curves in the right places.
She was a shock to the senses.
When he’d first met her in New York, he’d thought her beautiful but cool, a little icy, and boring. The press loved to call her the Ice Princess. But he’d spent nine hours and thirty-seven minutes with her that night, and he’d soon learned that while she had her public “princess” mode, there was a woman under the gloss. He’d caught glimpses of the real Sofia when she’d let her guard down.
When she wasn’t all cool smiles, elegant glides, and polite chitchat, there was a smiling, friendly, energetic woman under it all. He’d heard her laugh, mutter sarcastic comments, and roll her eyes. He’d also caught her sneaking a hamburger before the ball.
No, Princess Sofia hadn’t been what he’d expected.
And when she’d kissed him…
Rome’s fingers curled into his palm. Fuck. That night, he’d come close to breaking all the rules a bodyguard had to follow.
In front of them, reporters and fans were shouting, cameras clicking. Rome was used to that. He’d provided security for lots of famous people.
The princess continued down the stairs. At the bottom step, her heel caught.
Rome shot forward and grabbed her arm.
It pushed his body up against hers. He heard her suck in a breath and his damn fingers tingled from touching her.
She steadied herself. “Thank you, Mr. Nash.” She had a slight, crisp accent, her tone slick like glass. The princess talking to the peasant.
She waved to the crowd again. She had long, delicate fingers, and wore two rings. One was a large diamond, and the other was a twisted, complicated design. Funkier than he’d imagined would suit royalty.
Rome nodded and let her go. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to your accommodation.”
“Thank you, but I’d like to greet my fans first.” She stepped onto the tarmac.
“Princess, you are going to follow my orders over the next week and a half. I’m in charge of your safety.”
She stiffened. “I follow no one’s orders, Mr. Nash.” Big, brown eyes locked with his. Her gaze was firm, with a faint spark in the depths of it. “I will, of course, consider all your expert opinions on security matters.”
Hmm, there was the real woman.
“I assume you can stand behind me, looking hulking and intimidating, and keep me safe from those little girls who have flowers to give me?”
He narrowed his gaze. Her tone was still polite, but he was pretty sure that there was sarcasm hiding in there somewhere.
“Five minutes,” he said.
She smiled. “There. A compromise. We’ll work fine together, Mr. Nash.”
Rome blinked. Shit. Her smile, her real one, was gorgeous. It brought her to life.
It wasn’t the careful, polite smile she gave to the crowd. It was real, lighting up her beautiful face.
She walked ahead of him and he followed. His gaze traveled down her body.
Hell. She was slender, but she had a shapely ass. She wasn’t tall, but she wasn’t short, either, and a lot of her height was all leg.
The princess walked along the temporary barrier holding the crowd back. She waved and smiled, sharing a few words and accepting posies of flowers.
Rome followed silently behind her. He eyed the crowd. They weren’t all kids or giggling teenagers. There were hard-eyed paparazzi, and several adults, as well.
“Princess Sofia!”
“You’re so beautiful, Princess.”
“Here, Princess. I love you!”
Sofia waved and smiled.
Rome dragged in some breaths. So, she was beautiful. He’d guarded beautiful women before.
But in the four months since he’d met her, he hadn’t forgotten the feel of her pressed against him, the sensation of her lips on his, or the faint, tantalizing taste of her that she’d given him.
And since that night, he also hadn’t been with another woman. A fact he’d deliberately not examined too closely.
Princess Sofia of Caldova was strictly off-limits.
For the next two weeks, he would keep her safe. That was it.
Rome loved his job at Norcross Security. He loved the challenge of keeping his charges safe. Vander Norcross, his former Ghost Ops commander, was a good boss. Vander let Rome do his job and provided everything he needed. He also paid well.
After several years as a Navy SEAL, and then two years in Ghost Ops, doing the toughest missions of his career, Rome had been ready to stop being shot at. When Vander had offered him a job, Rome had jumped at it.
And he liked San Francisco. The only downside was that his mother and sister were on the other side of the country, but he kept an eye on them,