Escorted by the Ranger Page 14

  “Thank you,” he said. He studied her, and she read questions in his eyes.

  “Can we talk about what’s going on between us?” They were alone. They weren’t in a rush. This was the time to discuss.

  Jack shifted and his shoulders tensed. She wasn’t letting him out of the conversation that easily. “What do you want to discuss?” he asked.

  “You’ve been distant since we spent the night together,” Marissa said. It hurt to speak the words, but she wanted to know where they stood.

  “I crossed a line. I’m aware of it. I’ve considered admitting to Kit what happened between us and then asking her to find someone to replace me,” Jack said.

  Mild alarm skittered through her. “Why haven’t you said anything to my sister?”

  “She and Griffin asked me to do this because I’m the right choice. It was a onetime thing between us. It won’t happen again and I can stay focused on your protection.”

  Marissa didn’t think of it as a single, isolated event. She wanted their relationship to be more and deeper. Spending time with him, she had seen strength and tenderness, focus on keeping her safe and intensity when he looked at her, and he made her feel fascinating and special.

  The seriousness in his eyes made her yearn. She wanted him. As excited as she had been about attending Ambrose’s party, now she was thinking about blowing it off and staying with Jack in this amazing suite. “Jack, I appreciate everything you’ve done. How much of your life you’ve put on hold to help me. I’m worried about the person who is after me, but also I’m certain you and I can have a relationship and have it not impact my safety.”

  “You’re my client. I can’t get distracted. It blurs the line of my responsibilities.” He knew the consequences of losing absolute focus on the job. His friendship with Bianca had blinded him to her treachery.

  “I want the other night to happen again. I don’t think we should let something that great end.” She traced her finger down his cheek.

  He closed his eyes. “It was.”

  Marissa slipped her arms around his neck. “Don’t you want it to happen again?”

  “I’ve thought about it. A lot,” Jack said.

  Marissa brought her lips close to his. “Stop fighting me so hard. Go with it.”

  Chapter 8

  Jack didn’t reach for her, but he didn’t pull away.

  Marissa brushed her lips against his and then kissed him hard. It took several seconds of her lips coaxing his before he responded. And then a firestorm lit between them. Jack’s hands went to the small of her back and he pressed her against him, walking her backward toward the couch.

  She fell onto it and kicked off her shoes. They hit the floor with a thud. Jack covered her body with his, unbuttoning his shirt.

  “Careful, that shirt is worth a few thousand dollars,” she said.

  “For a shirt? I will never understand fashion.” He resumed kissing her, his lips moving seductively over hers.

  Marissa helped him remove his shirt, admiring the fabric briefly, Jack’s body thoroughly. She ran her hands over his chest and stomach, enjoying the roped muscles of his chest and the flatness of his abdominals. His skin was hot and taut. Her fingers brushed the top of his belt. Desire swirled through her.

  She slid the end of the belt out of the loop and moved the prong out of the hole.

  He finished the job and finally, his pants were off. They fell to the floor and he stepped out of them, losing his shoes and socks. An amazing specimen of a man, he was something to look at.

  She tugged up the skirt of her dress around her waist, hot and eager for him. Wanting him had been a slow simmer in her soul and now that she could have him again, she was ready. Slipping her thumbs into the sides of her thong, she slid it down her legs and tossed it on top of his pile of clothes.

  “I am so turned on by you,” Jack said. “Everything about you. Your voice, your body, the way you care about the people around you.”

  She hadn’t often heard those words about her. Men obsessed about her legs, her breasts, her body. Jack saw more to her and that was special and meaningful.

  He moved to her, running his hand down her bare thighs. He stroked the backs of her calves and his fingers grazed the apex of her legs. Her body tensed in anticipation.

  “Please hurry. You’ve made me wait long enough,” she said.

  Jack covered himself with protection and turned her on the cushions. She knelt on the couch, grasping the back of it. He pushed on her shoulder blades and she arched. The last time they’d had sex, it had been hot and simple. This was spicy and raw emotion. Her heart was racing and her body felt primed.

  He gripped her hips and came into her in one smooth glide. She shuddered as sensations overwhelmed her.

  “I love how I feel when I’m with you,” he said.

  He grasped her hips and moved, keeping a perfect rhythm. The friction, the pressure, the speed were exactly what she needed.

  “You look so sexy like this,” he said.

  She looked at him and their eyes connected. The emotions and words of affection swelled inside her. He was what she needed and wanted in her life. It had been tragedy that had brought him to her and her feelings for him that kept him close. Jack meant more to her than she could have anticipated.

  Her emotions poured through her and she came apart in his arms. Pulses of pleasure consumed her and he followed her into completion.

  “Wow.” A simple statement that summarized how she was feeling, too.

  His arms went around her and he held her against him. The couch itched her bare skin and she shifted. “Want to move to the bedroom?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he said. In one rolling motion, he came to his feet. She wished she could have snapped a picture of him, raw masculine energy, pumped muscles, delicious man.

  Her phone buzzed and she reached for it on the coffee table. It was Ambrose. Guilt plucked at her. He could be worried about her. She answered, trying to sound nonchalant. “Hey, Ambrose.”

