Fearless: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 2) Page 7

  He leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose. “I know you don’t, sweetheart. But I do.”

  Chapter 9

  I awake to a bright blue, cloudless sky. It feels like we’re sleeping in a tree house, high up in the sky where nothing can touch us. Sunshine fills the room, so with a groan, I pull the sheet over my head.

  I hear a deep chuckle. “Wake up, sleepy head.”

  When I peer out from under the sheet, I see Shane sitting on the side of the bed pulling on socks. His hair is damp from a shower, and I detect the faint whiff of his soap. He’s dressed in jeans and a t-shirt instead of a suit. This is the first time in weeks that he’s been around when I awake.

  He leans back and kisses me, looking pleased with himself this morning. “Good morning. How do you feel?”

  I groan as I stretch my entire body. “Fine.”

  As I recall the toe-tingling orgasm he gave me in the night, I’m not surprised that he’s in a chipper mood. I wish I could say the same, but I’m still bothered by the fact that he’s holding himself back.

  I reach over to stroke his lower back. “I expected you to be gone already.”

  “I thought we’d have breakfast together, and then I’ll take you to your doctor appointment this morning.”

  I frown because I’ve made other plans. I wasn’t expecting him to be here. “Lia’s taking me.”

  He starts to say something, and for a moment, I think he’s going to pull rank on his sister, but then he stops himself. I know he wants me and Lia to become friends – and not just because Lia’s my primary bodyguard. He truly wants us to be friends. He probably thinks I need all the friends I can get.

  He smiles, looking resigned. “Okay. She can take you. How about breakfast, then? I’ll make you pancakes.”

  Now he’s playing unfairly, bribing me with my weakness.

  “You will?” Shane does a lot of things very well, but cooking isn’t one of them.

  He gives me the charming grin I love so well. “With Cooper’s help.”

  I sit up, suddenly feeling better than I have in days. I whip off the t-shirt I wore to bed, gratified by the flash of heat I see in his eyes as his gaze zeroes in on my bare breasts. I swallow, tamping down the typical insecurity I feel when I’m naked. Let’s just say I’ll never win a wet t-shirt contest. Fortunately for me, Shane doesn’t seem to mind.

  I feel my nipples tighten under his scrutiny, and my face heats up. His eyes scan my bare torso, growing hot and hungry. I let him look his fill, then I jump off the far side of the bed.

  Naked, I walk backward toward the bathroom. “I’ll just go take a quick shower.”

  I notice with satisfaction that his gaze follows my every step, and he never once looks away. I take comfort in the heat I see in his eyes. He certainly doesn’t look like a man who’s having second thoughts.

  * * *

  Fresh out of my shower and dressed in a short skirt and cotton blouse, I sit at the breakfast bar enjoying the sight of Shane and Cooper cooking together. They make a great team.

  True to his word, Shane makes pancakes, with more than a little guidance from Cooper. Cooper watches over Shane’s shoulder, offering the occasional suggestion to prevent disaster. I guess I shouldn’t judge; I’m not much of a cook either. Rooming for several years with a professional chef ruined me for cooking.

  “I went to Clancy’s yesterday,” I say to Shane, as he flips the first of the pancakes. I realize he probably already knows, but it’s something I want to talk to him about.

  He glances back. “How did it go?”

  I frown, remembering my run-in with Vanessa. “Not very well, actually. Vanessa – the general manager – doesn’t like me.”

  Lia walks into the kitchen, her eyes bleary and her blonde hair mussed from sleep. She’s wearing a pair of workout shorts and a tank top, which leaves her muscled arms bare. She takes the seat at the breakfast bar next to me. “That’s putting it mildly. The Dragon Lady was a total bitch to Beth. Beth should have fired her on the spot.”

  Shane chuckles at the dragon lady reference. “Vanessa Markham? Yeah, she’s a little tightly wound.”

  “She said I’m unqualified to have any say in the running of the store.”

  Shane scoffs. “It’s your business, sweetheart, to run as you see fit. If you don’t like her, fire her.”

