Captured by the Bodyguard Read online

  “Can we just order, please?” Alexandra finally said, done with the whole bodyguard topic. For now at least. Malia and Alexandra always met at least once a week for dinner at any nice restaurant they felt like trying out. This place had come highly recommended with its soft, subtly lit dining room and slanted glass windows running the length of one wall. The food was ocean fresh and she’d heard of the stand-out shellfish ravioli, buttered leeks and lobster sauce, angler and lobster pie with button mushroom and mashed potato as well as the yellow fin tuna tartare with lime and chili. She looked up in surprise when the waiter appeared and Malia proceeded to make a robust order.

  “I’m on a seafood diet,” Malia explained lightly as the waiter walked away minutes later. “See food and eat it, I mean.”

  Despite herself, Alexandra chuckled. She loved hanging out with Malia. Malia Wade was good people; they’d gone to the same schools and stuck together through thick and thin. Malia’s parents had died when she was just a kid, and she’d been brought up by her aunt and uncle. Wanting to be independent early on in life, she’d gone straight into nursing school, qualified within a few years and now, had a successful career at barely twenty-five. She was the one person in her sea of friends that Alexandra could really trust. With a father as rich as hers, Alexandra had always been able to tell who was with her just for the fortune she represented as Donel Duke’s daughter. Even romance had taken a back seat after a few failed attempts at finding love. It was hard to find genuine feelings when all anyone saw when they looked at her were dollar signs. So she worked very hard to keep her real identity on a low profile. She never offered information about herself especially when meeting new people. How her father could assume she could be in any danger was still beyond her. She shivered slightly as she recalled the briefing she’d received from the man called Noah Preston who ran the security operations Cane worked with.

  She was to have two guards stationed at her place to watch the house, while Cane was to be her personal bodyguard living with her in close quarters. After dinner, she would be returning home where the two guards would already be found waiting. Then she had to worry about having a man in the house with her, for heaven knew how long. Alexandra bit on her lip, and not for the first time, wished herself having someone else’s life. Just anyone. Any normal person on the street that didn’t have to worry about such things as being safe from imagined corporate kingpins out to get her.

  And then Alexandra felt instantly guilty for thinking that. Many people would be grateful to have the kind of life she lived. A loving, generous father who’d made sure she went to the best schools, had the best opportunities in life. Holidays in exotic places when she was growing up. All the good things money could buy. But she still wished she could hold on to at least one aspect of her life she had been so sure she’d won for herself when she’d reached of age. Her independence, her privacy. All of that was shot to hell with this new addition to her existence: a sinfully gorgeous bodyguard called Cane who wasn’t going to just go away no matter how much she wished it…

  ***

  Alexandra lived in a two-bedroom house she’d inherited from her mother. It was certainly no stately abode but it did have two gorgeous marble bathrooms, hardwood floors and a stainless steel kitchen with granite counter tops and every cooking appliance known to man. She loved the engaging and warm décor and always felt glad she hadn’t allowed her father to convince her to stay deep in the city in some penthouse apartment. Her home was just a little on the outside of the city and she’d always liked the idea of being surrounded by serenity. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  She reluctantly invited Cane in and pursed her lips as he strode past her into the foyer. He’d taken off his suit which was slung over one arm while he had his suitcase and duffel held in his hands. He set them down before closing and locking the door behind him.

  Trying to quell the sensation that she was now trapped in with a lethal jungle predator, Alexandra had to remind herself he was here to protect her. No matter how much she resented his presence in her formerly well-laid-out existence, she knew he was just here to do his job and she suddenly vowed to give him no reason to confirm his suspicions about her being the spoiled little rich girl she might come across as.

  “I’m sure you’ve been briefed about the house – you’ll be taking the guestroom which is the only other room apart from the master bedroom where I sleep,” she informed him calmly. “Would you like to check it out?”

