The Guardian of My Soul (Soul's Desire) (6 page)

My eyes locked on them and for a moment I forgot what we were arguing about, distracted by those sensual looking lips. Such a strange sensation I’d never felt before. My pulse accelerated, my breathing intensified and goose bumps danced over my suddenly warm body. The clean smell of his soap only made matters worse and as if on cue, I flushed.
What am I doing?
Quickly, I drew back. He let me go. Embarrassed, I scooted to the far end of the bed and shut my eyes, trying to control my uneven breathing patterns. When I opened them again I found him watching me, his poker face on.

He turned to leave and was halfway out the door when my mouth began to speak as if it had a mind of its own.

“I guess I associate gifts and things with affection.” I forced the words out, staring blankly at my knotted fingers in my lap.

Alec stiffened and stopped, then swiveled around and walked back to me, but this time he didn’t sit down. His expression had changed, softer, wordlessly inviting me to continue.

I blinked a few times, twisting my fingers while thinking of the right words to explain myself, that wouldn’t make me look pathetic. “After Dad died when I was ten...Mom took over his business. She traveled a lot and couldn’t always take me with her since I had school and other responsibilities. I was left with a nanny. So whenever she returned home, she showered me with presents. I guess it was her way to compensate for her absence and to show that she loved me.” I paused, looking up at him. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent and have the other one away from you quite often. So don’t judge me.”

His lips opened and then closed, as if changing his mind about what he was going to say. “My father may not be dead, but I considered him to be for many years,” he said, digging his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. My baffled gaze demanded an explanation. I didn’t have to wait long. “I was seven when he divorced my mother and moved out. As a kid you don’t always understand what’s going on, and the fact he hardly ever came to visit me and my sister made me believe he didn’t care about us anymore. I hated him. I hated him so much I rebelled against him. I don’t come from a happy family either. I know what it’s like to grow up without a father. I watched Mom struggle to provide us with everything we needed and it hurt to watch her suffer. At least you didn’t have to worry about that.” He ended before he left the room, leaving me staring after him.

His words lingered on my brain for the rest of the day and I just couldn’t find my peace or settle down.
Is it my fault I was
born into a wealthy family?
One thing was clear. He didn’t like me.
So, why won’t he just go away and spare us both this unnecessary mutual annoyance?
Lots of questions swirled inside my head, but I couldn’t come up with an answer for any of them. He didn’t seem to hate Ryan now. If he hadn’t told me he once hated him, I would have never guessed it, judging by the way they behaved with one another.
Damn, he’s so confusing!
I frowned. Then I remembered my body’s reaction to the closeness with his and I felt betrayed.
What was that all about?
I had no answers for that question either.

*  *  *

Mother was waiting for me at the dining room table at dinner. “Hey. Sorry I kept you waiting. I fell asleep.”

“That’s okay. How was lunch with the girls?”

“It was fine. Um...we decided to go to the ranch in Kentucky for a week. We’d like to leave on Monday morning, if that’s okay with you.”

“Oh, sure. I wish I could go with you, but I’m busy next week,” she murmured.

“There will be other occasions. I need some time with them too.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Can I ask you something?”

She nodded, chewing slowly on her food.

“Alec. Why isn’t he gone yet? You said he came for my party. The party is over and yet he’s still here.” I arched my brows.

Mother gazed at me for a long moment, as if debating what to say. “Okay, here goes nothing...” She put her fork down and leaned back in her chair, eyeing me attentively. “Alec is staying. I’d like him to be your personal bodyguard from now on,” she said matter-of-factly.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head and my jaw dropped when she confirmed my suspicions. “Mom, I don’t need babysitting. I deserve more freedom and space now that I’m twenty-one. I don’t want Alec for my bodyguard,” I stated flatly, feeling a little faint.

“Kristen, your being twenty-one only increases my concerns for you. You’re so eager to party, go to clubs and hang out with all kinds of people that I feel the need to send someone I can trust along with you. This is for your safety and for my own peace of mind. I thought getting you someone closer to your age would make you feel more comfortable and you could be like friends. I asked Ryan to find someone and he suggested I should consider his son. He assured me that even though he’s only twenty-four years old, he is very well trained and knows how to protect you in case of an emergency.”

“Mom, I don’t care how young or old he is. I was perfectly fine until he showed up. Nothing will change, I promise.”

“Things don’t always go as we wish. If anything happened to you I’d never forgive myself. My decision is final, Kristen. If you don’t want this young man, I’ll get you an older one and see if that suits you better.”

“Nobody suits me! None of my friends have guards. I don’t understand.” I stood up and put my hands on my hips, ready to plead with her.

