To Kiss a King (Kings of California #11)(33)
Author: Maureen Child

It was a security expert’s nightmare.

Garrett knew damn well it was only a matter of time before her identity was revealed. Someone, somewhere, was going to recognize her and then he’d be hip-deep in paparazzi, reporters and general nutcases, all trying to get close to the visiting princess.

But short of locking her into her penthouse, he didn’t have a clue how to keep her from being noticed. A woman like Alex got people’s attention. She was tall, gorgeous and had a perpetual smile on her face that seemed to welcome conversations with strangers. He hovered as closely as he could and still it wasn’t enough.

His mind filled with ugly possibilities. He’d seen enough damage done over the years to be prepared for the absolute worst—his brain dredging up any number of horrific scenarios. And it killed him to think of anything happening to Alex.

Which was only natural, he assured himself. After all, she was in his care. Of course he’d be worried about her—that was his job. And that was all it was.

Garrett’s trained gaze swept the room as he deliberately tried to become invisible, as any good bodyguard would. But, being the only man in a homeless shelter that catered to women and kids made Garrett’s job harder. He stood out like Death at the Party. He caught the glances tossed his way and was sorry to know he was making some of the women here really uncomfortable. But damned if he was going to let Alex out of his sight.

The woman continued to press her luck and push him closer and closer to the ragged edge of control. Today, she had insisted on visiting a women’s shelter to compare their setup with the program she knew at home.

Jane, the woman in charge, hadn’t had a problem with his presence—but she had asked him to stay out of the way and that he was willing to do. Better all the way around for a protection detail to blend into the background as much as possible. It gave him eyes and ears to the place without attracting attention himself.

Watching Alex move around the room with the director, Garrett felt his admiration for her grow. She wasn’t here as a princess. She had introduced herself as a fellow volunteer, visiting from Europe. And in a few short minutes, she and Jane had been chatting like old friends.

While Alex looked at the facility and met a few of the residents, Garrett watched her. She fit in any damn where, he thought and wondered at how easily Alex dismissed what she was in favor of who she was. She was so much more than some dilettante royal. She was eager and involved and she cared for people and what she might do to help. It had nothing to do with her crown. This was her soul he was watching, and damned if he could look away.

“You a cop?”

Garrett jolted out of his daydreams, gave himself a mental kick for being caught unaware and then looked down at the little boy staring up at him with wide brown eyes. “No, I’m not a cop.”

“Look like one,” the boy said, giving Garrett a gap-toothed smile. “You’re all straight and stiff like one.”

Great. He was doing such a good job being invisible that a five-year-old had made him. Alex really was throwing him off his game.

One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “You stand up straight, you get taller.”

Those brown eyes went as big as saucers. “Tall as you?”

“Taller,” Garrett assured him and instantly, the kid squared his shoulders, straightened his spine and lifted his chin. All forty pounds of him.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

That question came unexpectedly, though why it had, he didn’t know. He’d spent enough time around his cousin’s kids to know that they said pretty much whatever popped into their heads. “No,” he said, shifting his gaze back to Alex. “She’s a friend.”

“She’s nice,” the boy said. “Pretty, too, and she smells good.”

“Yeah,” Garrett said, still watching Alex. “You’re right.”

“You should make her your girlfriend.”

Intrigued, he shot the kid a look and asked, “Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because she smiles when she looks at you and that’s nice. Besides, she’s pretty.”

“Timmy!” A woman shouted from across the room and the little boy trotted off, leaving Garrett staring after him.

Out of the mouths of babes, he mused. He looked up, caught Alex’s eye and she flashed him one of those smiles that seemed designed to knock him off balance. In a flash, he remembered her under him, over him. The feel of her skin, the taste of her mouth, the scent of her, surrounding him.

As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, her smile slipped into something more private. More…intimate. And Garrett was once again hit with the knowledge that he’d fallen into a hole that just kept getting deeper.

Alex very much enjoyed watching Garrett go quietly insane at the beach. It was a lovely day to sit on the sand and enjoy the last of summer. There were only a handful of people there, including a few children busily building sand walls in an attempt to hold back the inexorable rush of the tide. Sandpipers and seagulls strutted along the shoreline and surfers sat atop their boards waiting for the perfect ride.

Everyone was having a good time, she thought. Everyone, that is, but Garrett King.

Honestly, it was simply too easy to push the man’s buttons. And Alex had discovered just how much fun it could be. The man was determined to keep her at a distance. He hadn’t touched her since that one night they’d spent together. Her heart hurt and her body ached for his and so, she had decided to make him as uncomfortable as possible with his decision to leave her alone.

If she was going to be miserable, then she would do everything she could to make sure he was, too. She challenged him, worried him and in general made his time with her as difficult as possible. She flirted with him outrageously and watched him fight his own desires to keep his professionalism at the fore.

With his serious “bodyguard” expression, he kept most people at bay. But those who weren’t the least bit intimidated slipped past him, much to Alex’s delight. Because then she flirted with other men, just to watch Garrett’s instant, infuriated response.

Take for example the surfer who was right now giving her a wink and a smile before heading for the water. If she weren’t in love with a perfectly infuriating man, she would very well be tempted to take the other man up on his not-so-subtle offer.

“He’s short,” Garrett muttered from behind her.

She smiled to herself, nodded at the surfer and said, “He’s at least six feet tall.”