For Her Protection-An Alpha Romance(19)

Charlie watched him. "It looks really nice."

"Thanks." His movements slowed. The headlights flashed and he moved from  the car. "Sorry about everything, but I'm running late for a meeting."

Charlie kept her frown in check. "See you later."

He nodded, gaze avoiding Connor entirely.

Neil walked briskly towards the building.

"Can I ask you something?" She turned to Connor, who stared after Neil.  "I don't much about cars, would you say this one is expensive?"

Connor looked at the sleek black vehicle. "It's an Audi and yes, it's expensive."

"Too expensive for a guy on 180k with a mortgage and two kids in private  school?" Her voice went tight. Last year when she'd suggested cutting  executive bonuses, when she'd volunteered to forgo her own entirely,  Neil stood up and said he relied on the bonus to pay for his kid's  education. That he'd have to pull his children out of their school if he  didn't get his full bonus.

The vote went against cutting bonuses.

"Depends on the house. Depends on the school." Connor's voice went as low as hers. "But, yes, I'd say so."

Suspicions gathered cold and heavy inside her.

Connor turned to her, and his narrowed gaze fixed on her. He'd been a  detective once after all. Her back straightened. She pulled in her  thoughts. She'd let on too much already.

If there was a thread of accuracy to anything she was thinking then this  was the reason someone would want to have her spied on under the guise  of protection.

Her stomach churned.

She'd so wanted to trust him.



"You'll have to wait out here, Conan." Charlie smiled, and inched away from him.

Connor stood from the chair in the waiting room, his eyes flashing. "You really think so do you?"

"You won't be getting rid of me so easy-or at all." His expression repeated.

Charlie glanced down the beauty salon hallway. "Yep, they don't do Brazilians with an audience."

He paused, and his gaze froze as if he couldn't move his eyes down. Bingo. "I'll be waiting right here."

She would've grinned but her system shuddered in excitement. Did he just  gulp? Did Connor just gulp thinking about her bald and smooth?

"See you in half an hour." She turned to the hall to where her beautician Jennifer waited.

Jennifer led her past the treatment rooms towards the rear of the salon. "It's all been organized."

"I can't thank you enough, Jen."

Jennifer opened the door to the kitchen. "Anything for you, Charlie."

Charlie squeezed Jen's arm, and slipped into the kitchen.

"Miss Halifax?"

She turned to the man, absurdly out of place in his expensive suit  sitting at a beauty salon staff room table. "Mr. Montgomery, thank you  so much for meeting me here."         

     



 

"Call me Andy." He stood and shook her hand. "I understand these situations call for discretion."

Discretion was a nice way of putting it.

"I'm just not sure who I can trust right now."

He nodded. "Do you have what I asked for?"

"I do." She opened her oversized handbag and pulled out the package.  "Full server backups from last week, six months, and a year ago."

Right now wasn't the first time she'd been forced to slip Conner's attention today.

"Perfect." Andy took the package. "I want to assure you I'm making this my top priority."

"Thank you." She swallowed, and closed her bag. "If I'm right about  this, it's being done extremely carefully. I've poured over the books  more times than I can count and I've never picked up on anything."

Andy took off his glasses, and ran a hand over his perfectly groomed  hair. "I'm a forensic accountant with five years of experience with the  FBI. If there's something to find, I'll find it."

"I'm grateful to have you working on this." She'd discovered Andy  Montgomery a year ago when she'd pushed for an independent audit which  was not surprisingly, never approved.

"Anyone else know about this, Miss Halifax?" His brow wrinkled above dark eyes.

"Not even my bodyguard out in the waiting room."

"Good." He pushed his glasses on again. "You should keep it that way."

Her ribs went tight. "I will."

They shook hands and slipped out of the kitchen, where Andy left via the back staff entrance.

"All okay?"

She turned to Jennifer. "It will be after you perform the fastest wax of your career on me."

