Guardian Angel (5 page)

Dinner passed uneventfully, with Jared casually dis
cussing the future of the Rams with avid football-fan Alex. They were soon engrossed in companionably arguing who had the best chance for the Super Bowl the following year.

"I'll be meeting with Rashid Kalim next Tuesday," Jared remarked casually as they relaxed over after-dinner liqueurs.

"Oh?" Alex's face sharpened with interest. She knew that Jared had been working hard for the past few months to set up this conference. "When did he finally agree to this?"

"I spoke to him this afternoon." He smiled, the action softening the craggy planes of his face. "We may have been fraternity brothers in college, but now that we're
going to be on the opposite ends of the bargaining table, I'll be lucky if he concedes one point to me." His eyes gleamed with anticipati
on of the upcoming business.

"It's a pity that you're not looking forward to this," she injected dryly, noticing the air of expectancy about Jared. It was clear this was what he lived for.

"Yes, isn't it?" He grinned.

After their meal they walked slowly back to the build
ing. Jared's hand rested lightly against the small of Alex's back, as if guiding her in their short journey. She was finding it more and more difficult to ignore the heat of his touch or the flares that erupted in the green eyes when they touched on her at odd times. This job would have been so much more safe if Jared had been short, bald, and fat! When they reached the building they entered the lobby to take the elevator to the parking garage. When they later stopped by Alex's car, she looked up with a smile.

"Thank you for dinner," she said lightly, then added in a teasing tone, "Sorry I can't ask you to come home with me, but I have a very strict mother."

Jared returned her smile, easily entering in the game. He trailed his fingertips along her shoulder, noticing the delicate bones beneath his touch. "Yes, I noticed her giv
ing me the once-over when I came to pick you up. Not to mention the third degree your father gave me." He was surprised to see the smile disappear, leaving harshly etched lines in the delicate features.

"Yes," she said tightly, stepping away from his heated contact. "Well, good night, see you in the morning." She quickly unlocked the door and got in.

Jared remained in his spot and watched Alex drive out of the garage, wondering what he had said to wipe the smile from her face and eyes. If he had known a thought
less remark would have done that, he certainly wouldn't
have said it. Shrugging his shoulders and forgetting her problems since he had plenty of his own to worry about, he walked over to his car and prepared to go home and fall into bed for an all too brief sleep before he'd begin another working day.

The following Tuesday afternoon Jared held his meet
ing with several oil-rich sheikhs who were looking for new markets for their products and Alex was again on duty.

The visitors had looked at her with admiration in their dark eyes all the while amazed that a mere woman was used to protect such an important man. One man in par
ticular, Rashid Kalim, watched Alex with something darker than mere admiration. She made sure to keep her gaze from his direction during the talks.

What Alex hadn't noticed was that Jared had seen the object of Rashid's gaze and, apparently, had not ap
preciated the younger man's attention on anything else than the subject of their meeting. He waited until after the men left the conference room adjoining his office before voicing his displeasure to Alex.

"You're certainly a creature of surprises, Alex," he began in a caustic tone after he had dismissed Chris.

"Oh?" She had thought she was also dismissed and was already walking toward the door when Jared's voice halt
ed her.

"Damn it, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Alex spun on her heel and faced Jared with rage firing her eyes. "I'll put up with your temper tantrums, Mr. Templeton, and I'll even, put up with your archaic ideas that a woman's place is not necessarily in the office, but I will not, I repeat, I will not allow anyone to talk to me in that tone." Her voice directed icy darts at his heart. "Growing up with four brothers forced me to put up with male chauvinism all my life, and I was determined that
once I graduated from the Academy, I wouldn't put up with it again, least of all from a tin god such as you!" She stood her ground, uncaring that Jared's next words would be a roar that she was fired.

To say that Jared was stunned by her fury was an understatement. Alex had always
been quiet
, unobtrusive, and quick to gauge the situation. She had never shown the display of temper she had just now. Deep down he ad
mired her for her lack of fear of him, not to mention the future of her job. Jared's fierce temper was a well-known fact around Fernwood. He walked over to his desk and perched his hip on the edge.

"There have been people fired for a lot less," he began quietly. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yes." She wasn't about to apologize for her words, especially since they were the truth. Jared never saw any need to make excuses for his actions and she didn't feel she should either.

Jared shook his head, allowing a faint smile to c
urve his lips. "You've got guts,
Alex. No one has ever had the nerve to tell me off the way you just did."

"Perhaps if more people had, you wouldn't be the ego
tist you are today," she continued recklessly.

Preferring not to challenge her remark, he changed the subject.

"Rashid Kalim displayed a more than passing interest in you, and I wouldn't be surprised if you hear from the man," he said in a deceptively casual voice. "Think you could put up with going out with the man, not to mention his entourage? He likes his bodyguards by the gross."

Alex shook her head, the dark hair swinging silkily against her cheek. "No, thanks."

"He's an extremely wealthy and powerful man." He dangled the gold carrot in front of her.

"So are you, but I wouldn't care to have you as a steady diet."

Jared blinked at this bit of biting honesty. He had never come across a woman who refused to succumb to his charms. The thought that Alex was immune rankled. He slowly straightened up and walked over to where Alex stood until his body was only inches away from hers.

"The navy certainly added iron to your backbone, didn't
it?" He spoke softly. "I wonder
if there's anything else in that body that doesn't quite go with the image?"