  “But she’s right. I have no retail experience and no business experience, so I can’t very well fault her observations. But I want to be involved in running the business. I’m thinking about going back to school. To UC to get an MBA.”

  Shane faces me and leans back against the stove. I think I actually managed to surprise him for once. “That’s a great idea. The University of Chicago has one of the best business schools in the country. Go for it.”

  “I also met the new head of security. Mack Donovan. I didn’t know you’d hired additional security.”

  Shane checks the dinner-plate sized pancake in the skillet and flips it over. “I assigned Mack to oversee and upgrade the store’s security. It was too lax. Besides, I want additional security present whenever you’re in the store.”

  The pancakes are soon done. Shane makes up a plate for me and one for Lia, and he and Cooper eat standing in the kitchen.

  “I’m impressed,” I tell him after taking my first bite. The pancakes are light and fluffy, perfectly golden brown, not a burnt edge anywhere. Finished off with butter and real maple syrup, each bite melts in my mouth.

  After everyone has finished eating, I gather up all the dirty dishes and load them into the dishwasher, then clean up the kitchen while Shane disappears into his office to make a few work-related calls.

  Shane comes out of his office just as Lia and I are ready to leave for my doctor’s office. He pulls me close and kisses me. “I’m heading back to the house. Are you coming home after your doctor appointment?”

  I look into blue eyes flecked with tiny bits of gold and nod. I could lose myself in those eyes.

  “Don’t be too long,” he says.

  * * *

  The visit to Dr. Meyer is relatively quick and, fortunately, painless. After reviewing an x-ray of my arm, she declares the break well healed and has her assistant remove the cast. The skin on my left arm is tender and sensitive from two months of disuse, and my arm muscles are a little stiff, but otherwise it feels fine. She sends me on my way with instructions to avoid strenuous physical activity for a few weeks to give my arm bone additional time to mend.

  We’re out of the clinic in an hour.

  “Where to now?” Lia says, popping on her sunglasses as we walk out of the medical building and into the morning sun. “Is there anything else you want to do? Shall we go terrorize Vanessa a little? That’d be fun.”

  As much as I’ve enjoyed getting out and getting away, I miss Shane. Waking up with him and having breakfast together just made me crave his company that much more. I smile, remembering how he’d watched me walk naked to the bathroom that morning. And now that my cast is finally off – the last visual reminder of my injuries – I think it’s time to put an end to his self-imposed punishment.

  “If you don’t mind, can we go home?”

  Lia grins as we head to her Jeep. “It’s probably for the best. I don’t think Shane can take much more of the strain.”

  * * *

  When we arrive back at the estate late morning, I feel a sense of nervous anticipation. I’m excited about seeing Shane again. I keep picturing the heat in his eyes and the blatant hunger in his expression when he watched me walk naked to the bathroom that morning. I think he just needs a little more encouragement. And now that the last visual reminder of the attack is gone, it should be easier.

  When Lia pulls up to the front door to let me out, Shane is waiting on the steps. At the sight of him, my heart rate picks up and I feel my body flush with excitement. Even dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he makes me melt.

  Shane opens my door and gives me a hand as I step down from the Jeep. And then I�
��m in his arms, right where I need to be.

  He kisses the top of my head. “Welcome home. I missed you.”

  I wrap my arms around his waist. “I missed you, too.”

  He squeezes me gently. “Next time, please don’t sneak off. Just tell me you’re going, okay? This isn’t a prison, Beth. It’s your home. You can come and go as you see fit. I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise.”

  I feel a fresh pang of guilt for sneaking off the way I did, but it was necessary at the time. Getting away – even for a short while – was very beneficial for both of us. I feel stronger now, more able to deal. And as for him... I think he missed me more than a little.

  Shane pulls back to look at me, and he can’t hide the censure in his pointed gaze. “You took two years off my life with that stunt. And I gave Cooper an hour-long lecture for distracting the guys in the security office while you two snuck out. Don’t do it again.”

  Lia saunters up to the front steps with a cocky grin on her face, and Shane gives his sister a wry glance. “Thanks for bringing her home in one piece, Lia.”

