Bodyguard Bear (Protection, Inc 1)

Ellie stretched, relaxed and happy. Her whole body felt as if she was melting into a puddle. She cuddled up against Hal, and he held her tight.

“That was amazing,” Ellie murmured.

“For me, too.” Hal’s low voice vibrated through her body. “You’re amazing. I feel so lucky to have met you.”

“Same here,” Ellie replied. “Yesterday I thought I was having the worst day of my life. But now it feels like the best.”

“I’m glad.”

They kissed one last time, sleepy and sated and warm. His stubble scratched her chin. The musky scent of sex lay heavy in the air, lulling her like the world’s greatest sedative. Clasped in Hal’s strong arms, she fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Chapter Four

Ellie

Ellie woke with a delicious feeling of contentment. She stretched, touched warm skin, and jerked into a startled full awareness.

“It’s okay.” Hal’s deep voice relaxed her instantly, as if it was a hypnotic cue.

He was lying beside her, his magnificent body stretched out nude atop the covers, unselfconscious and tempting. She searched his face for signs of regret, but found none. His expression held only tenderness and a sensual enjoyment of the sight of her own nakedness.

Look and touch, she thought.

“You’re not sorry?” she asked.

“Absolutely not,” Hal assured her. “And I hope you’re not sorry, either. Last night was wonderful, and I bet it only gets better from here.”

Her head spun with the thought of better sex than last night. “I’ll hold you to it. But first... Do I remember you saying something about a cappuccino machine?”

He sat up. “At your service. Fancy coffee first, or shower first?”

“Shower,” Ellie decided. “Want to take one together?” Then, considering his size, she added, “If we’d both fit...”

Hal laug

hed. “We will. I remodeled the bathroom when I moved in. It’s roomy.”

He leaned over and picked up his holster, looping it over one arm.

“You take your gun into the bathroom?” Ellie had almost forgotten the danger she was in, until that reminder.

“I take my gun everywhere, if I have a client.”

Ellie was used to patients not telling her everything, so she caught the brief pause before he replied. “What about when you don’t have a client?”

“Okay, you got me,” he confessed. “I take it everywhere, period. It’s a holdover from being a Navy SEAL. I like to know that I can always protect myself and others. I’d feel naked without it.”

“I bet you could kick a lot of ass unarmed. Naked, even.”

“I could.” His tone wasn’t bragging, but a simple statement of fact. “I’m not bulletproof, though.”

Then, to her delight, he picked her up and carried her out. She nestled against his strong body, loving the skin-to-skin contact.

Inside the bathroom, he looped the holster over a hook, then set her down in the shower stall and stepped in with her. It was more than big enough for both of them.

She leaned her back against him, closed her eyes, and let the warm water wash over her. Ellie wasn’t expecting anything more, but a woodsy scent arose, and she felt Hal’s hands on her head. He shampooed her hair, massaging her scalp and working the suds into every bit of her hair. It was as intimate as it was luxurious. He held one hand over her forehead, to keep any stray trickles out of her eyes.

She sighed with pleasure when he was finally done, and tilted her head back to rinse her hair clean. “Thank you. Want me to do yours?”