Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) (6 page)

"No one will see the trackers. They're pretty
good at stealth, when they want to be. And Shifters are at your
store all the time. You're one of the few who lets us in."

"They come in to
shop
. Not lurk.
There's a difference."

"Why don't you ban Shifters? It's your
choice."

Elizabeth stopped, annoyed at the change in
conversational direction. She obviously didn't like her arguments
interrupted. "Because I think laws banning Shifters are stupid. Why
shouldn't you be allowed to wear lame T-shirts like everyone
else?"

Ronan chuckled. "I'm keeping the Red-Hot
Lover one. My point is, because you've been a friend to Shifters,
Shifters are happy to look out for you when you need it. I'm
putting you under my protection. I already have. All of Shiftertown
knows that if anyone wants to mess with you, they mess with me
first."

"All of Shiftertown?" Elizabeth regarded him
skeptically. "Already knows this? We didn't get here until late
last night."

"Liam put the word out."

"At three in the morning?"

Ronan shrugged. "I told you, Felines are
nocturnal. By this morning, everyone knew. There's not a Shifter
within a hundred miles who'd want to go one-on-one with me, so
they'll help you but leave you alone. The Morrisseys outrank me,
but that's about it. And they like you too."

"They don't know me."

"You'd be surprised what they know. You are
safe here, and so is Mabel. Now, if you're done arguing, let's go
open your store."

Ronan started to walk away. He'd learned that
the best way to finish an altercation with females was simply to
leave. They'd stand there and shout things at your back, but better
that than having the argument go on and on and
on
.

"There's one big problem with you going with
me," came her voice behind him.

Ronan turned. "What's that?"

Elizabeth had calmed down a little, but her
eyes were still alight with determination. "The judge sentenced you
to house arrest. You're not supposed to leave Shiftertown at all,
except to go to your job."

"Why don't you let me worry about that? Now,
are we going?"

"You're not. I get why you want to post the
trackers outside my store to keep an eye out. That makes sense. But
what happens when a cop comes by and sees you in there with me?
Then
I
get arrested too, for aiding and abetting. I can't
run my store if I'm in jail."

"I said, let me worry about that."

"Forget it. Stay here and take care of Mabel,
and your Spike guy with his tatts can watch out for the gang."

Ronan came back to her. "Here's the deal,
Lizzie-girl. I go with you, or you don't go."

"Stop calling me Lizzie-girl." She jabbed her
finger at his chest. "It's my store, my life, my sister, and we'll
do this my-- Hey! What are you doing?"

Ronan had his giant hands on her soft waist,
and he lifted her off her feet. She squirmed and glared, but he
lifted her higher, higher, until she was over his head. He often
picked up Olaf like this, and Elizabeth was not much bigger than
the cub.

"Ronan, you put me down!"

"Nothing doing, sweet thing. Not until you
realize that I'm your bodyguard now, and that's all there is to
that."

"You arrogant . . ."

Ronan saw her hand coming at him, fingers
stiff, right for his eyes. He ducked out of the way in time, but
the move made him lose his hold. Elizabeth kicked out, not
contacting him, but with enough force to twist from his grip and
land on her feet. She never touched him, and yet, there she stood,
a couple yards from him, hands on hips, breathing hard, triumph on
her face.

Ronan growled. "You fight dirty."

"I learned how to a long time ago."

"You know something, Lizzie-girl?"

Elizabeth canted one hip . . . Aw, wasn't
that adorable? "What's that?" she asked.

"I fight dirty too."

Before Elizabeth could scream, Ronan ran at
her and lifted her again, letting the momentum carry them forward
until her back was against the outside wall of the Den. Ronan
pinned her tightly, his body against hers, so that she couldn't
squirm, kick, or do any neat karate moves with her hands.

Elizabeth struggled, and she glared, and the
more she glared, the more Ronan wanted to laugh. She smelled sweet,
like the honey she'd poured on her toast. One drop of that honey
lingered on the corner of her mouth, and Ronan leaned down and
licked it away.

* * * * *

Chapter Six

Elizabeth froze. She felt the moist heat of
his mouth, the flick of his tongue, the warmth of his lips. He was
strong, his hands on her waist attested to that, yet his touch on
her mouth was everything that was gentle. Elizabeth hung in his
grasp for a long moment before she returned the faintest of
pressures.