  “Sure,” he said, and when he bent to reclaim his bags Alexandra had to choke on a gasp at his backside so loving cupped by his snug, well-fitting dark pants. Cane Hutchinson had a world-class ass and she was vividly reminded of how her best pal had been drooling as much over Cane as her food during dinner. Once again, no way Alexandra could blame the other woman. Dude was a walking freaking sex symbol and now she was all alone with him in her somewhat cramped but beautiful home. Alexandra was so not prepared for this, on any level.

  There were two other men stationed outside manning the gates and the next day the security company was going to install the cameras, panic buttons or whatever else was needed to keep her safe and secure from…what exactly? Alexandra still felt this was just total overkill on her father’s part, having her guarded like she was some president’s daughter or something. For now though, she’d play along but she was definitely going to have a talk with her father again and convince him this was just too much.

  But first she had to get over the fact that she’d be having another man sleep with her in the house for the first time in…well, ages. She’d only ever had one real boyfriend and though the relationship had lasted more than a year it left no fond memories for her and she pushed the thought aside quickly.

  “I still can’t believe this is happening,” Alexandra muttered, lifting fingers to her throbbing temple as she stood in the open doorway of the guest room, watching Cane place his bags in a corner and scan his environs. It was a large room with a balcony next to hers which overlooked the gardens surrounding the house.

  He went to the French windows and pulled the curtains closed before turning to her. “Maybe if you got a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel better about everything,” he suggested lightly.

  Alexandra bristled, his calm exterior beginning to irk her for some reason – perhaps because he could so easily get under her skin. “The only way I’d feel better is if I woke up to find you and your team of babysitters gone,” she snapped.

  Cane remained unruffled, his face unsmiling as he regarded her speculatively. “I think I can understand how you feel – about the babysitter part at least. I mean considering that most kids of wealthy parents are spoiled brats that require babysitting, perhaps your description is apt after all.”

  Alexandra’s eyes opened wide and she glared at him. “Did you actually just refer to me as a…?”

  “Brat?” was his calm reply. “For starters, ignoring my hand when we were introduced earlier doesn’t seem like the attitude of a mature adult, or does it? And then being difficult all through and complaining every five minutes about being placed under close protection smacks to me of an overgrown little girl too used to getting her own way.”

  Alexandra’s chin lifted defensively as she met his scornful gaze. “Well you’re wrong.”

  “Am I?” Cane scoffed, before turning away impatiently. “Look, Ms. Duke, it’s my job to look after you and make sure you’re safe. We don’t have to get along, if that’s your preference, but I’ve been told I’m in your life for the foreseeable future so maybe you need to get used to it.”

  For some reason, his chilly and distant tone pricked her sensitivity. “Or maybe I should just call up my dad right now to call your boss to send me some other bodyguard and that way you won’t be in my life.”

  Cane didn’t look in the least perturbed. “That’s your choice. Personally my idea of fun isn’t looking after a spoiled brat,” he said pointedly, making Alexandra’s eyes spark with anger as he added, “But my military exp
erience trained me to do a job properly whatever the circumstances. If you really aren’t happy with me then it’s up to you to make that phone call, or not. I’ll wait right here while you make up your mind.” He leveled his gaze at her and then at the phone sitting on the table just beside the open door.

  “Well?” he probed as Alexandra just stood there, her annoyance growing as she debated doing just what he expected. But she wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction.

  “Go on. Do it.” His taunting tone made her want to stamp her feet. It was like he wanted her to make good her threat. He already pointed out he didn’t want to be here either which Alexandra told herself was fine by her.

  “You don’t tell me what to do,” she said coldly. “Besides, it’s late. I’d rather just go to bed and pray for this to be over as soon as possible.”

  Cane merely smirked, walking up to the door which compelled Alexandra to back out of the room as he advanced. Once she was out in the corridor, he nodded politely. “You do that. Have a good night.”

  The door shut in her face and Alexandra muttered a few choice curses as she stalked to her room next door. She felt a grim satisfaction in slamming the door shut even as she berated herself for being childish.

