“I know how that feels,” he said in a whisper. His hand on her shoulder squeezed a little—he was so strong, that small movement pulled her closer, until her body was nearly touching his. His eyes went a little round, like he hadn’t meant to do that. Every part of her was heating with his nearness. Her chest was tight with need, and she thought maybe he wanted to kiss her. She sure as hell wanted to kiss him. Wanted to have some relief from this constant sexual tension, something to distract her, blur her mind, and make her forget about everything. But her mind was too mixed up to tell if it was all in her head, or if he was feeling it, too.
She didn’t get a chance to find out because, at that exact moment, Kylie burst through the door.
“Oh!” Kylie exclaimed, screeching to a halt by the door. “Er… good morning… Grace and the extremely large man who is accompanying her.”
Jared dropped his hand from her shoulder and backed away. Grace turned slowly and gave her best friend a look she hoped would vaporize her on the spot.
Kylie beamed an even larger smile. “I’m having trouble with the coffee maker, Grace! Can you come work your magic on it?”
Grace blew out her frustration in a low breath. Kylie’s curiosity was burning, and Grace knew she would have to explain anyway, so she might as well get it over with.
She glanced back to Jared. “Duty calls.”
He squinted at her in a way that said he wasn’t amused, but he let her go with a nod.
Grace led the way from her office to the tiny closet that served as a coffee room. Kylie was hot on her heels. Nolan caught sight of them and hustled over. There was hardly room for the three of them to stand in the cramped closet, but Kylie jammed them all inside and closed the door.
“Oh my God, Grace! Is that him?” Kylie gushed.
Nolan scowled. “Him who? There’s a him? I haven’t heard of a him before.”
“The guy Grace is hot for!” Kylie shushed him, then turned to Grace. “That’s him, isn’t it?”
Nolan swung to her. “You’re hot for that guy?” The jealousy was rolling off him in waves, and Grace really didn’t need to deal with that on top of everything else.
“Jesus, Nolan,” she said. “I can’t help it if the man’s hot.”
“So you do think he’s hot?” His pinched look got even more so.
“She has a pulse, doesn’t she?” Kylie whacked his chest with the back of her hand. “Back off, Nolan. The girl has a Grade-A hottie in her grasp. Don’t mess it up.”
“When did all this happen?” Nolan was gritting his teeth. “Since when do you have a boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Grace said, wearily. She couldn’t even see a word as tame as boyfriend applying to Jared. “His name is Jared, and he’s my new bodyguard.”
Kylie squeaked and clapped her hands together. “Holy shit, that’s even better! Jesus, Grace, why do you get all the lucky breaks?”
Grace glared at her. “It’s not lucky to have a need for a personal bodyguard.”
Nolan frowned. “Hang on, why do you need a bodyguard all of a sudden?”
Some of the glee finally dropped off Kylie’s face. “Wait a minute, is something wrong?”
Grace took a deep breath, but she figured that lie was the simplest of all. “There’s some shifter gangs out there who aren’t happy with my father. Apparently, there been some threats against me. My father wanted me to have a personal bodyguard, just in case.”
Kylie’s face took on a look of horror. “Oh my God, Grace.”
Nolan’s face had gone stormy. “What kind of threats?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“I’m sure it’s not nothing.” Nolan’s storm darkened. “The Senator wouldn’t do this if it weren’t necessary.”
Grace shook her head. Her father, the Senator, was looking out for himself, primarily. That would be even more true, if he knew what she was.
“I don’t like this.” Nolan’s voice had dropped an octave.
“Well, I don’t like it, either,” Grace said. “It’s probably nothing, but I’m going to have a bodyguard for a while, so you guys will have to get used to it. Just for the campaign. Just a precaution.”
“I think I need to have a talk with your new bodyguard.” Nolan wrestled the door open and squeezed past them to get out.
“Oh Christ,” Grace said under her breath.
Kylie scowled after him. “He better not mess with this. You need to get laid, Grace, and Hot Bodyguard Man seems like just the ticket. Don’t worry, I won’t let Nolan screw this up for you.” She charged out after him.