place to live. Walker told her, and showed her, every day how much he loved her, and they’d had a long conversation one night about souls and how he truly believed they’d known each other in another lifetime, and that was why they’d clicked so immediately.
“Of course I will,” she told him with a huge smile. “On one condition.”
“Name it,” Walker said.
Gillian loved the carnal look in his eyes and knew she was about to get thoroughly ravished…again. “I’m not planning our wedding. I don’t want something big. I have to think logistics and plan parties every day of my life. I want something low-key and stress-free. I just want to get it done, hang with our friends, and get on with the rest of our life.”
“Will your parents freak if they don’t get to participate in a huge wedding for their only daughter?” he asked.
Gillian loved how respectful he was of her parents. They’d once again flown out to Texas when they’d learned she’d been shot, and although it wasn’t how she would’ve wanted Walker to meet them, she couldn’t have been happier with how that had turned out. Her parents loved Walker immediately, which wasn’t surprising.
“No,” she told him. “Will your parents be upset?”
“No. I think they’re just happy I finally found someone to put up with me. So whatever kind of ceremony you want, you’ll get,” he said. He picked up her hand, kissed the ring he’d just put there, then gently pushed her onto her back. “Anything else you want to talk about before you can’t think anymore?” he asked as he slowly inched his way down her body, pushing the covers down as he went, exposing her to his burning gaze.
Gillian eagerly spread her thighs, giving him room as she shook her head. “No, I think I’m good.”
“Oh, you’re gonna be good, sweetheart,” Walker said with a gleam in his eye.
It was at least an hour and a half later—and three orgasms; two for her and one for him—before Gillian could think once again. Walker was curled up against her back, holding her, and Gillian gazed down at the beautiful diamond on her finger. She thought about her friends, and Walker’s team, about how lucky she was to have escaped death not once, but twice, and vowed right then and there to be happy.
No matter what happened in her life from here on out, she had a man who loved her, good friends, and a job she enjoyed. Life wasn’t perfect, but hers seemed pretty damn close at the moment.
“These babysitting jobs are my least favorite,” Doc grumbled as part of the team stood outside a room in a nondescript building in Paris, France. Doc, Trigger, and Lefty were on duty at the moment, and Grover, Oz, and Lucky would take over later. Brain was on patrol duty, hanging around outside, listening to the chatter of the people gathering near the building and watching for anything that might compromise the safety of the officials inside.
Normally, Lefty would agree with Doc about babysitting, but earlier that day he’d seen the Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs, Walter Brown, arrive—and he knew that meant his aide was probably around somewhere.
Kinley Taylor. He’d met her the last time they’d been tasked with bodyguard duty in Africa. Her boss had been there, and he hadn’t given even the littlest shit about his assistant. He’d sent her back to his hotel to pick up something he’d forgotten—in the middle of a fucking protest. She’d almost died, and if it hadn’t been for Lefty slipping out, following her, and making sure the asshole protestor who had his hands on her regretted picking her out of the crowd to mess with, she would’ve been killed.
He and Kinley had spent the rest of the trip meeting on the sly whenever they could. She was funny. And petite, which appealed to his masculine side. He’d always been drawn to smaller women. He’d wanted to wrap his hands in her long black hair and pull her close every time he saw her, but they’d kept things professional and aboveboard.
They’d had a lot of fun on that trip. Laughing and joking with each other, but even as she teased him, he’d sensed an underlying sadness in her. It made each smile she shared with him even more rewarding.
When that summit had ended, and thus Lefty’s bodyguard job, she’d promised to keep in touch, but he hadn’t heard from her again.
It had taken him quite a while to get over her. He didn’t know what he might’ve done that made her change her mind about keeping in touch, and that bothered him.
But now they were once again in the same place at the same time, and Lefty wanted answers. Wanted to know why she’d so coldly ghosted him when he’d thought they were actually friends.
Delta Force was used every now and then to watch the backs of high-ranking government officials when they went overseas. This time, their job was covering the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Important political members from countries all over the world had been invited to Paris, and like usual, having that much power in one place attracted the crazy, the unhappy, and the people who just wanted to protest against something.
Kinley’s boss was being protected by another Delta team out of Fort McNair in Washington, DC. Lefty had met the men a couple of times on other ops, and he knew they were good operatives and would do whatever they could to protect not only the Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs, but his assistant as well.
But that wasn’t good enough for Lefty. He wanted to watch over Kinley personally.
“What’s wrong?” Trigger asked.
Lefty mentally swore. He knew one of his friends would notice his odd behavior sooner or later.
“She’s here,” he told Trigger.
“Kinley?” his friend asked, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
Lefty nodded.
“She still working for that asshole?”
“As far as I know.”
“You talked to her yet?” Trigger asked.
Lefty shook his head.
“We’ll make sure you’ve got time to make that happen,” Trigger said.
“’Preciate that,” Lefty told him. And he did. They were here for a job. There wasn’t time for fun. No romantic dinners at a charming café and no visits to the Eiffel Tower. But everyone knew how upset he’d been when Kinley hadn’t responded to any of his emails or texts. His team would do what they could to make sure he got the closure he needed.
Lefty could remember his last conversation with Kinley as if it were yesterday.
“Thanks for being a stalker and following me into that mob of people.”
“You’re welcome. I hope this isn’t goodbye for good. I like you, Kinley. I’d like to keep in touch…if that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. I’d really like that. I don’t have a lot of friends. Living in DC is…tough. People are always using others to try to climb the political ladder.”
“And you don’t want to do that?”
“No way! If I had my choice, I’d be living on a farm in the middle of nowhere with only animals to keep me company. They’re honest. They don’t lie or try to hurt you.”
“Who’s hurt you?”
“Oh…I was just saying. But yes, I’d love to keep in touch.”
He’d thought about that exchange again and again for over a year, since he’d last seen her, and it bothered him more and more, especially after he’d never heard back from her. He’d tried to blow it off and tell himself she was just being polite when she said she’d keep in touch, but he didn’t think so. Something about the entire situation seemed off.
And now Lefty had another chance to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Kinley Taylor. He couldn’t wait. If she thought she could blow him off again, she was insane. No one had fascinated Lefty as much as she had. A part of him wanted to know what he’d done that had made her ghost him, but another part was worried.
They’d clicked. That never happened to Lefty. Ever. Something had scared Kinley away from talking to him, he was sure of it. He wanted to know what it was.
For the first time in his life, he was grateful for bodyguard duty.
I hope you’re ready to give me some answers, Lefty thought to himself, his eyes constantly roaming the hall for potential threats to the men and women inside the room behind him. Because I’m not willing to let you go so easily this time. I want to know everything about what’s behind the sorrow I saw in your eyes…and fix it.
*
Find out what Kinley’s hiding and if Lefty can break through her protective walls in Shielding Kinley!