Secret Protector. Ann Peterson Voss

she probably would have felt he was hovering. From Gray, it made her feel nothing but special. “I have to admit, compared to having my cottage broken into, dull is looking pretty appealing.”

      “I’m with you there. I’m just relieved you weren’t hurt.”

      Footsteps shuffled behind them. Natalie resisted the urge to spin around and look. She shouldn’t have brought up last night’s break-in. Just a single mention and she was back to hearing things and feeling threats where none existed. She was walking down a public street, for crying out loud. Not only that, but anyone would be a fool to mess with the strapping man beside her, at least in a violent sort of way. Now, in a sexual way …

      “What’s so funny?”

      Oh, God, she’d been grinning at her own joke. “Nothing.”

      “You sure about that? It looked a lot more interesting than nothing. And not dull at all.”

      She let out a giggle despite herself. She sounded like a teen with a crush. Hell, she felt like one, too. And she had to admit, it was kind of divine.

      “Beautiful,” Gray said under his breath.

      Now it was her turn to be confused. She shot him a look. “What’s beautiful?”

      “The sound of your laugh. I like it. I want to hear more of it.”

      She laughed again. “You’re just being sweet.”

      He gave her a playful wink. “On you? Maybe a little.”

      She wanted to hold on to his words. To run them through her mind and focus on the warm feeling spreading through her chest.

      Man, she wished she’d met Gray years ago. Or at least a couple of months ago, back when her life felt more normal. This lunch hour would be perfect if not for the anxiety humming along her nerves like the buzz of a mosquito she couldn’t swat.

      She could still sense the person behind her, still there, still walking too close. Turning her head to the side, she caught a reflection in a store window. A powder-blue sweatshirt, large and slumpy enough to land whoever was wrapped in it a spot on What Not to Wear.

      Natalie shook her head and directed her attention to the busy intersection ahead. The chrome exterior of the Kendall building rose over the surrounding cityscape, nearly blinding in the bright sun. Only one more block and her lunch with Gray would be over. There must be something wrong with her. A riveting man by her side dishing out compliments, and all she could focus on was paranoia and some woman’s bad fashion choices.

      They reached the end of the block and stopped at the crosswalk.

      “What is it?” Gray glanced around.

      She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

      He gave her a relaxed smile, scanning the cityscape. “You sure?”

      His muscles were tense, alert, but Natalie sensed a strange calm coming from him that belied her jumpy nerves. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m just being paranoid.”

      “In light of what happened to you last night, I don’t think you can call it paranoia.”

      “That’s nice of you to say.”

      “I mean it. You feel scared, whether you think it’s real or not, you just let me know. Okay? I’m here for you.”

      A flutter lodged under her rib cage. He really was too good to be true. Something she’d have to keep in mind. She gave him a smile. “Thanks.”

      “Being here for you is not a problem. Trust me.” He looked straight into her eyes.

      A flush of heat started to pool in her cheeks. The mix of brown and green of his irises mesmerized her. The sincerity in his expression made her ache to step into his arms. She looked at the cars streaming past, not wanting him to see her melt. The curb under her toes felt like a cliff, one step and she’d be head over heels. And despite the fact that she didn’t know Gray well, despite Jolie’s warnings, despite all the disappointments she’d weathered in the past, Natalie was tempted to look back into his eyes and let herself fall.

      Something hit her hard in the back and shoved her forward, into the street. She hit the pavement hard, the force jarring her knees and shuddering up through the heels of her hands.

      All around her tires screeched and cars swerved.

       Chapter Five

      Gray didn’t think, he didn’t breathe, he just moved. He dashed into the street. Reaching Natalie, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted.

      Drivers hit the brakes. Cars and trucks swerved as if skating on ice.

      Gray backpedaled, half pulling, half carrying Natalie with him. His heel hit the curb and he fell backward onto the sidewalk. He hit the concrete on his back, rounding his spine and rolling up to his shoulders to absorb the impact and prevent his skull from hitting the hard surface. Natalie landed on his stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs.

      For a second, he just held her, just struggled to breathe. He couldn’t begin to process what had happened. One second they were talking, the next Natalie was flying into the street, traffic bearing down.

      “Oh … oh …”

      He could feel the sounds she made more than he could hear them. He loosened his grip and struggled to a sit. “Are you all right?”

      Her skin was pale, her green eyes wide with shock. She stared at him, mouth open, but no words came.

      “Natalie?”

      “You saved me.”

      “It’s my job.”

      “What?”

      He shook his head. He needed to think before he talked. After following her for weeks, he hadn’t really believed she was in danger. He’d allowed himself to grow complacent, paying more attention to how Natalie looked and what she was wearing than his surroundings. He was lucky he’d been walking so close beside her. If he’d still been merely watching her from a distance, she’d now be lying battered and bloody on the pavement. “I said I’d watch out for you. I meant it.”

      She let out a little puff of air.

      Lips parted like that, adrenaline blasting through his body, he had a nearly overwhelming urge to kiss her.

      Talk about inappropriate. “Let’s get you off the street.”

      She looked around her, as if just remembering where she was, what had just happened. “She pushed me.”

      “Pushed you?” That would explain a lot. He looked around. An older couple strolled arm in arm about a half block away. Three executive types argued with waving arms as they stepped out of a nearby restaurant. A handful of pedestrians were scattered on the opposite side of the street. No one was anywhere near them, certainly not close enough to give Natalie a shove. “Who did it?”

      “A woman. She was following right behind us. It had to be her.”

      “A light blue sweatshirt?”

      Natalie nodded. “I saw her reflection in the store window.”

      “Did you recognize her?”

      “I didn’t see her face. Only the baggy sweatshirt. I didn’t really get much of a look at her at all.”

      “Me, either.” Some bodyguard he was. All these weeks of no activity had lulled him. He’d been so distracted by Natalie’s laugh, by flirting with her, by his own damn fantasies that he hadn’t paid blue-sweatshirt woman much attention at all. It had been his job to notice any threats to Natalie, and she’d gotten as good a look as he had.

      His arms were still around Natalie, and he could feel her body begin to shake.

      “Come on.” He could beat himself up for his self-centeredness later. Right now,