Beloved Bodyguard (5 page)

“Your eyes say something different.” She rose
up on her toes, bringing herself even closer to him, her lips near
enough to kiss if he wanted to. “It’s all right. I want it too, and
no one has to know.”

His fingers clenched her wrists like
manacles, hard enough to hurt. “No.”

“Is it wrong if a girl keeps trying?” She
leaned into him, pressing her body full length against his and
covering his mouth with hers. His lips were still tight, resistant.
She licked them until they were soft and open beneath hers.
“Better,” she whispered against his mouth.

He released her wrists, and his hands slid
all the way up her arms and around her back. Leelah slipped her
arms around his neck and tilted her head to kiss him more deeply,
her tongue teasing between warm lips to touch his.

For a moment he passively accepted her kiss,
then, with a soft groan, he came alive, attacking her mouth with
his. His hunger was like a jolt of pure adrenaline to her. Leelah
yielded to the force of his assault, opening her mouth and letting
him plunder it. As much as she loved to wind a man around her
finger, she also loved to surrender control. Ja-hun’s powerful
embrace and desperate kisses set her on fire, and her body molded
to his.

Her head spun at the speed with which things
had escalated from discussing windows to her bodyguard sweeping her
off her feet and carrying her to bed. He tossed her on it and
unbuttoned his shirt just enough to pull it off. At last she could
see the hard muscles she’d fantasized about.

They were worth the wait. His smooth body was
an even tan shade all over. On the smooth plane of his chest, his
nipples were little brown discs begging to be tweaked and pinched.
His shoulders and arms flexed with each movement as he unfastened
his pants. That flat stomach could serve as a tabletop. Leelah
imagined the delicacies she could eat off it if he gave her the
chance.

Her gaze followed the trail of hair leading
down from his navel as Ja-hun opened his fly and pulled trousers
and underwear down his hips. His erection sprang forth from a
tangle of dark hair. It angled toward her, the head flushed dark
red and the thick shaft ridged with veins and vibrating with
life.

Leelah caught her breath and licked her
suddenly dry lips. This was going to be
so
much better than
her vibrator.

Ja-hun wrestled his way out of his clothes so
fast it made him clumsy. As he dragged his trousers down his legs
while shedding his shoes and socks at the same time, he almost
fell. When he was completely naked, he stood beside the bed for a
long moment, staring at every inch of her as if he might devour
her. Mm, she wanted to be devoured.

Leelah stretched her arms above her head,
making her breasts thrust provocatively. A smile still curved her
lips. “What are you waiting for?”

*

What am I waiting for? For my brain to turn
back on and pull me away from the edge of insanity.

Except Ja-hun really didn’t want to be
interrupted from what his body had every intention of doing, so he
climbed on the bed and straddled her soft, fragrant body. He
lowered himself over her and kissed her. Once more, their tongues
darted around each other in a game of tag before settling into a
lingering exploration.

At last Ja-hun drew away from the lazy kisses
to press his lips to the corner of her mouth, then the warm flesh
of her throat. He paused with his lips pressed between her
collarbones. Her rapid pulse told him she was as aroused as he was.
He moved down her chest to the swells of her breasts. Could
anything be sweeter than nuzzling her cleavage?

Peeling back the cups of her bra revealed the
rosy nipples he’d admired earlier that very day. Ja-hun did what
he’d dreamed of then, suckled first one then the other before
surprising Leelah with a sharp nip.

Leelah gasped and thrust her chest toward
him. She grasped his head and held him to her. The sound of her
throaty moans sent a fresh wave of desire through him. His cock
ached and he longed to plunge inside, but first, he reached down to
cup her pussy. He let it rest there for a moment, then slipped
beneath her panties to touch her again. So wet, so hot, and oh,
there… she was open and ready for him.

Ja-hun wet his fingers inside, then moved
them up to her clit to tease it until Leelah arched into his touch,
eyes closed and mouth open in an “O” that made him want to kiss her
again.

