The Bodyguard's Baby (Billionaire Bodyguard Series) (10 page)

She slept in his bed every night now. Damn it felt great, her warm body always within arm’s reach. Sometimes he’d roll over in the middle of the night to watch her sleep or kiss her awake and make love to her.

Then there was morning sex. Also lunch sex, and some days before dinner, other days after. The sex kept getting better, and the release was almost as necessary to him as breathing, especially with the huge added workload of becoming Adam’s right-hand man.

Most of the time he worked from the house, only going into the office for a few hours when needed for meetings or strategy sessions. Those days he dropped Lindsey off at Kylie and Cade’s penthouse, where the sisters poured over research to incriminate their mother’s husband in her murder.

Slone rarely watched the news for that exact reason. So much real stuff, hard shit, devastating families and places all over the world, yet people in their first-world country killed someone off usually for their own convenience. He found that more screwed up than what he’d done on all of his covert ops missions combined.

When he wasn’t in the office and Lindsey wasn’t at Kylie’s, Lindsey scrubbed the house from top to bottom, and again from bottom to top. If he dropped a pretzel on the floor, the five-second rule didn’t apply. He could’ve eaten off her sparkling floors without a plate. She even dusted the rungs of the kitchen chairs and climbed on a ladder to scrub the crown molding along the ceilings.

Apparently, the whole nesting thing took hold before a girl got pregnant. He thought about telling her to relax, give it a rest, but cleaning kept her occupied and content. Considering his revised workload, he decided it was probably better she remained active so she, too, didn’t grow too obsessed with things like her basal temperature or the texture of her vaginal fluid—which he assured her daily was perfect.

With the winter holidays around the corner, he continued pulling double duty alongside Adam. Bodyguards didn’t receive luxuries like holidays. Their paid time off, if they were full-time employees of Soren Security, came between assignments. So the approaching holidays meant nothing to Adam’s department.

Beyond interacting with his guys and setting them up on assignments, Adam applied zero effort to administration duties or the correspondence end of his co-CEO position.

At first the negligence had irritated Slone to no end, since it forced him to pick up the slack for Adam in that regard. Then Slone used Adam’s user name and password—all with Adam’s permission—to go through Adam’s previous correspondence. The guy had never erased an email, so there were over ten thousand.

A couple hundred emails into his review, Slone encountered a curious set of recurring issues. Adam had cc’d his devoted secretary, Judy—a patient, older, librarian-looking woman—on every email.
Every one.
The emails sent by Adam required extensive rewriting, which Judy returned to Adam fully revised, and Adam subsequently sent the revised email to the intended recipient.

Not to mention Adam’s text messages were always very short, full of misspellings. Slone ended up calling the guy anyway to decipher what he’d texted.

Beyond a doubt, Adam wasn’t stupid. Far from it.

So one afternoon while Lindsey was with Kylie, Slone approached Cade’s office. His and Cade’s paths rarely intersected. They might as well have existed in separate universes. Cade’s days were devoted to the public relations and marketing aspects of the company and its image in the public eye.

Slone didn’t exactly look forward to their interaction. Cade tended to look at him with a wary eye, since Slone had stupidly admitted his interest in Kylie when he’d acted as bodyguard for the pair. But since Lindsey had come into his sphere, any interest he’d shown toward Kylie seemed like a lifetime ago and had long since disappeared. But Cade possessed an equally long memory and exerted his territorial side when it came to his fiancée.

Today, however, when Slone knocked on Cade’s door, the man invited him in with a smile. “What’s on your mind?” Cade asked, coming around his sprawling desk to shake his hand.

Slone kept his grip loose but sincere. “Have you heard I’m working with Adam?”

Cade nodded. “I have. And thank God. Adam needs the help more than you can imagine.”

“Yeah, about that.” Slone rubbed the back of his neck. “It has to do with some emails he wrote—”

“I’ll stop you there, because I know where you’re going.” Cade closed his office door and returned to his desk. “Adam has the instincts of a sniper and the determination of ten men. He’s loyal to a fault and devoted to the core. But he has a severe case of dyslexia that’s plagued him all his life.”

All of Slone’s questions were answered in that single revelation. “Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.”

Holding up his hand, Cade cautioned, “Whatever you do, don’t bring it up or talk to him about it. As you can imagine, it’s a sore subject for him.”