  Alexandra locked the door securely and rested her back against it, letting out a long drawn out sigh that felt like she’d been holding it in all day. Her anger arose as she thought of the infernally vexing man in the next room and told herself that though he might think he’d won this round, she was going to put him in his place the first chance she got and it wouldn’t be too soon.

  Chapter Three

  Alexandra was awoken the next morning to the smell of bacon. She stumbled out of bed, her eyes squinting in the brightness coming through her windows. She made her way out of her room, following the sounds of crackling as well as the delicious smells coming from the kitchen.

  Seriously? He’s making breakfast? Alexandra wondered as she came to a stop inside the kitchen. Catching sight of Cane in front of the stove, she felt a mighty snag grab at her chest.

  Cane. In blue jeans and a dark muscle shirt. Sweet heavens above.

  This morning he seemed a whole lot different from the mean machine in a suit he’d looked like yesterday. The dash of sunlight that hit right on him from the nearby window gave her a detailed view of his casually dressed body which looked ripped as hell in his casual, snug-fitting clothes. He hadn’t noticed her yet so she could unabashedly drink in the utterly sexy image of him standing there looking like a young stud with his broad shoulders and pecs, washboard abs evident beneath the thin shirt and his narrow hips encased jealously in those sinful jeans. There was not an ounce of spare flesh beneath his clothes and to top it off he was barefoot which was sexiness personified since he happened to have the most gorgeous feet. Alexandra blinked as she realized it had been a hell of a long time since she’d woken up to a hot, virile man – black or white – standing making breakfast in her kitchen.

  Whew. Either the delicious scents from the food or the equally delicious sight of Cane was making her mouth water and her head swim. Whichever it was, Alexandra was torn between dashing away from the kitchen in confusion or advancing and giving in to the urge to run her fingers along every inch of his awesomely fit body.

  Realizing what she was thinking and asking herself what the hell she thought she was doing, Alexandra was however precluded from bolting when he suddenly looked up and found her frozen just inside the doorway. He broke into a grin that almost knocked her off her feet. He looked years younger when he smiled like that and his amazing green eyes caught her in a trance she had to shake off as she berated herself for being so silly. So he was sexy as sin. She was well over that. Or she should be since he could also be an infuriating male specimen who never seemed fazed no matter what she said or did.

  His gaze flickered over her for a moment and she only just noted she was dressed in nothing but a pair of cotton shorts and a loose sleeveless crop top. Hardly seductive but she couldn’t help feeling somewhat self-conscious being so scantily clad, with her hair in a mass of curls around her face. Not that he seemed to notice with the way he nodded amiably, wiped his hand on a kitchen towel and held it out to her.

  “Good morning. I can’t help but think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. Truce?’

  Thrown off by his pleasant demeanor, so different from his aloof persona of the day before, she slipped her hand in his and felt his warm, firm grasp. Moments later he let her go and Alexandra couldn’t help but expel an inaudible breath.

  He swiftly returned his attention to the frying pan which was filled with sizzling goodness. Alexandra normally couldn’t work up an appetite so early in the morning but today her taste buds were itching to savor whatever had led her nose from the bedroom to the kitchen.

  “Um…it all smells really nice,” she ventured, and he gave her a quick smile that sent tingles coursing through her. Damn! Alexandra told herself she had to stop acting like a schoolgirl with a crush and view Cane as exactly what he was, an employee paid by her father. Nothing more. It didn’t matter how freaking fine he was or that he seemed to know his way around a kitchen which was normally a plus in her books when it came to men.

  “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I made a bit of everything. Bacon, toast, eggs, pancakes. I’ve plated yours already, by the way,” Cane added, gesturing his head in direction of the dining bar where a plate was set along with a glass of orange juice.

  “Thanks – but you really shouldn’t have,” Alexandra said, even as she gravitated irresistibly to the laid table. “I could have made my own breakfast.”