His body felt like the gas-burning engines in
old vids of auto races, revving and revving before the flag dropped
and they flew down the track with a thunderous roar that was
somehow more satisfying than today’s silent vehicles. If he didn’t
let loose soon, he’d explode before he crossed the starting
line.

He reached for her panties and pulled them
down her legs. Leelah popped the clasp on the front of her bra and
removed it. She lay back, a completely nude sun goddess. Her gold
streaked hair fanned across the pillow, and her eyes glittered as
she gazed up at him. She spread her legs wide and reached for
him.

Ja-hun settled between her legs, his weight
braced on his arms, and reached to guide his cock into her. Her
body swallowed him up, the tight channel engulfing him. He groaned
loudly and pushed deep. It had been a long time since he’d been
with a woman, two years or maybe more    before his
stint in D’jeering, back when he was still a killer. Back when he
was a robot. Eliminating a man, eating a meal, or fucking a woman
had all been simple objectives to accomplish. He’d taken little
emotional pleasure in the act. It was just a release of tension.
But this…this was close to heaven.

“Hey.” Her soft voice made him to open his
eyes. “Look at me while we do it.”

The intensity of her gaze captured his. He
couldn’t have looked away if he tried. She held him prisoner in
those golden depths as if she’d cast a magic spell on him. He
slowly withdrew his length, paused, then pushed back into her
velvet warmth.

“Mm.” Her moan caressed him. Her hands slid
down his back and cupped his ass, pulling him even deeper as she
wrapped her legs around his. “Right there.”

In and out, he stroked in slow glides. He
needed to make it last because he knew this could never happen
again. But for these few minutes, he could submerge himself in her
gaze and pretend he belonged somewhere for the first time in his
life.

Her inner muscles gripped him tight, and she
lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. Her eyes became unfocused, and
she exhaled a soft “Hnh.”

He moved faster, unable to hold back any
longer. The tension growing in him since he’d first looked at her
coiled tighter. Her whimpering sounds of pleasure spurred him on
and he plunged deeper.

“Ah, Ja-hun.”

Her gasp of his name pushed him over the
edge. His cock swelled within the confines of her heat until it
spilled over. Bursts of pleasure shuddered through him. His long
groan contained all the frustration he’d held inside, not just a
sexual discharge but a release of emotions he’d repressed for far
too long.

His body slowed and stilled, but he was
fairly certain Leelah had come the moment she moaned his name. His
eyes were closed; he’d lost contact with her as he came, and now he
bowed his head to her shoulder and nuzzled her skin.

Leelah’s hands stroked up and down his back,
and she made soft, soothing sounds in her throat. He never wanted
to leave her embrace. Had she felt something, too, something beyond
a bodily function, or was that shining moment of connection between
them only in his imagination?

He came back to reality with a thud. What was
he thinking? Of course it was only a fantasy. He was her protector,
and she was a young woman with a healthy libido. He didn’t mean
anything to her. She didn’t know him at all, and if she did, she’d
kick him out of her bed.

Ja-hun pulled away from her. He rose, reached
for his pants and began to dress.

Her hand fell on his shoulder. “Can’t you
stay and cuddle for a little bit?”

He shrugged off her hand. Her cajoling was
dangerous and likely to pull him right back into the rumpled sheets
beside her.

He wouldn’t look at her as he put on his
shirt and picked up his shoes. “This was very wrong. I
apologize.”

“No, it wasn’t. How can you say that?”

“I’ll send Nigeri or one of the others to
guard you. Please don’t run away again before they get here.” With
that, he closed the door behind him.

She couldn’t believe he’d run out on her,
especially after that intense moment, that flash of…something that
had passed between them right there at the end. Or maybe it had
only been in her mind. She’d imagined a connection while he’d felt
nothing special at all. Leelah swallowed down the pain that thought
brought her.

But even if it
had
only been sex, it
was wrong to just finish and run. No one had ever treated her so
rudely. She jerked her top over her head and tugged it into place,
put on her skirt, and searched for her favorite pair of
sandals.

It was morning, actually nearly noon, and she
was still fuming about Ja-hun’s behavior the previous night. Before
she opened the door to go out into the hall, she paused with a hand
pressed against it. Would he be out there, or was he still hiding,
leaving another guard in his place? If he was there, how was she
going to play this? Light and breezy or dry and sarcastic?

