Protecting Her

“Great.” Catriona doesn’t sound enthused. “I don’t mean to be unwelcoming, but how long will I have you as guests?”

“You won’t.”

“What does that mean?”

Laura slides a guilty glance in my direction before she clears her throat. “We will be hosting you.”

“What?”

I guess the good thing about not being able to get involved with a client is that it doesn’t hurt that much when they end up hating you.

Chapter 4 Catriona

“Keys.” Gabe holds his giant hand out. I notice the rough texture of it. I run my finger across his palm before I realize what I’m doing. He sucks in a breath and pulls his hand back like I burned him. I feel myself start to blush. I duck my head to hide my pink cheeks, looking for the keys in my bag. It’s then I realize he’s bossing me around again, and I’m jumping to do what he orders.

“I’m not a dog.” I look up from digging in my bag to see a clear look of disapproval on his handsome face. “Though I wouldn’t mind biting you right now.” There’s a tic in his hard jaw and his nostrils flare. I suck in a breath when I realize what I said could mean more than one thing.

“Keys.” It’s the only word he utters again before stretching that big hand of his out toward me. I stare up at him, shifting to take in the hard angles of his jaw and cheekbone. Two faint white scars mar his perfect face.

The rougher of the two is up higher on his jaw by his ear. If I had to guess I’d say barbed wire was the culprit from the smaller white line that escapes out of one side of it.

You would think they would take away from his attractiveness, but they do the exact opposite. My eyes trail off to his nose that is slightly crooked and has a bump.

“Do you want a picture?” I bite the inside of my cheek, so I don’t smile.

“Did you just make a joke?” I ask.

“I think he did.” Laura lets out a low whistle. Gabe’s eyes never leave my face. Always staring.

“Four times. Is that how many times you broke your nose?” I don’t know why I ask. Heck, I don’t know why I ask a lot of things I do sometimes. Carrie says I think out loud most of the time. Some might deem it as a bad habit but I’m curious. It’s great if you’re working next to me. Not so great on a date, I’ve learned. A few men have gotten up and left right in the middle of dinner.

“The fuck?” I hear Laura mutter. I can’t see her with Gabe filling up all the space around me. The man feels as though he’s my own protective wall. He’s never more than a few inches from me. “It was an accident!”

“Give me your keys and I’ll tell you.” I hold them up. I knew I wasn’t going to win this round, but at least I’ll get the answer to one of the many questions that keep running through my mind when it comes to Gabe. He grabs them, but I don’t let go. He could easily pull them from my fingers, but he doesn’t. He is more than twice my size. He might even be three times it. His thumb slides across my wrist, his touch warmer than it should be—or maybe it’s me.

“Four.” I release my hold on the keys to step back from him needing some distance.

“I only broke it once in case you were wondering.” Laura’s head pops around the side of the narrow hallway so I can see her face. The hallway that never felt narrow before I was standing in it with Gabe. “You told me not to hold back,” she reminds him. He grunts a response.

“What?” Laura stands up straighter, her eyes scanning back down the hallways to the elevator we exited minutes ago. Her stick straight ponytail bouncing with the moment. I find her almost as interesting as Carrie. Almost.

“Step back,” he orders, but his hand is already on my stomach pushing me behind him. Again his touch shocks me, and I let him move me easily. Laura looks down to where Gabe is touching me, and I see her eyebrows lift before she masks her expression, turning it completely blank. This must be something you learn in bodyguard school.

Gabe slips the key into my door, opening it. My alarm starts to go off as he slips inside, motioning for us to stay put as the door falls closed behind him.

“He doesn’t know my code,” I whisper. I don’t know why I’m whispering. We were all talking moments ago in regular voices, but it feels like I should whisper now. She just shakes her head at me with a faint smile on her lips as if I’ve said something funny. I watch as she taps on her watch, looking at it before again putting her eyes on the hallway. It’s only a few seconds later that the alarm stops sounding.