For Her Protection: 1 (Personal Protection) (13 page)

And damn him, he didn’t.

Charlize opened her eyes. Unfamiliar warmth surrounded her,
lulled her back into sleep. A weight rested over her hip, a hand cupped her
breast. Connor’s scent surrounded her. Crisp cologne, soap and a hint of sweat.

And boy had she made him sweat last night.

She sighed and placed her hand over his on her chest. Time
to get up. They were already late. They’d have to miss the gym. She had a full
day ahead and so much to figure out.

Charlize stroked Connor’s hand with her fingertips. His grip
tightened, as if he had no intention of letting her go. To prove his
intentions, he shifted his hips at her rear, his stiff morning cock showing her
just how he’d like to spend the rest of their morning.

“We’re late,” she whispered.

Connor nudged the hair off her neck with his nose and
brushed his lips against her skin. She shivered. The bastard had already
figured out every sensitive place on her body and had no qualms exploiting
every one of them.

“You’re going to be later,” he said then scraped his teeth
against her flesh.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat.

“Really, we need to go…”

He squeezed her nipple with his thumb and finger then rubbed
it deliciously. Pleasure tightened her core.

“Take the day off. Stay home with me.”

“I can’t,” she whispered then rolled over, unable to resist
the slide of her skin against his. She hooked her knee over his waist and
before she could breathe she was on her back, arms pinned over her head. He
buried his cock in her—no preparation, no hesitation. Just one deep thrust that
impaled her fully.

He’d known. Known how wet she’d be, that her body couldn’t
resist him. He knew her flesh better than she did. Connor stilled and looked
down at her. His eyes sparkled. Triumph and raw satisfaction made him the
hottest freaking thing she’d ever seen. Even if she could have resisted, even
if her pussy wasn’t throbbing, sucking him as hard as it could—demanding to be
fucked—she wouldn’t stop him.

His fingers wrapped around her wrists grounded her, made the
world shrink to this space. They kept her in place when so much seemed out of
control. He moved and her thoughts snapped. Focus narrowed to the searing
pleasure building between her thighs. His expression changed, heated as he
thrust into her slickness. The veins in his neck grew more pronounced, his
control a visible thing. Connor might hold her down but she had just as
powerful of an effect on him. His guard slipped around her and only she could
make him lose control.

She had that power.

Her insides hummed and she bucked against him, pushed
herself against his erection, rocked against it until his butting cock turned her
inside out with pleasure. He released her hands and gripped her thighs, pushed
them to her chest, exposing her to him further, angling her so he slid into her
that much deeper.

She moaned wildly, fisted the sheets. He took her hard. Took
her as if he were imprinting himself on her. He stretched her with each pump,
completed her, filled her and made her whole. With every thrust his hips
knocked hers, his skin batted against her skin, every stroke of his cock
radiating pleasure into every fiber of her body. Her thighs tensed, her stomach
tightened. She held her breath as her nerves hitched closer and closer to
shattering.

“Come for me, Charlize.”

His hoarse command seized her and her body obeyed. Her pussy
contracted and she spasmed. Waves of bliss rolled over her. She shook but he
continued to surge inside her. She twisted and he held her in place, stopped
her from dissolving into the mattress. Her orgasm racked her, on and on,
smashing through every cell. Her ears rang, her throat hurt. She screamed but didn’t
hear the sound.

Connor’s fingers dug into her thighs, his cock hardened. He
rocked into her while she quivered. She panted, her lungs raw. He pulled out,
gripped his cock and ran its thick head between her folds, over her sensitive
clitoris.

She twitched, made a strange, inhuman sound. He dragged his
cock higher then jerked and spurted onto her belly with a growl. The damp
length of his shaft dug into her pubic bone and warmth seeped over her skin.

She couldn’t have felt more claimed if he’d branded her.

Connor fell forward, braced himself over her with his elbows
and rested his damp forehead against hers. She breathed in his uneven breath,
wrapped her arms around him and held on. He overwhelmed every one of her
senses.