  “Where are you and that fabulous bodyguard?”

  It was difficult to hear him over the music. “We’re on our way. I’m getting changed.” She wiggled, trying to pull her dress down and hoping the wrinkles didn’t give her away.

  “Getting changed together? Did that cause a delay?” Ambrose sounded amused.

  She laughed, pretending his question was ludicrous. “I wanted to make sure everything was good. The dresses you left for me are beautiful. Hard to decide which one to wear. But we’re on our way.” She shot Jack an apologetic look. Tumbling into bed held a great appeal, but she couldn’t let Ambrose down after he had gone through all this trouble to ensure she’d attend the party.

  “Good. I need you here!” Ambrose said.

  “See you soon.” She disconnected. Marissa’s legs felt weak, as if she had run ten miles. “Ready to party?”

  Jack stood. “Is that an invitation to the bedroom or are we heading out again?”

  His preference was retreating to the bedroom and catching some rest. “Ambrose arranged this for me. We need to go to his party.”

  Jack was dressing. His shirt was wrinkled. He still made it work.

  Marissa checked her hair and makeup in the bathroom mirror and made the necessary adjustments.

  When she was ready, Jack was waiting by the door. “Are you sure you want to go?” he asked.

  The seriousness in his voice gave her pause. Jack was with her and this was Ambrose’s party, but something could still go wrong. “I want to go. If anything feels off, we’ll leave.” Being alone with him held a different excitement and promise, but loyalty to her friend was important.

  She slipped on her shoes and took Jack’s hand.

  * * *

  Marissa entered the party and excitement bubbled over h
er. There were enough famous faces that hers was nothing special. This was a place she could relax and dance and not worry about being photographed. The party area was two stories, with a second story that wrapped around the perimeter of the room and the dance floor in the center opening to a cathedral ceiling. A well-known DJ was spinning records, and waiters wearing leather pants and waitresses wearing black bikinis circulated with drinks, their wrists covered in light-up bracelets, making them easy to find in the darkened room.

  Marissa took Jack’s hand. “Dance with me.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t dance.”

  He had moves. She knew it. No man who made love the way he did could claim to be missing rhythm. “Come on. We’re here to have fun.”

  Jack drew her close and whispered in her ear. “If I dance with you, I’ll forget that I need to be watching the people around you to keep you safe. I’ll just watch you.”

  Her cheeks heated. “I’m safe here.”

  “I want to keep you that way,” Jack said.

  A friend called to Marissa from the dance floor. She looked at Jack and he nodded at her to go. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

  Marissa wanted to stay with Jack. She wanted him to integrate into her world, but he seemed bent on staying at the fringes. He’d argue it was his job, but he was holding back.

  “Who’s the hottie?” Kristen asked. Kristen was a television actor between shows, but the last three series she had been on had been huge successes. She was looking over Marissa’s shoulder at Jack.

  A rush of possessiveness struck her. “He’s a bodyguard.”

  Kristen lifted her brows. “Oh really? Just a bodyguard?”

  Marissa wasn’t comfortable answering the questions. Jack had come to mean more to her and she didn’t want Kristin going after him. Admitting they were sleeping together would be great gossip and Kristen wasn’t known for keeping her mouth shut. “He’s off-limits,” Marissa said.

  Kristen laughed. “Then something is going on with him.”

  “Nothing serious, but I would like it to be.” Until she said the words, she hadn’t known they were true. She wanted something with Jack. More than their professional relationship and trysts in between events.

  “Wait, stop the presses. Are you telling me you want a man and he doesn’t want you in return?” Kristen asked.

  Kristen had dated at least a dozen actors. Men flocked to her. “You’re one to talk. You break up with someone and ten men call your agent to ask for an introduction. And I didn’t say he didn’t want me. I said I would like for our relationship to progress. Right now, it’s in employer and employee mode.”

  “Nothing sexy about that,” Kristen said.

  Everything about Jack was sexy. “Have you ever dated someone you worked with?”

  Kristen held out her hand. “Guy who does my lighting. Guy who delivers my scripts. Guy who works in my press manager’s office. And actors. Can’t seem to stay away from actors.” She ticked off the list on her fingers.

  “Doesn’t that get complicated?” Marissa asked.

  Kristen shrugged. “For me, not really. By the time I ended it, they were ready to move on, so no hard feelings. Or the relationship fizzled because there wasn’t enough to keep it going and neither of us cared it was over after the sex got boring.”

  Marissa wasn’t sure how to keep a relationship going. To date, she hadn’t had any long-term relationships lasting longer than three years and her marriages were not something she was proud of. “How do you keep it going?”

  Kristen held up her bare left hand. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t be at this party alone. But I don’t want to talk about my incessant singledom. I wanted to tell you that I heard that Rob is in deep, deep crap with a couple bookies.”

  Talking about Rob put her in a bad mood. At the same time, Marissa was intrigued by Kristen’s information and wanted to know more. “Rob doesn’t gamble.”

  “Sure he does. Big time. He and Avery did. I’m not speaking ill of the dead. It’s just a fact.”

