Tangled Vows(2)

Bailey returned his grin and slid her arms up around his neck. "Does it  look like I'm avoiding you?" She pulled him closer until their bodies  touched. His other hand slid around her waist and down to cup her ass.

"Mmm. Not at the moment."

"Are you busy right now?" she asked.

"I was running out to get breakfast, but my appetite suddenly seems to have changed."

"Good," she whispered. "I need some relief." Sex was another form of  self-treatment for her, another way to bury her thoughts and lose  herself in pure sensation. Mark was always more than willing to oblige.  "But I also need breakfast and a shower. Why don't you go get us both  breakfast and meet me back at my apartment? Say … twenty minutes?"                       
       
           



       

"Why don't we just skip breakfast and go straight to the shower?"

Bailey pushed away from him as his lips came towards hers. The elevator  doors opened, and she backed out while shaking a finger and smiling. "Uh  uh. You want in my pants, you have to wine and dine me like a lady."

"As if you could ever be considered a lady!" Mark said as the doors swished closed.

Bailey laughed. She and Mark had first hooked up almost two years ago,  soon after she moved into the building. They weren't dating; both had  been clear on that point. It was only sex, and maybe even friendship, if  she could ever again feel close enough to someone to call them a  friend. However, Bailey enjoyed their banter, and the sex was a great  stress reliever, even better than her workouts.

She entered her apartment and headed to the shower, feeling lighter than she had in a while.





Chapter 3




‡


"Lennox, get your ass into the office now!"

Bailey grabbed Mark's hair to stop his teasing as she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Sir?" Bailey questioned. Her boss didn't usually yell at anyone. For an  ex-military officer, he was the most mild-mannered person she knew.

"I need you here as soon as possible … " His voice was quieter but still gruff. "We have a situation."

A situation? What the fuck? Memories of her past assignments at Halvard  Protection Services paraded through her mind. She'd always been a  top-notch security officer, and she couldn't imagine anything she'd done  to create problems. No, there was only one thing this could be  about-Everett Parker. Son of a bitch. She sighed. Sunday was supposed to  be her day off, and she'd been looking forward to using Mark to help  her relax.

"I'm sure we do." She couldn't help the bit of sarcasm that laced her  voice on those words. "I'm leaving now. I'll be there in thirty." She  pushed Mark away and opened a dresser drawer to grab some panties. When  Mark snatched them away with a wicked grin on his face and wagged his  eyebrows, she just shrugged and tugged a pair of slacks from a hanger in  her closet.

"Make it twenty," her boss responded.

"It's Chicago traffic. I'll be there in thirty," Bailey insisted as she  pulled on her slacks sans panties. She was not going to speed just to  hurry to get lectured-or worse, maybe fired-by her boss.

"Fine. See you in my office in thirty."

Ending the call, she grabbed her panties back from a pouting Mark. "Sorry. Duty calls."

Mark sighed and shrugged before pulling on his own clothes. "Yeah, I  know. Give me a call sometime soon." He kissed her on the temple before  heading out the door.

Bailey sighed too. She almost wished she felt something other than lust  for him. He was such a nice guy, and knew how to please in the sack.  Shrugging off her regrets, Bailey ran out the door and headed for her  car.

*

Bailey didn't wait for a response to her knock before she opened  Flanagan's office door. "What's the situa-" Her surprise closed her  throat and didn't allow her to finish her sentence. A figure standing  near the window turned to face her, and her eyes met the same piercing  blue depths that had triggered her nightmare earlier.

Everett Parker. In the flesh.

Flanagan stood from the chair behind his massive desk. "Lennox, I'm sure  you recognize Mr. Parker." He turned to Everett. "Mr. Parker, this is  Bailey Lennox, the guard who recognized the threat to you last week.  She's one of my top employees."

"Call me Everett, please." His voice was deep and gruff, even more so  than in his many movies. An unexpected shiver crawled up her spine at  the sound. Now that was a voice any woman would dream of hearing whisper  in her ear. Bailey started to understand for the first time why he was  considered the sexiest man on earth.

Everett stepped forward and extended his hand to her. She glanced down  at it before slowly extending her hand into his. Instead of the  impersonal handshake she expected, he squeezed gently and placed his  other hand on top, fully enclosing her smaller hand in both of his.

"Ms. Lennox. It is a true pleasure to meet you. I wanted to personally thank you for saving my ass at the movie premiere."

The unexpected curse word jerked her attention back to his face, where  she caught that famous grin of his. His shoulder-length hair was shaggy  and mussed instead of its usual smooth appearance.

"It's not every day you see that kind of dedication to a job," he continued.

Bailey freed her hand from his before answering. "There's no need to  thank me. I was just doing what I had to do." She turned back to her  boss, who was still standing stiffly behind his desk, his fingertips  resting on the surface. "What's the situation that was so urgent?" Today  was supposed to have been her day off, and all she wanted to do after  her long week and even longer morning was get some sleep. As much as she  could get with her nightmares returning.                       
       
           



       

Flanagan ran his hand over his buzz cut and sat heavily in his chair. He gestured at Bailey. "Ah, have a seat, Bay."

A feeling a dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Whatever he had to  say, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it. Slowly, she lowered  herself into one of the two chairs in front of Flanagan's desk. She  noticed Parker didn't take the other seat. Instead, he walked back over  to the window and leaned against it until all she could make out from  the incoming morning light was his silhouette.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like whatever this is?"

Flanagan grimaced. "Probably because you have good instincts," he replied. "Mr. Parker here-"

"Everett," Parker corrected.

Nodding, he continued. "Everett here has requested our services for an  upcoming trip." Bailey didn't say anything but glanced at the imposing  figure against the window again. When the pause became uncomfortable,  Flanagan cleared his throat and said, "Specifically, he has requested  you."

"Me? Why?" Her eyes flicked between the two men, waiting for an answer.

Flanagan too glanced at Parker, as if hoping he would answer that  question for himself. "Ah, that's the thing," he finally said. Bailey  registered him shifting in his seat, and she knew he didn't want to  answer. Which, in turn, told her she wasn't going to like whatever  arrangement this was. "He is making a trip to his hometown, but it's to  be kept quiet. That means minimal security. But the threats against him  have increased since the release of his latest movie."

Bailey interrupted. "That still doesn't explain why it should be me."

This time Everett answered her question. "Because you're the best. That's what everyone tells me. And I only hire the best."

His words did nothing to account for his personal presence here or  Flanagan's discomfort. She shook her head. "What else aren't you telling  me?"

Everett finally walked to remaining chair and sat down facing her. He  leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. "I'll be visiting my  family, who are pretty low-key people. My manager tells me my usual  bodyguard isn't sufficient, especially when he would have to sleep at  the only motel in town, three miles away." The dread in Bailey's stomach  began to spread out into her limbs, making her feel weak. She didn't  like where this conversation was going. "He and I compromised … I need  someone who will be with me at all times." His sexy grin was back in  place on his face, but Bailey could see his eyes were serious. She began  to wonder if he used that grin as a mask. "The only way that will be  possible is if my family-and everyone else involved-is convinced that  you are my girlfriend."

Bailey's head was already shaking before he finished. "No. Absolutely not."

"But it's perfect," Everett explained. "The incident at the premiere is  the perfect excuse to explain how we met. We won't have to make anything  up."