“Understandable.” Slone wondered how Adam had accomplished as much as he had, considering his CEO position and visibility in the company. Slone found his respect not just for Adam but for Trey, Cade and Liam grow exponentially.  They must’ve worked hard to help Adam conceal his handicap—though it seemed odd to call it that, since Adam came off as robust and capable as any of the guys he’d gone with on Special Ops missions.

“Adam dropped out of high school his freshman year,” Cade continued. “At fifteen he became a full-time employee at our fathers’ bail bond business. Before he could drive, he was hunting and taking down criminals in the streets of Las Vegas like he’d been born for it.”

Arching an eyebrow, Slone nodded. “I can see that. Easily. He’s a big dude.”

“And smart. He wasn’t just good. He was the best. He staged undercover operations to haul in skips, with no direction from anyone. He taught some of our bounty hunters his skills and tactics, and those guys went on to open their own bail bond/bounty hunter businesses through the franchises Trey and I created to branch out. Adam used to fly to each new location and teach the fresh recruits how to do what he did. Hands down, though, he’s top dog anywhere.”

Considering this information, Slone revised his thoughts about his initial meeting with Adam about his new position. Adam hadn’t needed his help at all to do the job—what he’d needed was a partner with shared dedication and similar tactical knowledge to keep his secret safe. Adam choosing him had been a good move, since in his former career Slone had mastered the art of keeping information top secret. He had the scars to prove it. But Adam had probably suspected that, too.

Now, thinking back, Adam’s lightning quick mind had likely sized Slone up the second he’d walked through the door. And, fortunately, decided Slone offered the perfect foil. Kind of brilliant, Slone admitted.

“So the takeaway,” Slone said, clearing his throat, “is my respect for Adam just shot into the stratosphere. And you and I never had this conversation.”

Cade grinned. “Exactly.

“Noted.”

Then Cade’s smile fell. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, actually.”

Slone tensed.

Crossing his arms, Cade shrugged. “Here’s the reality, my friend. My fiancée demanded protection for her sister Lindsey.”

Prickling irritation chased up Slone’s arms. Why the hell did Cade have to call Kylie that, when he could’ve just used her name? They both knew who he was talking about. His jaw tightened, recognizing Cade might never trust him around Kylie. So be it, he fumed silently.

“But after extensive tracking and communication, we’ve learned the FBI disbanded or arrested Ramos’s crew of drug runners and the muscle behind them. They aren’t a threat to Lindsey anymore.”

Slone’s heart beat faster until the sound thundered in his ears. He wasn’t about to lose his assignment with her. Not now that they’d grown so close and, while he stood there, Lindsey could be pregnant…

“I’m not taking on any more missions,” Slone said flatly.

“No, I know. I get that. You’re working with Adam now.” Cade softened his approach. “All I’m saying is, whenever you choose to phase out as Lindsey’s bodyguard and work with Adam full-time, that’s your call. Lindsey won’t be negatively impacted. But again, you’re the expert in this scenario. I assume you’ll know when it’s time.”

The knowing smile that hovered on Cade’s lips told Slone that he saw the truth, recognized the score, when it came to Slone’s revised situation with Lindsey. The bastard. He’d probably referred to Kylie as his fiancée just to gauge Slone’s reaction. Slone had handled it fine, but in doing so he’d proven Cade’s unspoken suspicions. He and Lindsey were an item. Hell, more than that. They were starting a family.

Then Cade had beaten him to the punch regarding the transition between bodyguard for Lindsey into his role as the supervisor of Adam’s department. The Sorens were smart sons of bitches. Slone decided he’d work for them until he was pushing up daisies. Couldn’t ask for a better group of bosses.

Slone shrugged. “You’re not nearly as shallow as I thought you were, Cade.”

Cade let out a bark of laughter. “So you didn’t see that when we were outrunning a drug lord in the Caribbean?”

“You’re not allowed to be a pretty boy and smart and deep, damn it,” Slone muttered. “Makes the rest of us lowly morals look like lazy schmucks.” Cade grinned and shook his head. Slone looked him in the eye. “Are we cool?”

“Yeah, we’re cool, my friend. Just take care of Lindsey and Adam. That’s all I ask.”

“Done,” Slone stated.

They shook hands and then Cade returned behind his desk. “Anything else?”

“Nope.”

“Excellent. Go forth and conquer, my friend.”