They were face to face, so close that
Elizabeth saw the faint line of scar that laced from the corner of
his cheekbone up the bridge of his nose. Where he'd broken it, she
surmised.

She did nothing. Ronan studied her a long
time, his eyes warm, his gaze sliding to her lips.

Slowly Elizabeth brought up one hand to cup
his cheek. She let her thumb drift over the firm line of his mouth
before she closed the inch between them and kissed him again.

Their lips fused, unmoving heat, slow
goodness. Elizabeth felt the thump of his heart, the beat of hers
in return, the Texas sunshine soaking into her bones, as hot as her
blood.

"Oh, give me a break," came a male voice from
the porch. Scott, finally out of the shower and shirtless, leaned
on the railing, his dark hair wet. "You told me not to touch the
humans, Ronan. Why don't the same rules apply to you?"

Ronan eased out of the kiss. Slowly, he
lowered Elizabeth to her feet and turned around.

"I'm taking Elizabeth to her store," Ronan
said, voice neither harsh nor conceding. "Mabel is to be protected.
She can move around Shiftertown, but not out of it, and one of us
is to be with her at all times. Tell Rebecca."

"I'm not a babysitter," Scott growled.

He was defiant, but Elizabeth sensed him
backing off under Ronan's stare. Elizabeth had seen these dynamics
before, at every home she'd lived in. Sometimes the adult radiated
menace and the kid took a step back, shoulders slumping in
submission; sometimes it was kid who was in control.

Ronan was definitely in charge here. "Not a
babysitter," Ronan said. "A protector. We all are."

"Bodyguards," Elizabeth said. Scott flicked
his gaze to her, then took it instantly back to Ronan. "Not my
choice, but Ronan's right," Elizabeth went on. "Mabel and I need
protection until we figure out how to be safe from these guys. I'd
really appreciate it if you made sure Mabel was all right. And if
anyone comes looking for her, I'll be glad to know you and Rebecca
are around."

Scott's gaze flickered again, but the enraged
defiance eased out of him.

"Well, if you're going to stroke my ego, all
right then," Scott said. "See, Ronan, you only have to ask
nice."

Ronan shrugged. "Elizabeth's nicer than me.
Go tell Rebecca, and don't be a shithead."

Scott gave him a sneering look, but it was
more mocking than angry. "I'll tell her I found you kissing
Elizabeth. I thought you said you'd conquered your mating frenzy a
long time ago."

"Go," Ronan growled.

Scott went, but at least now he was
laughing.

"I'll be glad when his Transition's done,"
Ronan said, exasperation in his voice. "It's like living with a
volcano."

"What's a mating frenzy?" Elizabeth
asked.

"Don't humans have that?"

"No." Elizabeth folded her arms, keeping him
out of her space. She shouldn't have let him kiss her, but, damn,
she'd enjoyed it.

Ronan moved to his motorcycle and started
checking things on it. "Mating frenzy happens at the Transition for
the first time, but it can happen any time we scent a potential
mate. It
always
happens after a mate-claim is accepted.
Mating frenzy means a Shifter wants to mate without stopping, not
even to eat. Maybe to sleep, but then only to wake up and mate some
more."

"An out-of-control sex drive?" Elizabeth
asked. "And you conquered it? I didn't know men
could
conquer their sex drive."

He ignored her attempt at humor. "Once, a
long time ago, I almost mated, but she got killed."

Ronan bent to study a dial on his bike, but
not before Elizabeth saw the raw pain in his eyes. She went to him.
"Ronan, I'm so sorry." She touched his shoulder, strong beneath her
hand. "I didn't mean to tease you."

"It's more than fifty years ago now. I've
never found anyone I wanted to mate with since."

But it hurt him. Elizabeth saw that. Some
hurts never went away, no matter how much you tried.

"Seriously, Ronan, I'm sorry," she said.
"That shouldn't have happened to you."

Another shrug. "We need to get to your
store."

Elizabeth let it go. She'd also learned that
when people didn't want to talk about their pain, they didn't want
to talk about their pain.

She started for the pickup, but Ronan shook
his head. "Marquez's guys will know your truck. We take my
bike."