  “Like I said, it’s a peace offering,” Cane told her with a sideways grin. “And hopefully you’ll decide I’m not a total ogre when you try my fantastic cooking.”

  “Fantastic? Maybe I should be the one to judge,” Alexandra said drily with a raised brow, her lips curving reluctantly in a smile. She saw his look of triumph at her banter, and sighed inwardly. Okay, so she couldn’t fault him for buttering her up, so to speak. They didn’t really need the acrimony and as much as she wanted her life back, she wasn’t really the kind to be difficult or snotty. In fact, she was known for her easygoing nature but around Cane, she couldn’t understand why she was always so on edge.

  One thing was for sure, the man was right about his cooking. She wasn’t sure what, but he had to have put some kind of extra touch to the bacon and eggs which happened to taste insanely good. Far better than what she could hustle up which was saying a lot. No doubt Cane was full of surprises but what other tricks did he have up his sleeve in his bid to win her over? Whatever it could be, Alexandra swore she wasn’t falling for it. Letting down her guard around a man like Cane would be lethal. She’d sworn a long time ago never to give in to her baser instincts when it came to men. She’d tried it once before and it had ended really, really badly. No freaking way she was going to make the same mistake twice – not even when the man had all the ingredients of a sweet temptation the way Cane did…

  ***

  Cane could sense her putting up her ice maiden wall again. She’d eased up enough to accept his olive branch of sharing breakfast with him but he sensed he was a long way from getting her on his side. He couldn’t help but pin his gaze on her over his coffee cup, thinking that she had to be aware that she was driving him insane in those pajamas or whatever it was she had on.

  There she was perched on that bar stool in that to which was half off one shoulder, revealing her deliciously smooth and dusky skin. The top was cropped and hardly covered her ass, and if she had on any underwear in those maddening shorts, it would most definitely be a tiny thong. She was killing him. Really. Barely twenty four hours around her and he was like a tiger in heat. He’d never seen a woman look so lovely right out of bed, her hair a tempting mass of curls he longed to fist in his hand as he tugged those sweetly full lips of hers beneath his.

  Just the thought of kissing her made him stiffen in his jeans. He didn’t think s
he had any idea what she did to him – what she’d do to any man looking the way she did, a stimulating mix of angel and temptress in her soft brown eyes. No way Cane could let her guess the things going through his mind right then, but they had a lot to do with chocolate sauce being spilled and then painstakingly licked drop by drop from every inch of her delectable flesh…

  Forcing down his raging arousal and cursing himself for staying too long without a woman’s thighs wrapped around his hips, neck or shoulders, Cane finally joined her at the table with his plate and they talked easily over her plans for the day. Not long after, she rose to wash her plates and said she was heading off to shower and get ready.

  Cane found himself almost tipping off his stool as he stretched to the side just to catch the final glimpse of her bouncy ass as she glided out of the kitchen. Damn but he was getting to like watching her leave. He still thought she was going to be a handful duty-wise but there was no denying that he was looking forward more and more to this assignment. Cane knew he just had to keep reminding himself that the maddeningly sexy Ms. Alexandra Duke was out of bounds and he’d do just fine. Yep, the look-but-don’t-touch policy was fully in force here and no matter how much his attraction to her was growing, rules were rules. He’d never broken them and had never been tempted to.

  Until now.

  ***

  Alexandra found herself taking more time than normal styling her hair, picking out what to wear and even applying some makeup which she never really bothered with apart from lip gloss.

  She looked at her reflection and regarded herself critically. She wasn’t sure about Cane’s tastes when it came to women and she told herself she didn’t much care. But she couldn’t help wanting to make the extra effort and not be caught slipping. She wasn’t even sure where the urge came from to want to ‘wow’ him but maybe it was just the female in her. What woman wouldn’t want to look her best now that she was being shadowed by a bodyguard with a face and body of a sex god?