Slone gave a salute. He walked out of Cade’s office with a newfound respect for all four of his CEOs.

They hadn’t had it easy—not even Cade, whom Slone had pinned as a spoiled rich playboy when they’d first met. Cade and his brother and cousins were good people, with unmatched work ethic and the intelligence to make an even bigger name for themselves in the international world of protection services.

He liked being a part of something he believed in and supported. He hadn’t expected to find it in a career outside the military.

Maybe he wasn’t as alone as he’d thought. Maybe Lindsey and the Sorens could offer him a different type of family, a revised edition, family 2.0. Since he would never go back to the first version he’d left behind.

*

Slone came home from the office on Christmas Eve to find Lindsey crying in the upstairs bathroom. He heard her sobs the second he walked through the door, and his heart sank at the painful sound.

He bounded up the steps three at a time. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I can’t look.” Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t want to know.”

Dropping to his knees, he crouched behind her. “What, honey?”

“The test.”

Glancing up, he saw the stick hanging over the bowl of the sink. Before he reached for it, he asked, “Do you want me to check?”

Another sob racked her shoulders as she nodded. “Please.”

Bracing himself, and her, he peered at the stick. “Two pink lines. What does that mean?”

“I don’t know!” Frantically she grabbed the creased paper with tiny written instructions and shoved it at him. “You tell me.”

Head in her hands, she hovered over the lid of the toilet like she might throw up. He respected that. Either outcome could produce a response that resulted in her lunch making a second appearance.

A little dazed, praying to God for the first time in ages, he scanned the page then looked again at the stick. Shock gripped him, because maybe God had actually heard him for once. “Two stripes.” He stared at her in awe. “You’re pregnant, sweetheart.”

Cheeks glazed with wetness, she made an abrupt turn toward him and melted against his chest. “Oh, thank you.” She wept in his arms. “Thank you.”

Numbed and stunned, Slone held her in the bathroom for a long time. He wondered if the tile would make semi-permanent grooves into his knees. He didn’t care.

Lindsey was pregnant. With his baby.

A feeling closer to happiness than he’d ever known welled in his chest.

As he held her tight, he knew their lives would never be the same.

On Christmas morning, Lindsey rolled over in bed to face Slone’s back. Even in slumber, he maintained the powerful aura of a man in command.

In her heart she knew beyond a doubt she’d chosen the right man. But now that she’d become pregnant, how might it change their relationship? Would he still want to be with her, sleep next to her, have sex with her?

Last night, after she’d texted Kylie with her great news and he’d held her as she cried in relief, they’d pretty much collapsed into bed together. She’d been emotionally exhausted from hours of sitting on the bathroom floor terrified to know the results of the test, one way or the other. So many thoughts had bombarded her, positive and negative, she’d been a strung out mess by the time he came home from work and gave her the amazing news.

Merry Christmas to me!

Thank God.

A Christmas Miracle indeed.

Now what?

Before now, the situation had been too tenuous, with too many unknown factors. Neither of them had dared to approach the idea of what might happen if she did become pregnant.

They had achieved her goal. However, they hadn’t discussed how their intimate situation might change, unfold or progress. A series of complex choices sprawled out before them, seemingly endless. They hadn’t formalized an agreement or contract regarding his involvement. Sure he’d said he wanted to walk with her and their baby on this journey every step of the way, but once reality hits, even the best-laid plans can change.

Good intentions fell through all the time, even from well-meaning people. She hadn’t entirely believed him when he’d said he would pay child support, make sure she and the baby were taken care of, whether he was in the picture or not. A bold statement from a man who devoted his life to fighting for and taking care of others. No doubt he’d meant it at the time.

As much as she wanted to hide in a mythical realm where fantasies came true, she took a page from Kylie’s book of reality. Because reality created its own rules of engagement. Personality flaws and human error derailed the best of intentions. Ever since her mother had abandoned their family to start a new life with her new husband, Lindsey had always remained cautious
when it came to promises. She knew Slone meant well, but how easy would it be for everything to fall apart. She didn’t want to think that way, and she never had before, trusting luck and fate. But this baby deserved truth, not a mother who tossed coins in wishing wells hoping for the best.

Still, she wanted more than anything for him to make love to her. Would he still want her?

Hesitantly she reached out and grazed his skin. He could take the stroke of her fingertips as an accidental brush. He could act on the contact, or ignore her.