“Open,” she ordered the door then walked into
the hall.

Ja-hun was there and rose from his chair on
her arrival.

“Well, good morning,” she said, her tone
caught somewhere between breezy and sarcastic. Her head was in such
turmoil, she wasn’t sure exactly what she was feeling.

Ja-hun didn’t answer and barely nodded. His
gaze was pinned somewhere above her left shoulder.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, back to
being Mr. Steel?”

“I can’t become involved with a client and do
my job effectively. I would end my employment today, but I still
believe you may be in danger and I want to do what I can to
help.”

“Well, that’s sweet.” She folded her arms and
tried to suppress the bitter edge. “I’m touched.”

“For the rest of the time I’m on this
assignment, I will maintain a professional distance. I’m here to
guard you, not to   ”

“To fuck me? Let me just say you’ve done a
very thorough job of keeping a close, personal eye on me, so
thanks.”

“I’m sorry.” His voice was low, and his gaze
focused on the floor. “And thank you.” He sounded so sincere it
made her chest tighten and her eyes sting with tears.

“Whatever.” She moved past him quickly.
I’m not done with you yet, mister. I can hear in your voice that
there
is
something between us, but you’re afraid to admit
it.

“Hey, Nin,” she greeted the cook when she
reached the kitchen. “Don’t bother getting anything for me. I can
make my own breakfast.”

“I wasn’t going to.” The older woman shot her
the same evil-eyed glare she did every morning when Leelah cruised
into her kitchen closer to lunchtime than breakfast. “I’m no
short-order cook.”

Leelah grinned. The byplay with Nin was a
part of her morning, like a daily cup of
chamti
. Despite the
cook’s complaints, she always kept a pot of
chamti
warm
until whatever time Leelah arrived for her morning meal. There was
a basket of muffins and a bowl of fruit on the counter. She filled
a plate and carried her breakfast out to the garden with Ja-hun
trailing behind her.

The weather was cooler than yesterday, but
still sunny. She walked the stone path between glowing flowerbeds
and past decorative trees to her favorite bench in the rose arbor.
She settled on the seat and set her plate beside her.

Ja-hun took a position several yards away,
his back to her, his posture erect and ready to spring into action.
Did he think kidnappers were going to spring out of the bushes in
her own garden? The sun shone on his black hair, glossy as a
raven’s wing. It had slipped so cool and silky between her fingers
last night. How she longed to wrap her fingers around those silken
locks and tug on them.

She sighed and turned her attention to her
cherry muffin, but immediately her focus drifted back to Ja-hun,
picturing him without the suit jacket he wore today. Broad
shoulders, narrow waist, tight ass, muscular legs. She needed to
see him naked again so she could take a long look at his rear.

“This is ridiculous!” she called. “At least
come over here and talk to me. Have a grape. They’re
delicious.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her. His
sharp profile outlined against dark foliage seemed more statue than
man. She wanted to close her eyes and study his features with her
fingertips, as if she could learn more about him that way.

“Come on,” she wheedled. “You don’t have to
sit next to me. Just come over here.”

She reeled him in like a fish hooked on the
line of her voice. He moved closer, stopping a few feet in front of
her.

She offered him a few Kachiri grapes, and he
shook his head. “No, thank you.”

With a shrug, Leelah put them into her own
mouth, the rich sweetness popping on her tongue. “You’ll be
escorting Father and me to the ball tonight?”

“Yes.”

“So, let me get this straight. I’m confined
to the house on a daily basis. You think shopping or my friends’
beach party is too dangerous, and yet we’re going to attend the
biggest social event of the year with hundreds of people in
attendance. That doesn’t seem unsafe to you?”

What was she saying? She was going to talk
him right out of allowing her to attend the NewEarth Ball.

“Your father has made it clear this is an
important event for both of you, politically as well as socially.
Besides, the security at the Gravatz is irreproachable. You aren’t
the only important dignitaries who will be there.”