The intimacy of the moment devastated her. More so than when
he’d been inside her, more than sex. His forehead on hers, his seed on her
belly, and most of all the way his breath shook—a hint of vulnerability. She’d
seen and felt him come undone…

His breaths evened and he kissed her, dragged his lips over
hers. She rubbed his back and opened her mouth, drowning in the gentle touch.
Sweet and heady, like a shot of coffee liqueur after a sinful meal.

They rolled to the side and she pressed her face into his
neck, his morning beard just rough enough to scrape her cheeks. He held her,
stroked her hair. She could live off this, forgo food—a dose of this could
sustain her for days.

But the real world already intruded. She could almost hear
the clock next to her bed tick, shouting that she’d be late for work if she
didn’t get ready immediately.

“We need to get up.” Charlize placed a kiss on Connor’s
pulse.

He held her tighter, his fingers ran over her ass. “Stay
home today.”

She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. “I can’t.” A
sliver of guilt slid down her chest. Calling in sick wasn’t a luxury she could
afford. For the first time she actually wished it was.

Dangerous
.

“You could if you wanted. Don’t you want to stay with me?”
He gripped her ass, rocked her hips against him.

Her eyes snapped open. A heavy sensation hit low in her
belly and her heart jumped, beating a little stronger. The familiarity of the
words made her skin prickle. She’d heard all these lines before. Knew what the
hell they meant and what they led to. How many times had she heard “do you
really need to go to class today” and “if you loved me you’d put me first”?

Those statements started with guilt but ended with control.

The kind she’d die before giving away again. She pushed out
of his arms and rolled off the bed. Her skin chilled where his seed still
coated it.

“Charlize?”

She walked to her dresser and pulled out fresh underwear. “Get
up, Connor. I’m not your fucking house pet. You work for me.”

The bed creaked but she didn’t turn around, just strode to
the bathroom and shut the door behind her, locked it for good measure. He spoke
but she turned on the water and drowned out the sound, made sure the tears
sneaking from her traitorous eyes would be washed away. That they’d remain her
secret.

What the hell had she been thinking? Falling for Connor
would cost her everything.

* * * * *

Charlize glanced across her office and out the doors. She
saw him in the reception area, talking on his phone. Running his business while
protecting hers. He brushed the short hair on the back of his head with his
palm. He’d been quiet since they’d arrived. Hadn’t had a choice really.

She refused to feel bad. He needed to learn how far he could
push before she pushed back.

Pity she sucked at the cold shoulder. Every time she looked
up there he was, keeping his distance, and she just wanted to inch closer—get
next to him. Pour out all her fears and have him be all like, “don’t worry,
baby, I only want to own you in the sack.” He made her that freaking needy,
that desperate to believe in fantasies.

In couples that are meant to be together. As if romantic
destiny existed.

She tore her attention away from him and opened her email.
Oddly, despite tension thick enough to butter bread, she was on her game today.
None of the quietly bubbling nervousness she usually suppressed. More
importantly for the first time in weeks she could take a full breath and it
filled her to the bottom of her belly. The air didn’t catch in her chest as if
it had just packed down a wad of tension. Her muscles were loose, her head clear.

Clear enough to snap back into work mode when she saw the
email in her inbox. Finally, after some digging, the IT manager, Pete, had
managed to retrieve an old copy of the last internal audit that had been buried
in the system.

She clicked on the message and frowned as she read the
words, then went back to the start of the email and read it again. The report
was lost? How the hell did that even happen? She’d seen it with her own eyes
that morning in Pete’s office. All he had to do was convert the file and email
it to her. Charlize forwarded the email to Bob with a row of question marks.

Within two minutes Bob circled Connor in the reception area
and walked into her office to sit in the chair opposite her.

“What the hell is going on in this place, Bob? You’ve got to
know something. This stinks.”

He sat silently for a moment. If anyone could give her
answers, Bob could, and if he’d been withholding information, she’d find out
now.

“You’re right,” he said and his lined forehead scrunched. “I
can’t deny something isn’t right. There are too many coincidences, too many
brick walls.”

