Bedding The Bodyguard by Virna Depaul Page A

wasn’t mad,” he said with a grin. “I was…riled. And that’s not always a bad thing.”
    She burst out laughing. “No, I suppose not. But the second thing I wanted to say was I’m sorry if I came off bossy when I walked in here.”
    “You were pretty bossy,” Luke said, leaning back in his chair. His eyes gleamed with continued good humor, but they also blazed with something more. Something that made his lids heavy again.
    A feeling of boldness suddenly swept through her. She looked down, then glanced up at him through her lashes. “From the way you cornered me against the counter, I’d say you know a thing or two about being bossy too.”
     
    * * *
     
    Luke cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his seat, uncomfortably aware that he was aroused again and had been since they’d sat down to eat. She’d eaten slowly, like a cat, occasionally licking a stray crumb from the corner of her mouth with a vivid satisfaction that made his lower body ache and stiffen despite the orgasm he had had in the shower.
    Moreover, every time the little pink triangle of her tongue streaked across her mouth he recalled the fantasy he’d jerked off to and his dick stiffened even more. He was seriously getting worried about the state of his jeans. They were old and worn, and he wasn’t sure they could handle the strain of his erection pressing against the denim.
    “From what I remember, you seemed to like how bossy I was. Or am I wrong?”
    “No. You aren’t wrong.”
    Luke’s brows rose. He was surprised she’d admit it so readily. He was even more surprised when she continued.
    “I liked it a lot. Mostly I liked that you weren’t treating me as anything but a normal woman. A normal woman you wanted.”
    “Why wouldn’t I treat you that way?” It was a bold move on his part. He was drawing her out now, and if she didn’t take the bait, he’d have to keep pretending not to know who she was. He really didn’t want to.
    She pushed her bowl aside. “Because I’m not. I’m actually…a bit of a celebrity.” She looked at him expectantly.
    Careful, Luke warned himself. “Are you a singer? Dancer?”
    “I’m actually an actress. My full name is Katherine Bailey.”
    “Oh. I don’t watch a lot of television.” It wasn’t a lie exactly.
    She laughed. “That’s awesome. But I don’t do a lot of television anymore. I do movies, mostly.”
    “So…you’re famous then?”
    She nodded. “Yes.”
    “Do you like it?”
    “It’s good for my career, of course.”
    “But do you like it?”
    “Right now, I hate it. Recently, I was caught up in a pretty public scandal.”
    “What kind of scandal?”
    She scowled. “Nothing new. I was involved with a man. He cheated on me. I broke up with him. Then he leaked photos of me sunbathing topless during a vacation last summer.”
    “Wow. That sucks, Kat.”
    Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest, and once again, Luke wanted to kill her ex for exposing such intimate photos of her to the public.
    “Damn right it sucks. Not only because my private life—among other things—is being put out there for everyone to see and the people doing it aren’t respecting my privacy but because…”
    Luke waited but she remained silent.
    “Because what?”
    She swallowed hard. Bit her lip. Looked as if she wasn’t sure she should confide in him. “I’ve been threatened,” she said quietly. “By someone who thinks I did my cheating ex wrong.”
    “Shit. That’s horrible. I’m sorry, Kat. And I’m sorry for not knowing how to express just how horrible it is. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been to deal with.”
    She nodded, then caught her breath when he turned his chair so he could take her hands in his.
    She stared down at their joined hands before licking her lips and continuing. “I was hoping things would blow over, but the threats just kept coming, so my manager hired a bodyguard for me.”
    “So where is he? Or is it just that I can’t see