Alex was totally unprepared for Jared pulling her into his arms and his mouth descending to hers. Any protest she might have made was smothered by the probing thrust of his tongue and the tightening of his hold on her body.

Disjointed thoughts ran through her brain, gauging her own reactions to this unexpected attack. Her traitorous body had already melted against Jared's hard form while her arms slowly rose to circle his neck. His hands moved up and down her spine in a caressing, yet sensual, motion, then settled at the base and below to cup the firm, rounded buttocks and lift her into the cradle of his hips and feel the potent rising of his own desire.

Alex couldn't remember a man's kiss firing her the way Jared's was. Before, she had always prided herself on the ability to handle
over amorous
men, but not even during her marriage to Dennis h
ad she felt such a crazy, mind-
searing experience. Right now she wanted nothing more than to loosen Jared's tie and unbutton his shirt so that she could discover the silky warmth of his bare skin. She wanted to bare her own skin and feel the electric current flowing between them until they exploded in multicolored sparks.

"Ah, Alex," Jared rasped, his open mouth moving moistly over her face and circling the outline of her lips.
His teeth gently pulled on her lower lip and drew it into his mouth. "So beautiful."

His ragged words swiftly brought her back to reality. Alex's arms dropped and she quickly stepped away from the circle of Jared's potent force. It took some doing, but she soon had her breathing under control and the face she showed him betrayed none of the tumultuous thoughts running through her mind. What didn't make her feel any better was that Jared had taken that time to compose himself also. In fact, he seemed to be in better control than she.

"I hadn't realized there could be so much dynamite in that compact body." His mocking words hit her with the force of a rock slide. "I'm surprised the navy didn't make use of you as a secret weapon."

Alex's first instinct was to wipe the mocking smile off Jared's fade, then she quickly restrained herself. That was what he expected her to do and she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

"We're going up to Pradera Alta this Saturday." He named his ranch. "You'll be going along."

For the first time, Alex looked suspicious. "Who exactly is going and why do I have to go?" This in itself was odd since she had never questioned his orders before.

Jared turned away an
d walked back to his desk. "Ra
shid will be there. Since he insists on his bodyguards going along, I will do likewise. Just pack casual clothes, you know, jeans and such. Also take some boots if you care to do some riding. All of our time won't be taken up with meetings. Oh, on your way out, would you let Chris know I need to see him." Now she was being dismissed.

If Alex hadn't had such a good hold on her emotions, her mouth might have dropped open in a very unladylike pose. Jared was acting very strangely today. First the ardent lover, now the distant cold-hearted man she was
used to dealing with. Nothing was making any sense. She wondered if there was a full moon out. She nodded stiffly, then let herself out of the office and returned to her own.

Once alone in the quiet confines of her office, Alex's mind recalled the force of Jared's kiss. She wasn't sur
prised by her action. She had been aware of his interest in her from the very beginning, but it hadn't deterred her from taking the job. If anything, Jared presented a chal
lenge of his own. A challenge she wasn't going to deny, but one she wouldn't dare accept either. Her only surprise was her whole-hearted response to his kiss and that worried her.

Alex remembered all too well the few years she had been married and the tragic aftermath. Memories she pre
ferred to keep buried deeply so that they wouldn't inter
fere with the life she had made for herself. Funny, she hadn't thought of Dennis for a long time now. Not that she had anything against her ex-husband or that she still loved him. There might not have been any fireworks or displays of grand passion during their marriage, but there hadn't been any misery either. At least there had been no real damage to her heart. She leaned forward, massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers as if working hard to banish the headache that was beginning to appear.

"You haven't been wearing your glasses again when you read," Dena scolded, setting two aspirin and a glass of water in front of her.

"Yes, Mother," she replied wryly, picking up the pills.

"Hey, I'm only doing this to protect my own skin. You're a real terror when you get these headaches," she informed her boss.

Alex grimaced as she swallowed the two white tablets. "Mr. Templeton has decided to hold the rest of the meet
ings with the sheikhs at his ranch, so I'll be leaving the end of this week."

"That means no budget meeting with your favorite per
son in Accounting," Dena guessed.

"You've got it. I know the man will just be broken
hearted to hear the news," she said dryly. "You may as well call him and give him the glad tidings. I'll do some homework while I'm up there and really give him both barrels when I return. I can send my notes down to you with Mr. Templeton's messenger. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

Dena nodded and turned to walk out of the office. "I'll call Mr. St. Clair's office now and give him the bad news."

"At least someone's day will be made," Alex muttered, staring down at the top of her desk. She refused to admit that her confrontation with Jared had affected her in a very strange way. There was a tingling sensation in her lips that recalled the hard pressure of his mouth and she thought she could still taste the acrid tang of the cheroots he smoked. Picking up a memo, she resolutely pushed him from her mind and returned to her work.

Friday evening, Alex was more than tired when she headed for the elevator that would take her down to the parking garage. When the elevator slowed at the appropri
ate level and the doors silently slid open, she stepped out and frowned when she noticed some of the lights were out, giving the interior a dim, tomblike appearance.

Switching her briefcase to her left hand, Alex crossed the nearly empty garage, her footsteps loud on the con
crete floor. She wasn't sure what prompted her unease, except that the prickles along her nape had always been an excellent warning device before.

She still wasn't swift enough to defend herself when a grimy hand covered her mouth and the cold steel tip of a knife teased her ribs while a man's hoarse voice sounded in her ear.