“We’ll look into that angle also,” Jones responded.
“I advise you to beef up security around here until we figure out who is making these threats against you, Mr. Heston,” Dade added.
“I’ve got it covered,” Mark said firmly to them. “Let me know right away if you hear anything.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Dade said right before they left my house.
I found myself alone with a very angry man. He advanced forward until he had my back pressed against a wall and our chests touched. I could feel the heat from his body through the layers of our clothes. I wanted to turn back the clock and feel a different kind of heat against me, but I didn’t have access to a time machine.
“Explain. Now.” Mark’s nostrils flared and his words were rough when they left his mouth. “How could you hire me to be your bodyguard and then completely ignore a threat made against you?”
“I…”
“Did you hire me out of pity, Mitch? Did you think I couldn’t really do my job?” He took a step back and ran a hand angrily through his hair. “I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me something so important or why you don’t value your safety!” He turned his back toward me and took a few steps away.
I felt like I could breathe a little easier with a little space between us. “I…”
“Say something,” he snarled, as he pivoted back to face me. He advanced on me again, but this time he didn’t just stop when our bodies were pressed together. He fisted his hands in my shirt collar and jerked my body forward, as if he was trying to shake some sense into me.
“I’ve been trying to talk to you, but you keep interrupting me,” I replied. I removed myself from his grip and took a side step so I could focus on talking and not the way he made my body feel. I blew out a long, frustrated breath to buy myself some time, knowing that Mark was going to be furious when I told him my reason for keeping the text quiet. “I knew you’d stay if you found out about the threat.”
Mark’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You don’t want me here, Mitch?”
“Oh, I want you, Mark. I want you more than reason tells me I should, but I don’t want you here because you feel obligated. I want you here because you want to be. I don’t want to be your ‘problem’ any more. I want to be your solution.”
“What do you mean that you’re my ‘problem’?” Confusion and anger snapped and sizzled in his eyes.
“I came into your office last week to let you know I was ready to go instead of texting you. I should’ve knocked, but I didn’t,” I said with a grimace. “I overheard you talking to someone named Vic about the job offer. You told him that you hadn’t made up your mind, but it might be a solution to the problem you were in. I knew that I was the ‘problem’ you were talking about.” I blew out a frustrated breath as I tore my eyes away from his briefly. I didn’t want to see pity or guilt staring back at me.
“You weren’t the problem, Mitch; I was.” He leveled me with a heated look that made my heart skip a beat. “I worried about my inability to set aside my personal feelings to do my job. I worry about that even more now. We didn’t just cross the line last night, we erased it. My mind needs to be on keeping you safe when we’re out and not how badly I want to be inside you.”
“Oh.” My face flushed with the heat from his words. As much as I wanted to deny his words, I knew they were true. How many times had my brain wandered off to thoughts of him during a business meeting? How many vital comments, reactions, or even facial expressions did I miss from board members during presentations because I wanted to know when I’d feel his lips against mine again, or better yet, his naked skin. So, I understood where he was coming from. “What are we going to do about it?” I worried my bottom lip between my teeth while I waited for his response.
“We can’t put Pandora back in her box,” Mark said with a sly smile, “and I can’t pretend it didn’t happen. So, I’m going to call in some reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements? You mean like Ricardo, Doug, and Alex?” I asked, rattling off the names of the other men who worked various security details for me.
“No, I mean like Vic, Hammer, and Iron.” He squared his shoulders and stood taller, as if he expected me to put up a fight over what he was about to propose. “They’re the guys who want to hire me to work for them. This is the kind of work they do and they do it better than anyone. Look,” he let out a long breath, as if choosing his words then continued, “I think those cops have good intentions. I think they’re taking the threat seriously, but I think there will be times that their resources are limited and their hands will be tied. I will not have to worry about that with Vic, Hammer, and Iron. I’m asking you to hire them so that I can put all of my attention on you and know that my guys have our backs.”
I realized in that moment just how deep my feelings ran for Mark. It was about so much more than the way he brought my body alive physically. His words almost seemed like a confession to feeling the same. Neither of us were ready for some deep, soul-bearing conversation right then so I said the words I thought might mean the most to him. “I trust you.”
The expression on his face told me I was correct. “I’ll make the call on the way to the office,” Mark said, his voice firm and full of command.
I raised my eyebrow in surprise because I was certain that Mark would want to keep me sequestered in my home while changes could be made to beef up my security.
“I won’t allow you to live in fear, Mitch. It’s business as usual today and every day. Tonight, things will be entirely different. You’ll no longer be relying on your current alarm company. I don’t trust them at all. They’re either lying, were hacked, or involved in the threat. From here on out, I’ll only be using my guys.”
I’d never had the chance to really see Mark in command mode, but I could easily see why he’d earned the name “Deacon.” His word would be the gospel while I was being threatened. I tried telling myself to stop thinking about those firm lips on mine, but all I wanted in that moment was a little bit of comfort and assurance that all would be okay.
Mark must’ve sensed my needs because he pulled me tight against him and lowered his head until his mouth hovered over my lips. “No one will hurt you.” He followed up his promise with a kiss that was just as certain as his words.