"What does it matter? They'll know I'm at the
store when I get there."

Ronan gave her a look of great patience. "It
matters when they're scanning the streets for your truck, and it
matters when I need to get you away as fast as I can."

Elizabeth conceded, not so much because she
agreed but because she wanted a ride on that bike. Her skin tingled
with glee as she headed for it. She'd owned a Harley once upon a
time, until some asshole stole it, and she'd never seen it
again.

The bike was huge, fitting its large owner.
An older model, she saw, but lovingly kept. Ronan handed her a
spare helmet. Elizabeth fastened it, then mounted behind him.

The motor throbbed, power between her legs.
Elizabeth hung onto Ronan, the man as powerful as the bike, and
suppressed a whoop as Ronan tore out of the driveway and onto the
street.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth let herself put away her worries to
enjoy the ride to the shop. Ronan took it easy, but she felt the
bike's energy, its need to open up. What heaven it would be to get
this thing out on an empty highway and really let it go.

She felt Ronan's strength as he leaned into
the turns, the fluidity of his muscles as he moved with the bike.
He knew how to ride, knew how to coax the machine to do what he
wanted without fighting it.

"Sweet ride!" she yelled.

The journey ended too soon, Ronan pulling up
in the alley behind her store.

All seemed quiet. Ronan let her dismount
first and took the helmet from her, but told her to wait for him to
scout. "If I tell you to, you get on this bike and go," Ronan said.
"I can tell you know how to ride, right?"

Elizabeth nodded. She knew, all right, though
this motorcycle would be a challenge, as large as it was.

"Good," Ronan said. "Let me go check it
out."

Truth to tell, Elizabeth felt a lot better
with Ronan there. If she'd come alone in her pickup this morning,
she'd be lingering, debating whether to go inside, and possibly
losing the debate. In spite of her brave talk about staying open no
matter what, she was afraid.

Watching Ronan walk away wasn't bad, either.
He was a big man, but trim, not fat. His ass in those tight jeans
was very nice, and the black T-shirt stretching across his
shoulders was nice too.

Ronan unlocked the back door of her store and
stepped inside. Elizabeth tensed, hands clenching around the
motorcycle helmet until she swore she'd dent the plastic. When
Ronan came back outside after about fifteen minutes, her entire
body relaxed, and she flexed her sore fingers.

"Everything's fine," he said. "No one's in
there, the lock hasn't been forced, and I didn't find any booby
traps."

"Booby traps?" Elizabeth said, eyes going
wide.

"These guys aren't going to fight fair. I
checked for tripwires and explosive devices, but I'm pretty sure
it's clean."

"
Pretty
sure?"

Ronan actually smiled. "I'll keep looking.
Like I said, no one forced the locks or any windows, so I don't
think anyone's been inside."

Elizabeth blew out her breath. "All right.
Let's go in."

Ronan parked the bike right outside the back
door and took the helmets inside with him. The alley door led
straight into her office, which was still a mess from the fight the
night before. The door to the store hung from its hinges, and the
doorframe had splintered where Ronan's big body hadn't quite fit
through it.

"I'll get Spike and Ellison over here to fix
that," Ronan said. "They're good carpenters."

"I can't pay them much. I only have so much
set aside for repairs."

"No paying. I broke the door, I'll get it
fixed. Gratis."

Elizabeth rose from picking up papers from
the floor. "You mean your friends will come over and replace a door
and drywall for free?"

"Sure. We help each other out. Besides, Liam
likes you, and if Liam says they do it on the house, they do it on
the house."

Elizabeth thought of Liam Morrissey's warm
blue eyes and the pressure of his hands when he'd clasped hers.
"Are you sure Liam likes me? You were arrested for helping me."

"If Liam didn't like you, you'd know. Trust
me."

Yes, she believed that. He'd beamed a
charming smile on one and all, but Elizabeth had sensed his
controlled power, the dangerous thing beneath his surface.

Elizabeth went through the store, righting
things, replacing the displays that had been knocked over. At least
Marquez hadn't gotten into the safe. He'd been right that Elizabeth
hadn't made her deposit--she'd planned to do it last night, and the
safe held several thousand dollars. The police had kept Marquez's
shoulder bag full of cash and given her a receipt for a hundred and
seventy-eight dollars.