do so don’t flatter yourself. Your girlfriend is looking for you.” Never once did her voice rise.

  Brandt turned his head and saw Melissa looking around the room. He went back to his date. Throughout the night, he and Melissa went to five different other places, and each time he saw her, Raven, standing in the shadows. True to her word she didn’t interfere with his date, but she was always there. He didn’t understand it, for he never saw her car in the parking lot.

  He tried to lose her a few times, but to no avail. He stayed out much later than usual and finally went home to get two hours of sleep before he had to work.

  * * * *

  That night Raven snuck into his room as he lay sleeping. She had crossed from the balcony and entered, as silent as the jaguar she knew in the jungle, through the glass door. Her eyes found his fine ass body as it lay in slumber.

  His body stopped her breath, his torso was exposed and her eyes took in the moonlight bathed body eagerly. The muscles were so well-defined she wanted to trace them. With her tongue. A dusting of hair covered his chest before disappearing under the sheet at his waist.

  Brandt lay on his back with one arm flung over his head. For a short moment in time Raven lost her focus and just admired his body as it lay covered by a white sheet up to his waist. Tanned and strong, it made her mouth go dry and a longing to settle in. A longing to touch, taste and explore his hardened physique. He looked like a black-haired model for a Greek statue.

  Raven felt more than a smattering of jealousy towards the moonbeams that caressed his body, as she longed to do. He called to her in ways she had never before experienced.

  All of a sudden he rolled to his side, giving a perfect view of one firm, but pale, butt cheek. He slept in the nude. That knowledge made parts of her body tingle.

  Raven took a deep breath and set out to do what she had originally come to do in the first place. She put a tracking device inside his wallet. A few other adjustments were made and she was back on her own balcony when his alarm buzzed in the early morning.

  * * * *

  For the next two weeks, Brandt tried over and over again to lose her. He changed cars and asked his friends for help from being out all night to staying with his date. Anything to make her uncomfortable. It didn’t work and she never got mad. Nothing he did ever got a rise out of her, and now it was beginning to wear on him, for she was always there. He couldn’t lose her.

  He was tired of staying out until the wee hours of the morning trying to lose his tail. And Brandt was not one that liked to sleep with his dates all night. It was the get what he wanted and leave situation that he liked.

  Lately he hadn’t even been doing that. The farthest he got now was going into their apartment with them. For some reason sleeping with them, knowing Raven was around, made him not want to engage in the act.

  Besides, whenever he closed his eyes he saw her. Not the women he was with, but his bodyguard. Raven Dare. Now he was beginning to appear exhausted. She never looked anything but put together. At night, she always wore black when she followed him.

  It was a Saturday afternoon when he sought her out. The day was full of sun and warmth. It was beautiful out, a lovely Kentucky day. And she was enjoying herself. He found her sitting in silence by the lake, cross-legged on the grass. Her fingers deftly weaved some of the blades of grass together. Trying to be quiet, he crept closer. He just needed to rattle her a bit.

  Seconds before he was going to lunge at her, she spoke, “What do you need, Brandt Fowler?”

  Her voice was so husky it made him stir with desire. How did she sound so enticing? Was it on purpose? No, for even when she spoke to his father it was the same; a low and throaty purr that stirred his groin to life. Every time.

  “How did you know it was me? How did you know anyone was here?”

  “I know the scent of the soap you use to shave with. I heard your footsteps. What do you think? It’s my job to know. What can I do for you?”

  “I came to ask you if you would join me for dinner tonight.” He sank to the ground beside her. Brandt took in the beige tank top she wore that showed off her smooth skin and the tight blue jeans that fit her legs so nicely. He took a look and then another—when had she become so attractive? Always. He had just been ignoring that very fact. Or at least trying to.

  “Why?”

  “I figure that I should get to know my old friend from school. We are having a party next week and there will be lots of people here. It would help if I knew a little more about you.” He flashed a smile known to make the women dissolve into puddles. For all the good it did him. She didn’t even look in his direction, just kept her covered eyes towards the glasslike surface of the lake, dropping briefly to examine the work
that she was doing with her hands and the blades of grass.

  “Very well. What should I wear?”

  Nothing. Be naked and in my room. “Whatever you want. Nothing formal. Nice but not formal. Shall we say about five?”

