Guarding His Body. A.C. Arthur

to protect himself and…he’d smiled at her. That smile that left her breathless. “Good morning, Renny.”

      “That’s so much better.” He reached for the handle and opened his door.

      Bree stepped back to avoid being hit. “You still didn’t tell me where you were going, and you weren’t watching your back.”

      Renny tossed his bag into the backseat and climbed inside. “Isn’t that what you get paid to do?”

      Oh, no, he wasn’t popping an attitude now. “Yes, it is, and that’s precisely why I’m angry with you now. You should have told me last night before I left that you’d be going out this morning and I would have been here earlier. It’s clear you don’t have a care for your own safety, which makes my job even harder.” That and the fact that you are one mouthwatering piece of eye candy.

      “We’ve already established the fact that I don’t buy into this whole threat and need for a bodyguard, and I wasn’t aware that I had to tell you my every move.”

      “Well, you do. So you might as well start now.” She folded her arms over her chest and waited.

      Renny expelled a deep breath. She sure was a feisty little thing. He actually enjoyed getting her all riled up. Her eyes looked wild, filled with untamed passion that he’d love to tap into. He sat back in his seat, his hands on the steering wheel, because he wanted to reach out and touch her more than anything else. “I have a couple of errands to run. Is that okay with you?”

      He really was infuriating. But Sam had warned her that in cases like this there were always people who didn’t see the need for a personal guard—especially men. “Fine. I’ll follow you.”

      She turned to walk away and Renny felt a sudden loss that he couldn’t quite explain. He pushed on his horn. She was just at the front of his car, so the loud sound startled her and she jumped a bit. He grinned and shrugged, poking his head out of the window. “Sorry.”

      “Yeah, right,” she snapped.

      “Hey, if you’re supposed to be guarding my body shouldn’t you be a little closer to it?” he shouted.

      Bree almost collapsed right there. How had he known she’d just been thinking about being up close and personal with his body? Then it dawned on her he didn’t know, he was simply teasing her about her job again. “I’ll be right behind you in my truck.”

      “That’s not acceptable. I happen to know that my brother is paying you a pretty penny and I want him to get his money’s worth. Hop in.” He could see her trying to think of a reason to decline and wondered for a moment if Miss Bodyguard was feeling the heat between them as he was. “C’mon, I’m going to be late.”

      She didn’t have a choice. It was her job and he had a point; to effectively protect him she did need to stay close. Squaring her shoulders, she took those first steps toward the passenger side door and then climbed in beside him. This was a great car, a Porsche, candy-apple-red with all the niceties that came with it—even the devilishly handsome driver. Clasping her seat belt, Bree laid her head back on the headrest and tried to remind herself that this was work, he was Renny Bennett and she was Sabrina Desdune, ex-marine, lifetime tomboy. That was it, plain and simple.

      “We’re here,” Renny announced as he pulled into a parking lot.

      Bree looked around. It looked like a deserted building from where she was sitting, so she couldn’t help but ask, “Where is here?”

      Renny reached over, undid her seat belt and grabbed his bag from the back. “It’s a foundry.” He hopped out before she could ask another question and came around to the other side of the car just as she was swinging the door open. He reached for her hand and she stared at it as if it were a foreign object.

      “What are you doing?”

      Renny smiled, reached in and grabbed her hand, pulling her resistant body out of the car. “You sure do keep your guard up. I’m helping you out of the car. That’s what a man is supposed to do.”

      He closed the door behind her and dropped her hand. She was glad of that because the heat that soared up her arm at his touch was disconcerting to say the least. “Being alert is part of my training,” she said to his now-retreating back.

      Renny looked over his shoulder to see her following him. “You actually trained to become a bodyguard?”

      Was that humor she heard in his voice? She frowned. “No. I actually trained to become a marine.”

      Renny stopped abruptly. Bree had been looking at her surroundings and didn’t realize he wasn’t moving anymore until she collided with him and that alluring chest again. He grabbed her shoulders.

      “Sorry. I keep doing that,” she mumbled, then tried to move around him, but he wouldn’t let her go.

      “You’re a marine?”

      He looked absolutely flabbergasted. It was kind of funny, this look men got when they were confronted with a female soldier, especially a marine. There were men who hadn’t made it through the Marine Corps, so a woman was definitely a shock. Bree kind of liked the effect. “For sixteen years.”

      She was so tiny he would never have imagined her climbing over walls and dodging bullets, yet the thought was a definite turn-on. He was quickly realizing that there was a lot about his bodyguard that turned him on.

      “Do you have a problem with that?” He was staring at her and it made her uncomfortable. His dark eyes raked over her body as if he were searching for something…and amazingly enough had found it. She battled with whether she liked it or not. Then he smiled and she wanted to melt into his arms.

      “No problem at all. I guess I’m really protected now.” He should stop touching her. She was steady now; there was no need to have his hands on her. Except the need deep inside him that wanted to get closer. The light blue outfit she wore today was refreshing from her normal denim and white attire. It gave her a softer look that he really liked. A slight breeze mussed her hair, the back of the ponytail swayed gently.

      “Are we going into this foundry or what?” She managed to move away from his touch this time and walked around him. Her stomach was doing somersaults and they were standing out in the open where he was a clear shot.

      Renny dropped his arms to his side and led her into the building. He was tall and didn’t walk slowly. Usually he’d have to slow down to almost baby steps when walking with a woman, but Sabrina, even with her shorter legs, kept up with him without a problem. She didn’t carry a purse, just a small pouch at her waist. She didn’t wear long flourishing earrings, just simple studs. Her watch was the only jewelry that adorned her arms, and today he couldn’t even see her ankle bracelet. She looked around, taking in everything and seemingly recording it for future use.

      “You ever been to a foundry before?”

      “No.”

      “Then let me give you the grand tour,” a familiar male voice interrupted. This was Walt. He worked on all of Renny’s projects. In fact, Renny didn’t trust anyone else with his pieces.

      Renny extended his hand, and Walt clasped it quickly and with a generous smile. “Hey, Walt. What’s going on?”

      “Nothing much. I’ve got this dude working me like crazy, that’s all.” Walt was a tall man, wire thin, with a long face and a big, warm smile. “I see you’ve brought me a little bit of sunshine this morning. You tryin’ to bribe me?” Walt was looking at Sabrina.

      Renny didn’t miss the implications in Walt’s words, nor did he miss the salacious look he was giving Sabrina. What was even harder to miss was the swirling heat in the pit of his stomach—something he wasn’t even going to qualify as jealousy. “This is a friend of the family, Sabrina Desdune. She’s helping out with the opening, so I thought I’d let her get a look at how the background work is done. Sabrina, this is Walter Hemler, foundry worker extraordinaire.”

      Bree gave