Four
When Raina walked out of that bathroom and saw Tyler Paxton, the man Larry had been raving about on being the best he knew, and the best in the field, her body seemed to vibrate for no reason.
Not just that, her mouth turned dry.
Her new bodyguard had to be at least, six foot three or something, with solid, sculpted muscle packed onto every inch of his powerful frame. He was wearing a black pair of pants and a black tshirt that stretched across his back, chest and arms.
He was nothing like she had expected; though, to be fair, she wasn’t exactly sure what she had expected.
But he was hot. Really hot. The kind of man you would find in the glossy pages of fitness magazines, looking effortlessly perfect. She could see that a tattoo teased from under his right sleeve, and her curiosity stirred.
Even as Larry spoke, she couldn’t hear a word. All she did was stare at him, assessing him.
He had intense grey eyes that seemed to be looking into his soul and those lips… oh God. This was trouble.
Was this the man that would be guarding her life? Because he seem to be a threat to her as well as the man that had the knife at her throat.
She cleared her throat inwardly, then she spoke, because the last thing she wanted was to appear awkward to him. “So, you’re the one they sent.” She said, then she bit her tongue, realizing her mistake.
Larry had clearly told her that he owned the security firm, but she was so confused seeing him that her brain must have scrambled. He introduced himself, said something that she replied to, but she was still studying him.
His legs were so long that he ate up the distance between them in three strides.
For someone so large, he moved with surprising stealth. If Raina’s eyes weren’t trained on him, she wouldn’t have noticed him bridge the gap between them at all.
He stopped in front of her, and she could have sworn her body tilted forward a centimeter, unable to resist his gravitational pull. She was also strangely tempted to run her hand through his thick dark hair, but she refrained herself before she appeared crazy.
They spoke to each other, and even after her sister and husband left, she still seemed to be entrapped by his voice. “And I hope you’re ready to do all I say?” He said.
Oh hell, yes. She was definitely going to ask how high if he ever ask her to jump, that was for sure. “Don’t worry about that. I’m going to have to do as you say since you’re my bodyguard.” She said.
“Good, because if you don’t, then you might as well be dead.” He said, his deep, gravelly voice rolled over her like a velvety caress. Now that he was closer, she spotted a thin scar slashing through his left eyebrow, adding a hint of menace to his dark good looks.
“What? Is that supposed to scare me?” She asked, raising her brows at him.
He clenched his stubble darkened jaw, and said nothing. He was the opposite of the preppy, clean-shaven types Raina usually went for and dated, but that didn’t stop a swarm of butterflies from taking flight in her stomach.
Raina watched Tyler walked off, looking around the room for something. He left her standing there and walk to the bedroom, causing her to follow him. “Oh, isn’t that too fast. I mean we just met.” She said, wriggling her brows suggestively. She meant that as a joke, but when Tyler didn’t laugh like she had expected, she bit her tongue.
He walked to the window, checking the locks on it and drawing the curtains, then he shook his head and mutter under his breath. “This won’t do.”
“What?” Raina asked but he said nothing. He walked to the bathroom, came back out a couple of seconds later and then he shook his head again.
“You have to move.”
Raina blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“This place. You need to move.” He said, nodding his head toward her hotel room, and the butterflies fluttering around in Raina’s stomach screeched to a halt.
We had met just five minutes or so ago and he was already trying to reshape her life and order her around? She knew he was the security expert and was probably doing this because he wanted to keep her safe, but one thing Raina hated was having no control over her life, or a say in what happened there.
The incident with the attacker had already shifted the edge she had over her life, and Tyler was trying to do the same thing now?
She folded her arms stubbornly and asked. “Why?”
“What did we just say about doing all I say?” He asked right back without answering her question. He could tell from the defiant look in her eyes that she was going to be a challenge to his authority as her bodyguard, oh but he was up to that challenge.
She released her arms. “I’ve paid for the next two weeks. I can’t just leave my money here and go away just like that.” She said.
Tyler grunted. “Would you rather be killed then?” He asked.
She grumbled something under her breath that sounded like she had just called him a jerk, then outside, she said. “No. But, I can’t just…”
He interrupted her before she could finish that word. “Don’t worry. I’ll get your money back.” He said.
“That’s not possible. This hotel is known for not refunding. It’s part of their…”
“Don’t worry. I know that, but I have a way around it. I know the owner.” He said, interrupting her again.
Raina rolled her eyes at him and looked away. Of course, he knew the freaking owner. Must be nice to have that, but that didn’t give him the right to be unnecessarily rude. Any attraction she had felt toward him crumbled into dust, and it died the quickest death in her history with the opposite sex.
He was annoying, attractively so, but still annoying.
They walked back to the sitting room in silence, and she sat down on the couch Dena had been before. “Would you like something to drink?” She asked.
Irritation still stabbed at her, but she hated having a back and forth, and she didn’t want her relationship with her bodyguard to start on such a sour note.
“No.” Tyler said as he scanned the room again, causing her to roll her eyes. Wasn’t he doing to much anyway? “Why don’t we get to know each other, then talk about your move.” He said and Raina sighed.
“Excellent idea.” She said, begrudgingly.
For the next thirty minutes, they spoke about the case she had been investigating, but Raina was careful not to reveal too much, because she wasn’t sure whether or not to trust Tyler yet.
Although, Larry had vouched for him, but it still didn’t mean that she wouldn’t apply her own discretion.
She stood up and walked to the bedroom again, coming back out five seconds later with a yellow leather briefcase, and Tyler squinted his eyes. “What’s that?” He asked.
Raina said nothing as she opened it and brought out a thick file. She handed it to him and said. “I hope you read quickly. This is everything I have on those supposed suicide. Read everything and absorb as much as you can. If you have questions, ask me when you’re done.”