Jennifer grinned. "Honey, I have a new wax and aftercare serum that will  have your lady garden feeling like it's had a rejuvenation, not an  excavation in ten minutes flat."

Charlie laughed, and followed her into the treatment room. Whatever got the job done.



Charlie turned in front of the mirror, examining the back of the fitted  black gown. Not that she needed a new dress, but she'd used an upcoming  Gala Night as an excuse to get to the mall and have her meeting without  raising suspicion. Her gaze caught Connor's in the reflection.

Not this one.

He didn't have to say anything, but with every dress she'd tried on she  learned a little more about him. When she showed a little back, his  shoulders would shift. Good. If it hugged her ass, then he'd touch his  chin. Freaking excellent.

He might like to think he was master tormentor but he wasn't quite the  un-phased machine he'd like her to believe. He'd proven that every time  she'd deliberately brushed against him and he'd jerked a little. She  smoothed the dress over the swell of her backside and watched his jaw  clench.

Nothing had ever made her feel as sexy as just standing in front of Connor.

Her insides tightened and her lips tingled. She hadn't meant to tease  him. Honestly, she'd spent the day bouncing back and forth between a  vacuum of total distrust, and this overwhelming yearning to just have a  little faith in this man.

She changed out of the black dress and browsed the store, making a few  choices that fell wide of her usual preference of not too fitted. She  selected a red number with a split right up the thigh and tried not to  grin like a toddler dipping her finger in the honey pot.

In the changing room she locked the door and stroked the red dress, not  quite having the nerve to put it on yet. She went with a flowing white  dress, which covered her front but left stretches of skin visible on her  sides.

Connor sat on a stool in the central dressing room area, elbows resting  on denim-clad knees, playing the bored boyfriend part perfectly. She  stepped out of the room and stood in front of the mirrored wall. He  leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. His white T-shirt  tightened over his shoulders.

"What do you think?"

She turned and glanced back at him over her shoulder. He lowered his  chin. His gaze devoured her from the ankles up, leaving a path of heat  on her skin as it moved over her. He cleared his throat but shot a look  at the shop assistant moving through the nearby aisle.

"I think you should change."

She turned and placed her hand on her hip. "Too much side-boob?"

He plucked a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and pushed them over  his eyes, instantly slipping into invisible bodyguard mode.

"Too sunny in here for you, Connor?"

He didn't as much as twitch.

She stifled her laugh. He couldn't handle this at all. Her head went a  little light with this new power. She sashayed back into the stall and  shut the door then covered her mouth to stop giggles from flooding the  dressing room.         

     



 

Score one-white dress. She stripped and took a deep breath before  stepping into the red dress she'd never have had the nerve to try on  before. The sweetheart neckline plunged showing her cleavage. A small  zipper ran from the underside of her rear to the small of her back, but  she left it undone.

Charlie opened the door and leaned out just enough to give him a good  look at her sparkly boobs. Connor stood, shoulders back, one hand  holding the wrist of his other arm, almost blowing his boyfriend cover  with his bodyguard stance. They'd agreed he'd attempt to blend in when  they went out.

"Hey, baby, give us a hand with the zipper?" Her lips quirked to the side.

He remained stock still for a moment then moved toward her. Charlie  backed into the stall then faced the wall and presented him her back.  Then the door closed and the lock clicked. His shoulder brushed her  exposed back as he turned behind her. Her pulse jumped against her  collarbone.

His hands settled on her waist as he guided her forward until her  breasts grazed the wall. Her nipples tightened against the soft lining  of the dress. Her breath deepened as she waited for him to move again.  He shifted and took hold of the sides of the dress. The gaping fabric at  her hips slid closed with the buzz of the zipper.

The anticipation in her belly ebbed a little. Maybe she'd imagined his  reaction? She started to turn but his hands went back to her waist and  held her in place. He pressed the length of his body against her.

"I know what you've been up to."

His hands fisted in her dress and he yanked it up from the front,  gathering it at the waist. Her heart went from a flutter to heavy  thudding.