  Avery had expensive tastes, but she had the career and the salary to back it up. She loved being the center of attention; it gave her a thrill.

  Marissa could imagine Rob gambling. His finances were tighter and the idea of a big payday could be motivating. “What did they gamble on?”

  Marissa wasn’t sure if she believed this rumor. She would tell Jack about it and see if he could sniff out more.

  “I heard they were gambling on sports,” Kristen said.

  Kristen had to be mistaken. Avery hadn’t watched a day of sports in her adult life. “That doesn’t seem like Avery. Rob, maybe.”

  Kristen waved to someone over Marissa’s shoulder. “Oh, I see Clarice. I need to talk shop with her for a few minutes. Be right back.” She kissed Marissa on the cheek and dashed off.

  Marissa kept dancing, thinking about what Kristen had said. Had Avery been gambling and gotten in over her head? Rob used to go to the bar with his buddies and watch games from time to time. He hadn’t been a big fan of any team that she knew about.

  This rumor didn’t fit with the events. If Avery had gambling debts, she could have paid them back easily. Killing her was a sure way for a creditor to not get his money. Marissa didn’t know much about gambling or how loans were repaid if delinquent.

  As Marissa moved through the room, saying hello to old friends and making idle chitchat, she scanned for Jack. She wanted to tell him what she had heard about Avery and Rob. Not seeing him, she sent him a phone message, asking him to meet her at the bar. He said he would stay close. The room was crowded. Marissa regretted separating from him. He wouldn’t leave, but he had the option of calling one of her other guards to stay with her.

  Out of character for him to do so without telling her. To this point, he had been there every time she had needed him.

  Jack appeared at her side. “Are you all right?”

  Relief and happiness engulfed her at the sight of him and the sound of his voice. Marissa led him to a less crowded part of the room where they wouldn’t be overheard. She related what Kristen had told her about Rob and Avery gambling.

  “If she’s right, their financials should show it,” Jack said.

  “Can you find out?” Marissa asked.

  Jack nodded once. He tapped some buttons on his phone, typing on his on-screen keyboard. “Good news and bad news.”

  Marissa waited.

  “Avery’s financials are being investigated. She frequently moved huge sums of money into and out of her accounts. Tracking every transaction is taking time. But that movement of money was being investigated as a possible lead.”

  Not a new lead they could prove, but Kristen’s words rang true for Marissa. “What about Rob?”

  “His lawyer has blocked any investigation into Rob’s financials.”

  That surprised her. “How?”

  “The investigators have nothing to link Rob to the murder and no judge will sign off on a warrant allowing the police to go on an exploratory mission.”

  “Rob did not kill Avery. He wouldn’t do something like that. But he and Avery could have been involved with someone who did. That’s the connection. If I speak to Rob, maybe he’ll understand why we want to look at his financials.”

  Jack shot her a look. “Rob will not be that reasonable. You are not calling him and opening yourself up to that.”

  Marissa opened her mouth to answer and was interrupted.

  “That red dress works!”

  Marissa turned at the sound of Ambrose’s voice. He was wearing faux-alligator printed pants and a black T-shirt. In his right hand, a cane with a silver alligator head mounted to the top. His shoes were also alligator print with silver toes.

  Ambrose wrapped her in a hug. “What do you think of this party?” He released her and ge
stured around him, pride obvious on his face.

  Marissa had a hard time disconnecting her thought process from Avery and Rob. She mustered some enthusiasm. “Fantastic. You did a great job.”

  Ambrose clasped his hands together on top of his alligator cane. “Everyone who is anyone is either here or planning to be.”

  Being accepted in this world was another marketing tool for Ambrose’s designs. The right people being photographed wearing his clothes and his collections would ensure continued sales. “You’ve done it, Ambrose. Congratulations.”

  He grinned. “Who’d have thought that an immigrant working in a fabric manufacturing plant would be able to live this life?”

  Marissa put her arms around his shoulder. “You’ve arrived. I’m so happy for you.”

  Ambrose kissed her cheek. “I need to mingle. I’ll catch up with you later.” He walked away, practically skipping on air.

  * * *

  It was after three in the morning when Ambrose’s party ended. Jack was grateful they had a hotel room waiting for them upstairs at the Burgundy. He wasn’t sure he could drive Marissa home. The noise, the crowd and the watching for threats for hours was exhausting.

  “You didn’t dance with me,” Marissa said.

  She was standing at the double glass door leading to the balcony of their hotel room, frowning at him.

  He wished he had a camera. Snapping a picture of her right now, the emotion on her face, would create a work of art.

  “I was working tonight,” Jack said. That was his counter. That was the one fact he could hold up as proof he was doing what was right and needed. Being close to her and not touching her wasn’t easy for him.

  “You’re not working now. I’m in no danger.”

  She had a hopeful look in her eyes and he hated being the man to disappoint her. Caught between his duty and his feelings, Jack strode to the room’s stereo system. He cranked it on, flipping the tuner to a station he knew played soft, sweet songs. He offered his hand. “Dance with me? It’s not the same as dancing in a crowd of hundreds of your friends, but it’s something.”