  “Anytime, pal,” she says, slapping her brother on the shoulder as she passes by. “At least we’re making progress.”

  Shane releases me and takes hold of my left arm, examining it gently. “How does your arm feel?”

  The skin on my arm is overly sensitive, and I shiver at his light touch. “It feels weird.”

  “What did your doctor say?”

  “She said I’m fine. She told me to take it easy for a while. No strenuous physical activity for a few weeks.”

  Shane gets this I-told-you-so look on his face. “That means no martial arts training for a while. At least for a month. Got it?”

  I smile in defeat. “Yes, I get it. But after that, I’m starting classes with Liam. Don’t even think about trying to stop me.”

  For a moment, he doesn’t say anything – he just looks at me – and I’m afraid he’s going to renege on his promise. “Shane, I’m doing this. I want to learn how to protect myself.”

  “Fine. But give it a month, all right? Promise me. My heart won’t be able to take it if you break your arm again.”

  “All right, I’ll wait.”

  I leave Shane to his work and head up to our suite. I’ve been fantasizing about getting in the pool since the day I moved in, but the cast prevented me from doing that. Now, there’s nothing standing in my way.

  After a half-hour of preening in the bathroom – indulging in a long, hot shower and doing all those girlie tasks that someone would want to do before she parades around half-naked in a tiny string bikini – I head down to the lower level to the pool room.

  I have a plan. There’s no guarantee it will work, but knowing Shane’s predilection for spying on me, I’m pretty sure he’ll catch an eyeful. In fact, I’m counting on it.

  If this barely-there bikini doesn’t give Shane ideas, then nothing will.

  Chapter 10

  As I push open the glass door leading to the pool room, I’m immediately hit with an invisible wall of warm, chlorine-scented air, and that makes me smile. I’ve always loved the water. I probably spent the bulk of my free time as a child in a pool or at the lake. The smell of chlorine brings back a lot of happy childhood memories. I pull off my wrap and hang it on the row of hooks on the wall.

  Lia’s already in the pool, floating on a bright orange lounge chair. She gives me a thumbs up and a cat call. “Wow, Princess! You look hot!”

  I glare at Lia when I notice we’re not the only ones in the pool room. Jamie’s in the water as well, swimming laps. He pauses midstroke and faces my direction, treading water. For a blind man, he has uncanny built-in radar. “Hi, Beth. How’s the arm?”

  Jamie’s presence is a happy surprise. It’s not unexpected, because Jamie spends a lot of time in the pool, as it’s his preferred method of exercise. The water is one of the few places where Jamie’s blindness isn’t a hindrance. He swims like a fish and is perfectly at home in the water. Knowing Jamie’s background, it doesn’t surprise me in the least. He was a Navy SEAL until an explosion blinded him, and he’s not the type to sit around feeling sorry for himself. Jamie’s constantly pushing himself, testing his limits, just to prove to himself that he can still do it.

  Of Shane’s three brothers, it’s Jamie I spend the most time with. Jamie lives here full time, so he’s always around. Plus, he has the patience of a saint. There’s just something about him – and it isn’t his good looks. He’s very empathetic, very kind. Maybe those qualities stem from the fact that he’s blind.

  Maybe his lack of sight has taught him to pay closer attention to those around him and read people better. Don’t they say that when you lose one sense, you develop the others more fully? Maybe empathy is another human sense – like touch or sound or smell. Whatever the reason, he’s a good guy, and I liked him from the first moment I met him.

  Jamie’s black Labrador puppy – Gus – runs up to me and drops into a sitting position at my side, patiently waiting for a pat on the head. I reach down and scratch the dog’s ears and laugh as he squirms happily. Gus was supposed to have been Jamie’s service dog, but because the puppy’s afraid of water, he failed his training. But Jamie had already fallen in love with the dog after meeting him a few times, so he arranged to adopt him anyway as a pet. Now Jamie’s training Gus himself to be a service dog.

  “My arm feels good,” I tell him. “Kind of sensitive, but otherwise good.”

  “Come on in then,” he says, motioning me in. “The water’s fine.”