When he didn’t budge, her body shivered and her heart sank.

Then he rolled over.

Voice sleep-roughened, he said, “You’re the sexiest alarm I’ve ever woken up to.” He stifled a yawn. “But I could’ve heard the wheels spinning in your mind if I’d been in a coma. So spill it.”

“What? No, it’s nothing,” she said.

Gently he reached out, sweeping her hair back from her face. “Any thought that goes through your pretty head, I want to hear.”

She concentrated on tracing a fold in the bed sheet. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want me this morning.”

Cupping his head in his hand, he sat up on his elbow. He threw a muscular thigh over her legs, his other hand drifting across her bare midsection. “When have I ever woken up and not wanted you?”

Her lashes lowered. “I don’t know.”

“You’re right, you don’t. Because I never told you that since the day I moved in here, I’ve woken up with a raging hard-on every flipping morning, knowing you were right across the hall and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Uncertain about his confession, she pulled the sheet up around her. “That’s nice of you to say, but—”

“Fine, no words. I’ll show you.”

Lifting the sheet separating them, he drew her into his arms. He kissed her until her inner heat burned away the lingering effects of sleep.

With one hand he parted her thighs. He slipped a finger inside her, then two, creating tight slickness she couldn’t wait for him to fill. All the while his lips never left hers.

She’d never been this sexually in sync with a man. He knew her body and met her needs the way a skilled musician tuned his favorite instrument. Until every chord hummed on the edge of perfection. He circled his thumb around her engorged peak, using her own wetness to bring her closer to climax.

Arching, she lifted her hips to his touch and shouted her release into his mouth. His tongue curled around her moan, swallowing the sound as though absorbing a part of her into him.

“I need you, Lindsey.” He settled his muscular hips between her thighs and entered her with a powerful thrust. “I need all the goodness you bring to my life. Including our baby.”

Emotionally overwhelmed, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him tight against her body. Still, it didn’t seem close enough to encompass the sweet happiness that made her feel weightless in his arms.

He shifted their positions several times, effortlessly guiding her on top of him, then taking her from behind. She came twice before his rhythm turned erratic and his grip tightened on her hips as he plunged into her.

By the time he groaned and released inside her, the sheets were damp with proof of their exertion and how much he turned her on.

When he withdrew she collapsed onto her stomach, steeped in bliss. He followed, resting his body half onto her, half on the mattress. He was so warm, his skin so heated, she didn’t need blankets to block the chill in the morning air.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice muffled by a pillow. “I guess I needed to know you’re still…that we’re…”

“Going to keep making love, even though you’re pregnant? Oh, yeah.”

She breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“Can I tell you something kind of strange?”

Curious what that might be, she giggled. “Sure.”

“I’ve always thought pregnant women were super hot.”

“What? Really?”

“Oh, yeah. I hope you keep your sex drive, or I’ll have to work extra hard to turn you on. Once I see that bump, knowing it’s my baby growing inside you it will drive me to distraction.”

When he pulled her backside against his re-emerging erection, she grinned. “As long as you keep
driving
into me in your bed, I don’t foresee any problems.”

“Sweetheart, that’s a promise I guarantee I’ll keep.”

He dragged his open lips down her neck. He didn’t need to work extra hard, she thought, gladly rolling toward him as his length slid into her again. He more than succeeded in pleasing her every time.

*

The rest of Christmas day they spent cuddling, talking, laughing, sharing memories from Christmas past. Skillfully, she avoided discussing Christmas present, or Christmas future, worried about inviting any sort of Ebenezer Scrooge curse onto their current happiness.

In the afternoon they sat on the couch together, while a fire crackled vibrantly in the fireplace, her head in his lap, watching reruns of Ralphie’s
Christmas Story.
Slone knew practically all the lines, and she didn’t mind that he recited them all through the program. They seemed to make him happy, reminding him of good times. Later, she sobbed uncontrollably through the black and white movie
It’s a Wonderful Life.
Partway into it, Slone disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a Kleenex box. Toward the end, she stole a glance up at him and saw a wet shimmer collecting at the corners of his eyes.

As the credits rolled, Slone stood. He stretched and left in the direction of the kitchen again, but she heard his footsteps on the basement stairs. He returned with a pretty green box tied with a white ribbon.

“Wait a minute,” she said, raising her hand. “We never talked about giving each other gifts.”

