Rugged Guard - Jason Collins Page 0,20

Derek replied. “Are you trying to say that nice isn’t your type?”

“That’s not what I was trying to say either.” My face fell as the buzz from the whiskey began to flow through my veins. I suddenly felt like Derek wasn’t understanding a single word that came out of my mouth, that he was going to walk out of the kitchen and still have no clue what I was really trying to say.

“So, what kind of guy is your type then?” Derek grinned. “Tall, dark, and mysterious? Or the kind of guy who spends all his free time at the local library—”

I interrupted Derek’s line of questioning with a kiss, my face bumping into his as our lips gently grazed each other’s. The kiss was a little off-kilter and sloppy, my aim more than likely impaired by the whiskey in my cup.

But it was still as warm as ever.

As the kiss went on, Derek seemed to return the favor, his hands moving up toward my waist as he pulled me closer to his chest. But just when I wanted to deepen the kiss between us, just when I wanted to explore more of his mouth with the tip of my tongue, Derek softly pushed me away from him.

“I can’t,” Derek murmured. “We can’t.”

“Because it’s crossing the line?”

“Yeah. Because it’s crossing the line.” He nodded. “And I can’t be the most effective bodyguard I can be if we’re… if I’m…” Derek seemed frustrated and flustered. “We just can’t, okay? I’m sorry, Parker.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I whispered, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Derek looked over at me for the final time that night before he silently picked up his mug and walked back toward his bedroom.

I listened to his footsteps echoing down the hall and felt something slowly breaking into pieces inside me, sliding right down my throat and radiating throughout every inch of my skin.

6

Derek

Damn.

I shouldn’t have kissed Parker last night.

I wanted to blame it on the whiskey in the hot chocolate. I wanted to blame it on anything else that didn’t revolve around the fact that I was letting myself get way too close to a client. And as I went about my usual morning routine of checking the cameras and surveying the perimeter, I tried to convince myself that what’d happened between us had just been a mistake, just a moment where I’d forgotten myself in the heat of the night.

But it wasn’t a mistake.

I wanted to kiss Parker. I wanted to do more with Parker, but I managed to stop myself before things went too far. Because even though we’d officially crossed the line with that kiss, that didn’t mean there was any reason to try to see how far we could’ve taken it.

Fuck.

What the fuck was I going to do? What was I supposed to say the next time Viv tried to check in with me about how things were going with Parker?

Was I supposed to tell her that I broke protocol for the first time ever? Was I supposed to tell her that I didn’t even regret it, despite the fact that it went against everything I’d instilled in myself while working security all these years?

No.

I wasn’t going to pack my bags and leave just because of one kiss. Besides, it’d been completely consensual, which also meant that there was no way that Parker was going to ask me to leave either.

Not unless he was tired of having me around.

I took in a deep breath as I brought my attention back to the task at hand. I was currently looking over the camera right in front of the Bed & Breakfast, making sure that no one had tampered with the device overnight. From my first look at it, it seemed like everything was in its usual place, with no clear signs of problems in sight.

“Hey, there you are.” Parker’s voice soon interrupted my thoughts as he walked up to me outside of the B&B. “I was looking all over for you.”

“Sorry. I was just looking at the cameras again—”

“There’s a fire, right on the edge of town,” Parker cut me off. “Billy just called and told me about it. We need to head over there before things get worse.”

“Before things get worse?” I pressed. “So, we’re not dealing with another barn fire this time?”

“No.” Parker shook his head. “Billy said that it was a pretty big one.”

Something inside of my chest dropped down to my stomach. “And… you’re okay with rushing out to that? To a huge