Charlize watched his Adam’s apple bob in the loose skin at
his neck. He’d always been mild-mannered, she’d never seen him nervous.

“You’ve been here longer than anyone. Level with me. Is
someone stealing from us?” She breathed slowly and held Bob’s clear gaze. “Is
it Frank? It is, isn’t it?”

“I honestly can’t say.”

Bob looked down but not before she caught sight of a shimmer
in his eyes.

“Ever since your father left I’ve been pushed out. I might
be President but I wasn’t much more than your uncle’s errand boy.” His breath
hitched. “I’ve let your father down, I’ve let you down.”

Charlize chewed her lip. Her father, who, like her uncle,
had given himself a stroke working here. She wouldn’t do the same. Had these
things been happening when her dad was there? Is that why things had been so
bad before the stroke?

“I’m sure you haven’t let him down and you haven’t let me
down. Not unless there are things you haven’t told me. If there are, tell me
now.” She leaned forward. “Is there anything I should know?”

Bob shook his head and raised his gaze. “No there’s nothing
I can tell you. But if you want my opinion?” He glanced over his shoulder then
back at her and scooted forward.

She leaned closer, focusing on Bob’s lowered tone.

“You should be very careful, Charlize. If someone is up to
something, they’re not going to want to be found out. And that guard of yours…”

Charlize glanced at the doorway and back to Bob. A sensation
like crawling insects trickled down her back. “What about him?”

“He’s been sneaking around. I saw him in Gregory’s office.
Saw him asking question around the place.”

Her lungs froze—froze with an icy sharpness that shot pain
deep in her ribs. “What? You think he’s some kind of corporate spy? You hired
him…”

Bob blinked repeatedly. “I don’t know, maybe not a spy.
Maybe government?”

Charlize sank back in her chair. He’d been a cop once—a
detective. He was well educated, a little more so than a regular cop, he’d mentioned
that himself. Maybe his business included more than simple protection?

“Thanks, Bob. I’ll be careful.”

Bob left but she hardly noticed. A haze formed over her
eyes. Her fingers shook and she squeezed them in her lap. She picked up the cup
of cold coffee from her desk and drained the contents.

She fished for her handbag and found the card buried in the
zippered pocket then picked up the phone and dialed the number.

“Detective Mark Schorts speaking.”

“Hello, Detective, this is Charlize Halifax.”

A throat cleared at the other end. “Hello, Ms. Halifax. How
can I help you?”

She breathed through her nose and watched the door. “Has
there been any news on Gregory Craig?”

“I’m sorry to inform you he’s still on the run. But I
believe it’s only a matter of time before we have him.”

She swallowed. Having him caught now would make things
easier. “How worried for my safety should I be until you do?”

The line went quiet, not even breathing sounded on the other
end.

“Detective?”

“I’m sorry. It’s always advisable to be vigilant in these
situations but I don’t believe you need to be worried.”

“Thank you, I feel much better. Thanks for your help,
goodbye,” she said then reset the phone and dialed an internal extension.

“Pete.”

“Ms. Halifax—” The voice on the other end of the line
stuttered.

“I’m sending around our new security manager Connor Crowe to
have a conversation with you about our IT security and fail-safes. This
situation needs to be rectified.”

“But Mr. Crowe spoke to us already.”

Charlize pressed her dry tongue to the roof of her mouth. “He
did? When?”

“This morning. A few minutes after we spoke. He conducted a
comprehensive review of the system.”

Her stomach churned. The coffee she’d drunk earlier seemed
to be finding a path back up. “Call him and ask him to come to you. Have a talk
about the missing file. In fact—I want you to have a thorough conversation. If
he’s in your office for less than an hour, you’re fired.”

“But—”

“No. I need to know this is being taken care of.”

She set the phone down and waited. Within a few heartbeats,
Connor left the reception area. Charlize kicked off her pumps, not trusting
herself to stand upright in them right now. She walked to the door, closed and
locked it before leaning against it.

Connor’s laptop sat open at the table, his briefcase on the
couch with the jacket he’d removed at lunch draped over it. She began with the
laptop.