  “Sure.”

  “Great.” He rose and walked away as a grin crossed his face. He had already called some old friends to pretend to attack him and her as they had their evening together. He just wanted to give her a good scare.

  Losing her hadn’t worked so he would just have to scare her off. He chuckled to himself as he jogged up the stairs to his room. A woman bodyguard, yeah right.

  * * * *

  At five sharp, Brandt watched as Raven moved down the marble staircase towards him. She wore a pair of black palazzo pants, onyx boots with two-inch heels and a peach-colored silk blouse. A black silk jacket completed the outfit. Her hair was swept back from her face only to fall free down her back.

  Wow. She was exquisite. Even with those damn glasses on her face. “You look wonderful.” He looked for a reaction of any type and, seeing none, added, “Ready to go?”

  “Ready.”

  He held the door for her and walked her down to his car. Brandt owned a top of the line Mercedes-Benz. He held the door for her as she slid into his vehicle.

  * * * *

  As they entered the building a chill went up her spine. Something wasn’t right and it wasn’t whatever small thing he had planned to try and scare her with.

  Shown to their table, she removed her glasses as they were seated. The table was set with a white linen tablecloth. A fire engine red candle in a beautiful crystal holder was lit, the flame bouncing off the intricate cuts in the crystal. There were only two chairs at the table and, if she had wanted to, her foot could have been in his lap. Their legs were so close to each other.

  “What made you want to become a bodyguard?” Brandt’s question flowed between them after their orders had come and it was just the two of them with that red candle flickering between them.

  “I didn’t want to.” What in the world made her give out that bit of information to him? This man could break through each and every one of her defenses. She knew this was about a trap. He had something planned and she really didn’t want to be put in this position, but here she was so she would deal with it.

  “Then why are you one?”

  “’Cause I am good at it.” This was not what she wanted to talk about.

  “What did you study in school when we met?”

  “Architecture.”

  “How long have we known each other?”

  “Since your third year.”

  “Why are we such good friends? Did we date? Do we have a history together?”

  “No, we didn’t date. We have no history other than we were friends. We just were.” No matter how much that could be of interest.

  “If we are supposed to be such good friends, don’t you think that you should show some emotion around me? At least pretend that you like me.”

  “When the time comes, I will do my part.” She met his gaze fully when she spoke to him. Finally, dinner and dessert were over. Brandt paid the bill and they left the restaurant.

  “There is a scenic view over there. Would you like to go see it?” he asked.

  So this was it. If only she could place where the real danger was coming from. “Sure. Thank you for dinner, it was really nice.” She put her dark glasses back on. It was time for him to stop playing these games. If it meant she had to show off some of her skill, then so be it.

  They walked in silence for about a half mile on a path dimly lit by solar rocks to a huge lake that sparkled in the moonlight. It was beautiful and romantic, and they were alone. Out of the corner of her eye she took in his silhouette. Lord, he was fine.

  As she gazed upon the mirror-like water the corner of her mouth twitched up into a small smile.

  Four men crashed through the brush, trying to be scary, yelling loud obscenities. They wore Halloween masks as they reached for her. Her, not him. Despite her anger over his childish games, Raven was laughing on the inside as she looked at these obvious amateurs.

  As she tossed the last man over her shoulder, she realized her mistake. Others had approached while she allowed this foolishness to go on. Someone hit Brandt in the back of the head with a board, knocking him to the ground, causing tears to form in his eyes.

  “Let’s go!” The low voice came as some men grabbed a hold of his arms and began to drag him off.

  “Let me go,” he shouted.

  In the moonlight, her eyes narrowed and for a split second she just took in the situation. Her glasses had gotten knocked off her face when the men Brandt had called jumped her. His four friends ran off as soon as they regained their feet.

  There were three other guys that moving him into the darkness of the bushes. Then she began to move forward, running towards them.

  The man that wasn’t dragging him pulled a gun with a silencer at the end and fired it at her. At the last possible second, she rolled forward and came up running.

  She ran past one man, her arm flashing out like lightning before she moved on.

  The man fell to his knees, hitting the ground as his hands grabbed at his neck. The blood seeped through his fingers. Raven didn’t even slow. She just moved on towards the other men like a wall of water. Endless. Unstoppable.