“I know.” He lifted a shoulder. “I did anyway.”

When he dropped the green gift-wrapped box into her palms, she carefully untied the white bow. Inside she found a tiny pair of white booties tied together, too small to fit an infant, but perfect as an ornament for the tree.

Speechless at his thoughtfulness, she shook her head, not sure how to accept such a heart-warming present. Then she read the calligraphy inscription tied with a green ribbon to the tiny shoes.

For my Mommy. I love you. I’m so happy to be yours.

Tears streamed down her face. “But…how could you have known?”

“I didn’t.” He smiled, even though his body language revealed his awkwardness over such sentimentality. “So I got you a backup gift, just in case.”

Producing a small velvet box from his jeans pocket, he handed it to her.

“Slone,” she said, shaking her head and wiping her cheeks. “This is too much.”

He grinned. “Sorry. There’s a no-return policy.”

Giving him a skeptical glance, she pried open the lid. Three glittering diamonds hung in a pendant style, largest at the bottom, medium-sized, then smallest at the top. She covered her mouth with her hand. “It’s stunning,” she gasped.

“The second I saw it, I knew it was meant for you, and—” He stopped himself.

A moment later, as she stared at the beautiful pendant, she guessed his meaning, the words he’d been about to say.
It was meant for us.
Three diamonds. Large, medium, and small. Him, her, and the baby…

“I love it!” She clasped his arm, dragging him down to the couch beside her. “Can I wear it now?”

The look in his eyes revealed the first depths of vulnerability he’d ever shown her. “You can do whatever you want with it, honey.”

Carefully removing the jewelry from its cushioned box, she held up the two ends and swept her hair to one side. “Can you clasp it for me?”

“Sure.” The pleasure in her tone told her she’d guessed correctly. He’d purchased the necklace to represent the three of them, in honor of their new life, their new little family.

Once he clicked the clasp into place, she turned to him, her heart in her eyes. “Thank you. It means the world to me. You mean the world to me.
We
mean the world to me.”

When his gaze widened a fraction, she could tell he saw the depth of her feeling, of her understanding about the meaning behind his gift. She was thrilled. Down to the bottom of her soul. Even if they didn’t reveal their feelings toward each other, they both knew. They were in it for keeps.

“This Christmas is everything I have ever hoped for,” she whispered.

“Good.” His smile could have lit up the Taj Mahal. “That’s what I wanted.”

“You succeeded.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek then lifted off the couch to place the baby booties onto a Christmas tree branch. A yellow light from one of the multi-colored bulbs surrounded the tiny pair of shoes in a majestic halo. The effect seemed so appropriate.

Then she turned to him, touching the pendant dangling from her neck. “Today is better than all of my Christmases combined.”

His lips twisted in a bittersweet smile. “I don’t know about all that.”

Returning to the cushion beside him, she touched his face. “Thank you for being in my life. For being with me through this. For being…you. I can’t imagine where I’d be, what I would’ve done, without you.”

Closing his eyes, he leaned his cheek into her cupped palm. His sigh seemed to come from the depths of his chest.

When his eyes opened, the gray orbs pinned her with an intense stare. “I’ve always wanted to hear those words from a woman. I’m glad it’s you.”

A sincere smile spread her lips. “Now you have. And I’m not taking them back.”

Again that elusive vulnerability flickered in his gaze before he cleared his throat and the glimmer extinguished. He’d been hurt by words and promises too, she guessed.

Leaning forward she pressed her lips to his. He took her offering, sucking on her taste, like a man desperate for a sense of belonging.

Well, he belonged with her. For as long as he wanted to—she wouldn’t be the one to pull away.

In the back of her mind she realized how much power over her emotions she’d handed him just now. Yet she had no reason to believe he’d abuse that power or the complete trust she placed in him.

However,
two days later—with one discarded envelope—he chipped a wide crack through the center of that trust.

She found a cranberry colored envelope facedown, unopened, on top of the wrapping paper she’d thrown away that had contained her Christmas presents from him.

At first she ignored it, scraping the onion peels from her cutting board into the garbage beside the letter. But as she continued chopping vegetables for dinner, her curiosity—perhaps even a touch of jealousy mingled with a trace of mistrust—overcame her.

Removing the letter from the trash, she flipped it over. The person at the head of the return address was Mrs. Truitt.