“I chose him because he’s young and he’ll mingle with your friends and no one from the outside will know who he actually is. Maybe you’ll get along. You haven’t even tried. Please understand. All I want is to keep you out of trouble and trouble away from you. Plus, your friends are not public figures. Nobody knows who they are or how rich they are. Your case is different from theirs, whether you like it or not. I’m sure your father would have agreed with me on this. Look...I know you see me as the bad guy right now, but trust me, your wellbeing is everything to me.” She stood up straight and made her case.

“But, Mom...” I shook my head, exasperated with the whole situation. “This doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Okay, fine. Do you want to hear the truth?” she asked, taking me aback. Walking toward her office, she returned a moment later with an envelope in her hand and spilled the content on the table. Confused, I picked up the four small cards and read them aloud one by one.

The first one was simple. “You’re so beautiful!” I picked up the second. “I go to bed thinking of you! I want you so much!” My hand shook. “You will be mine! I can’t live without you.” Picking up the last one, I steeled myself for what I’d find. “I’m watching you. You’ll never escape me.”
Oh, God.
I placed my hand over my pounding heart. Raising an eyebrow, I stared at her puzzled. “What the hell are these, Mom?”

“Can you see now what I’ve been through? Those four cards arrived in separate envelopes over the course of two weeks, all of them addressed to you. The last one arrived over a week ago. I…I used your birthday party as a pretext to keep you home and take your phone and laptop away...just in case whoever sent these would contact you. It didn’t happen.” She slumped back into her seat, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“What?”

“There was no address, just your name written on the envelopes. Ryan took them to the police, had them tested but found no fingerprints. And since they were printed from a computer and not handwritten, they had nothing to work with. They advised me to look out for anything suspicious and by no means allow you to go anywhere by yourself. Alec came here to help with security at your party, yes, but now that I got to know him and explained to him what was going on he agreed to stay. He’s Ryan’s son…he’s like…family…I…I could not trust anyone else with your safety.” A tear was now rolling down her cheek.

I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing I could find a way out. On one hand I understood her concerns, but on the other I figured it was nothing. “You worry too much. This is probably just someone playing tricks on you,” I whispered, my voice low and brittle as I sank back into my chair. “There’s one thing I don’t understand, though. You hook me up with a bodyguard and do everything in your power to protect me from the world, and yet you’re okay with my face showing up all over the place. How’s that, Mom? I don’t understand.”

“Let me try to explain.” She covered my hand with hers, comforting me. “I’ve lived in the limelight my entire life, Kris, and this has never ever happened to me. I’m not really afraid of the public in general. I never had a true reason to be. I’ve always been nice to everybody, including the press. It’s not such a scary place, if you know how to handle things. But this case is different. If some crazy stalker is obsessed with you, it’s definitely a major concern. No more cards arrived after we contacted the police, so I’m hoping whoever it was got scared and stopped. But until we’re certain, I can’t afford to take any risks.”

“I don’t know what to think.” My mind wandered back and forth with mixed feelings.

She got up from her seat and approached me. Leaning, she draped her arms around my shoulders from behind and kissed my cheek. “Kristen, you’re all I’ve got left in this world. Please don’t make this harder than it already is. I kept this away from you until now because I didn’t want to scare you, nor ruin your party with this news. But I guess it’s better you know what’s going on.”

I had no idea what to believe anymore. All my wishes for independence were slipping through my fingers and there was nothing I could do about it. A small gasp left my lips as the cruel reality hit me. A crazy person was probably stalking me, and all I wanted was to get out of here fast. “You’re all I’ve got too, Mom,” I told her in a calm voice meant to soothe her.

The doorbell rang. She released me and hurried to the door after giving me one more kiss.

“Who is it?” I asked, not feeling in the mood to see anyone.

“Um, we have a guest.”

“Damn, you should’ve told me. I would’ve dressed better,” I complained, staring at my casual sweatpants and T-shirt.

“Good evening,” a man said brightly as soon as she opened the door.

“Good evening to you too. I’m glad you could make it. Come on in.”

I pursed my lips when I recognized Niall. I was not pleased at all to see him again.

“Hello, Kristen.” He smirked. “I didn’t get to give you your present yesterday, so I brought it now.” He handed me a wrapped box, and I took it reluctantly.

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to.”

“Please, open it.”

I unwrapped and opened the box, uncovering an expensive watch, round sunray white face with a platinum casing encrusted with jewels around the edge and a pink croc leather band. “Thank you. It’s beautiful,” I said, putting it back in after carefully inspecting it.

Mom smiled at me. “Have a seat, Niall.”