  One of the men pulled a knife and held it to Brandt’s neck. “Come closer and I will slit him from ear to ear.”

  Raven stopped and slowly raised her arms as if surrendering. The second the man’s eyes fell from her she reacted. Her right wrist flipped and there was a knife in that man’s throat as well.

  The third man began to run away and she stopped him before he got too far. She tackled him like they were playing football and she was a linebacker, knocking him to the ground face first. With the butt of her gun, she clipped him in the head and knocked him out. Her eyes took in the situation, two dead men and one unconscious. Her package was still alive.

  Her cell phone was in her hand in seconds. When the person on the other end answered, her words were clipped and angry. “We will need a clean-up here. There’s one still alive.”

  She provided directions then glared at Brandt, who had gotten slowly to his feet and was rubbing the back of his head.

  “I hope your little stunt was worth it. I almost didn’t make it in time. The next time you pull something like that, I won’t hesitate to kill your friends as well. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that I take my job lightly. This . . .” she waved her arm encompassing the fallen men, “this is exactly the reason I don’t like spoiled brats. Let’s go.”

  * * * *

  “I’m sorry. I just wanted. . .” His voice portrayed how rattled he was; the realism and seriousness had just hit him. She had no sympathy for him.

  “You wanted to try and scare me off. I told you before, I have a job to do and I’m going to do it. Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. This was stupid of both of us, you for attempting it and me for allowing it to happen.”

  They moved by a group of men dressed only in black who nodded slightly to her. She returned it, then continued on her way, determined to stop playing this foolish man’s games.

  She drove his car back and once again the mask settled over her face. He walked with her up the stairs before she steered him to her room.

  When the door was shut behind them she pushed him none too gently on the bed and tipped his head forward to look at the bump he was getting. Her glasses followed as she tossed them down on the peach-colored comforter. As he sat there, her body pressed against his, Brandt grew aroused.

  This woman totally amazed him. There had been no hesitation from her to save his life. No one had tried this seriously with the other bodyguards, and he really didn’t know if they would have been able to stop the people like she did tonight. She had killed two men, wounded one, and now she was administering to him like a nurse. She wasn’t even fazed by the nigh
t’s events and his heart was still pounding a mile a minute. Of course, that could be in part to how near she was to him.

  Her body still smelled like peaches. Fresh and sweet. As she turned his head to get a different angle of his newly acquired goose egg, he opened his eyes and had a straight view into her blouse. He stared shamelessly at her full breasts. Her bra, also peach in color and made of lace, cupped them. His hands began to itch with the desire to touch them, caress them, and find out if they were as silken as they appeared to be.

  His gaze slid up to her neck where he saw the faint scar. That held his attention for a mere moment before her breasts called him back down.

  Brandt’s mouth went dry, and he watched as her coffee-colored skin rose and fell with each breath she took. He had never wanted to taste someone so bad.

  “You’ll be fine. Head may be sore, but it is not as bad as it could have been.” She backed off and he clenched his hands into fists to keep from grabbing a hold of her and burying his face into her chest.

  His hand reached back to touch the sensitive spot and he winced with the pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw that she had taken off her jacket. Her blouse was sleeveless and he noticed knives at her wrists stuck in black arm guards. She was a damn army unto herself. There was gun tucked in the waistband of her pants. As she bent over, offering him a lovely view of her backside, he noticed that she had a backup piece around her ankle and boot.

  “So tell me, Brandt Fowler, did you find whatever it was you were looking for that day you hid in the closet?”

  At the sound of her husky voice he traded one pain for another as his body reacted to her tones.

  “You knew?”

  “Of course I knew. Why else would I play two hours of solitaire if not to make you uncomfortable? What were you looking for?”

  “I just wanted to find your weakness.” He surprised himself by being so honest with her.

  “Weakness is not a luxury I’m allowed to have. Go get some rest.”

  “Are you going to tell my father about this?” Scorn crept into his voice.

  “Why would I? I was hired to keep you alive. I was hired because there were attempts and threats on your life. I’m not the kind of person who runs and tattles just because something happened. It is my job to handle it, not your father’s. I haven’t told about the others that have happened why would I do so now? Just because it was closer to you? The others, I got to before they found you. Tonight your attitude and problem with the situation almost made that impossible.