  I walk to the zero entry end of the pool and step into the warm water, sighing with pleasure as it laps at my feet. Jamie swims toward the shallow end of the pool to join me.

  I can’t help watching the water sluice off his tall, muscular body – it’s a sight any woman can appreciate. He has a handsome face with a square jaw and a perfect blade of a nose. He hasn’t shaved in a few days, so there’s a new beard on his face. His thick, auburn hair is cut short. I know his eyes are the color of fine whisky and framed by thick dark lashes, but I can’t see them at the moment because they’re covered by darkened swim goggles, which he wears to protect his eyes from the chemicals in the water. Normally, he doesn’t cover his eyes in the house, and just looking at him, you’d never guess he’s blind. There’s no visible damage to his eyes, although he does have several scars at his temples.

  Jamie reaches for my left arm – finding it unerringly, which amazes me – and examines it with deft, careful fingers. “What did your doctor say about physical activity?”

  What is it with these overly-protective McIntyre men? It must be genetic. “She said nothing strenuous for a few weeks.”

  Jamie nods. “Sounds reasonable. A little low-impact swimming won’t hurt you, but I guess we’ll have to wait a while before we can start racing or diving. Shane tells me you were a swim-team champ in high school and college. I’d love to have a little competition when you’re up for it.”

  The thought of swimming competitively really perks me up. “I would love to, Jamie.”

  Lia drifts toward us on her floating device and splashes Jamie full in the face. He growls and makes a show of lunging for her. She kicks water at him, then rolls off her floating couch and swims like crazy for deeper water. But she’s no match for Jamie’s speed. He catches his sister easily, snagging her ankle in mid-kick, and they wrestle beneath the water like a pair of frisky crocodiles. Gus prances at the edge of the pool barking frantically.

  While those two are otherwise occupied, I move cautiously into water. It’s been months since I’ve been able to get my arm wet, and the warm water feels heavenly.

  I feel a little overly conspicuous in the scrap of fabric I’m wearing. The bottom piece barely covers my butt cheeks, and the top isn’t much better. The two little triangles of fabric covering my breasts barely do more than obscure my nipples. For a moment, I feel guilty that I’m relieved Jamie can’t see me. I already feel overly self-conscious about my body; being
on display like this isn’t easy for me. I’m way out of my comfort zone, but if this is what it takes to get Shane’s attention, then I’m game.

  My gaze flickers briefly up at the video surveillance cameras situated throughout the room, and I wonder if Shane is watching. If he is spying on me, then he deserves to get an eye full.

  Once the bottom of the pool falls away from my feet, I begin taking slow strokes down the length of the pool.

  Lia swims up beside me. “You doing okay?”

  I give her a thumbs-up. “Fine.”

  Jamie swims up on my other side. I’m a good swimmer, but I doubt I could keep up with Jamie in a real competition. I just don’t have his physical strength. If I’m a dolphin – as my mom and brother used to call me – then Jamie’s an orca.

  “I guess racing is out of the question right now,” he says. “Shane told me you raced competitively in college. I’d like to see how fast you can go.”

  “Not nearly as fast as you, I’m sure.” After all, the man was a SEAL. He was trained to be at home in the water.

  “You’re the best competition I’ve had in a long time. I hope you’ll train with me when you’re cleared for physical activity.”

  “I’d love that,” I say, absolutely meaning it.

  I begin swimming laps, gliding through the water with minimal effort, taking it easy on my arm. I’m more interested in form than speed right now. Jamie keeps pace with me, taking things at my pace.

  “Don’t let me hold you back, Jamie.” I know he can swim circles around me.

  “It’s okay,” he says. “I like having the company.”

  As I watch his muscular arms slice cleanly through the water, it occurs to me that Jamie must be very lonely here on the estate. I’ve never seen anyone come visit him. I’ve never heard him talk about a woman, or any friends outside of his family. His former teammates keep in touch with him, but they’re located all the way on the west coast, in California, and they’re often deployed abroad. And when they’re not deployed, they’re busy training and spending quality time with their families.