He obliged and Gilda came to serve him food.

“Kristen, I hope you’ll help me choose the scent for our fragrance after a week of relaxation at the ranch. Plus everything else that needs to be done. I really want us to work together on this project.”

Spending time with Niall was not my cup of tea, but I didn’t want to let Mother down. Talking business seemed like a good distraction from our previous conversation, even though my mind was scattered all over the place.

“Sure, Mom. I can help with that.” I took a sip of red wine to help me swallow my food.

“Niall will help us too, which is why I invited him tonight. He brought some bottle samples to discuss on the shape, color and size.”

“But, do we have to do this tonight? I’m still not fully recovered from last night.” The way Niall’s eyes were fixed upon me made me feel uneasy and eager to escape his intense, bold gaze.

“Okay, we can do this tomorrow,” she agreed. “Let’s just enjoy our dinner.”

“Oh, I think I’m done.”

“But you barely ate anything. Please stay and have some more.”

I leaned back in my seat and forced myself to eat between mouthfuls of wine.

“So,” Niall began, studying me carefully. “You said you don’t want to be the image of the perfume...then maybe you could help your mom with designing clothes.” He suggested.

“That’s not what I studied in college. I may have given her my opinion sometimes, but she’s much better at it than me. It’s her thing,” I responded.
What’s with this guy telling me what to do out of the blue?
I looked at him as I chewed on my food, trying to guess him and the nature of his relationship with Mother.

“It’s just surprising to me that you don’t want to be part of this. You have the looks, your mother to guide you and ensure your success, and yet you’re not drawn to it. I may seem a little insistent, but that’s only because I see a lot of potential in you.”

A
little
insistent? How about annoying?
“I’m sure Mom and I will be able to come to some agreement. I appreciate your concern, but it’s entirely unnecessary,” I spoke as plainly as courtesy would allow.

“Of course, please forgive me,” he said. “I didn’t mean to intrude or upset you. Especially now that we’re going to work together.”

Lucky me!
I somehow managed to finish everything on the plate and excused myself from the table, leaving them to discuss business.

*  *  *

Mom came to check on me after a while and saw me huddled in bed next to my dog.

“Is he gone?”

“Yes.”

“Mom, what’s up with you and this guy?” I inquired suspiciously.

“What? Nothing! Why would you think that?” She blinked.

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“Kris, he’s thirty-one, much too young for me. I don’t want him for me.”

I flinched, swallowing hard as her words sank in. “You want him for me. Is that right?”

She shrugged. “I thought you might like him once you got to know him. He’s handsome, rich, polite, experienced, and he runs his own businesses. What more could you want in a man? I mean...you could try and see how it goes.”

I frowned, appalled. “I’m not interested in him in the slightest. Please don’t try to set me up with someone. Don’t you think I’m capable of finding myself a boyfriend on my own?”

Mom’s lips puckered in silence, but she gave a stiff nod.

“Is that why he looks at me the way he does? He wants me? I’m sorry, but he gives me the creeps!” My nose wrinkled.

“I believe he likes you, yes. I mean...who wouldn’t?”

“He’s totally not my type.” I shivered with distaste. “He can have his gift back.”

“Kristen, it’s not nice to return a gift.”

“I don’t wish to encourage him. He thinks he can buy me with an expensive watch.” I folded my arms with resolve in my voice.

“I’m sure it was not what he intended. He was just being nice.”

“I still can’t accept it. How well do you know this guy anyway?”

“Well enough to know he’s a nice man. I’ve worked with his father a few times. He’s a designer too.”

“He looks rather slick to me. He’s too full of himself. Arrogant. If he’s after me, he’s in for a surprise.”

“What is your type?”

“What?”

“You said he’s not your type. Then what is your type?”

“I don’t know,” I muttered, trying not to think of Alec. “Maybe I haven’t found my type yet. But even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. You’d probably make a list of those who fit my requirements and hand it to me. Or even worse, set me up on blind dates. I totally see you doing that.” I smiled a bit at her, seeing the humor in the situation despite the worry of it all.

She burst into laughter. “Don’t exaggerate. And what is wrong with me wanting to see you happy and fulfilled? My intentions are pure.”

“Mother...you raised me to your liking, chose my school, my college, where I could go and where I couldn’t...you’d have chosen my friends if you could, you decided I will work with you, you got me a bodyguard, and now you want to choose my boyfriend for me too. Don’t you find anything wrong with this picture?”

“I’m older and wiser. I’m just trying to help.”

“Mom, I love you, but I want to live my own life, make my own mistakes and mop up after them. I want you to be my mother, not my keeper. Is it really that much to ask?”