To Kiss a King (Kings of California #11)(35)
Author: Maureen Child

“May I ask why you’ve decided to leave my employ?”

Touchy question, Garrett told himself. He could hardly confess to the king that he didn’t want to be taking money from the father of the woman he wanted in his bed. That might be enough for a beheading in Cadria, for all Garrett knew.

“Let’s just say, Alex and I have become friends. And I feel badly taking money from her father.”

There was a long silence, and then the king gave a tired sigh. Garrett sympathized. Couldn’t be easy being thousands of miles away from someone you worried about. “Fine then. I appreciate your help in this, Mr. King, and it won’t be forgotten.”

Long after the king hung up, Garrett sat in his darkened study and stared at nothing. No, he thought. None of this would be forgotten.

Ever.

The late-night knock on Alex’s door startled her.

She tossed the book she had been reading to the sofa cushion beside her. Jumping up from the couch, she tugged at the belt of her blue silk robe and crossed the room with hesitant steps. She wasn’t expecting anyone and the desk always called before they disturbed her. And just who would have been able to get onto the penthouse elevator besides… She looked through the peephole and saw Garrett staring back at her.

Her heart did a slow roll in her chest as her nerves drained away and an entirely different emotion charged to the surface. She leaned her forehead on the cool, painted surface of the door and took a breath. Would the man always have this effect on her? Would one look at him always be enough to turn her knees to water?

Shaking her head, she steadied herself, then fumbled with the locks and opened the door to him. “Garrett. I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, stepping past her to enter the suite. “Something’s come up.”

She frowned as he walked into the room, careful not to get close enough to brush against her. Alex noticed that his features were grim, his cheeks shadowed by beard stubble and his hair looked as if he’d been running his fingers through it for hours.

“Garrett? Is something wrong?”

He laughed shortly and turned to look at her. His eyes were dark and filled with charged emotions too deep to name. Shoving his hands into the back pockets of his worn jeans, he just looked at her for a long minute before saying, “Just came to tell you something. You win.”

“What?”

Shaking his head, he blew out a breath and said, “I talked to your father a while ago. Told him I quit.”

“You did?” All right, she should be pleased, and yet, the look on his face told her that more was coming and that she wasn’t going to like it.

“Told him I couldn’t take money from him for keeping you safe.”

She took a single step toward him. “Why, Garrett? Why would you do that?”

“You know why.” His gaze swept her up and down before settling on her eyes again. “But that doesn’t mean I’m backing off, Alex. I’m still going to be there. Every day. Making sure nothing happens to you.”

“Garrett.” She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

He caught her hand in his and held on. His shadow-filled eyes locked with hers and flashed with steely determination. “Damn straight, it’s not.”

Her hand trapped in his tight grip, she could only stare up at him. “Garrett, you’re even more crazed about protecting me than the palace guards. Why?”

“Because I won’t fail again.”

“Fail? Fail how?”

He released her, turned and walked to the couch and looked down at the book, spine up on the cushions. He snorted. “Romance novel?”

“There’s nothing wrong with a happy ending,” she said.

“Happy endings are fictional, Alex.”

“They don’t have to be.”

He turned back to face her. “You don’t get it.” A choked off laugh shot from his throat. “No reason why you should.”

Alex was standing not two feet from him and yet she felt distance stretching out between them. The pale light of her reading lamp was a golden circle in the darkness, reaching for Garrett and not quite making it. Absently she noted the soft roar of the ocean, like an extra heartbeat in the room.

“Then explain it to me, Garrett. Tell me what’s driving you.”

He reached up, scraped both palms across his face and then shoved them through his hair. When he’d finished, he looked at her and his eyes were bleak, sending a thread of worry sliding through Alex’s body.

When he spoke, his voice was rough and low, as if he regretted saying the words even before they were out of his mouth. “About ten years ago, I was hired to be a bodyguard for the daughter of a very wealthy man.”

Alex held her breath and stayed perfectly still. Finally, she was going to get to the heart of the problem and she didn’t want to risk interrupting him. Yet at the same time, she couldn’t fight the notion that once he said what he had to, nothing would be the same. For either of them.

“Her name was Kara.” A smile briefly twisted his mouth and was gone again in a blink. “She was beautiful and stubborn and smart. A lot like you, really.”

A trickle of cold began to snake down her spine and still, she remained quiet.

“I got…distracted,” he said and once again shoved a hand through his hair as if somehow he could wipe away the memories swarming in his mind. “I fell in love with her—”

Pain was swift and sharp. Jealousy dug its talons into her heart and twisted. And just as quickly, it all faded away. He had loved, but it was ten years ago and obviously it hadn’t ended well. She forced herself to ask, “What happened?”

“I quit my job,” he said, and swept the room with his troubled gaze before looking back at her. “Knew I couldn’t protect Kara with my focus splintered. Told her father I wouldn’t be responsible for her life anymore and I left. Two days later, Kara ditched her new guard and ran away. The letter she left behind said she was running to me. She never got there. She was kidnapped and killed.”

“God, Garrett…”

“I won’t let that happen to you.”

Sympathy briefly warred with frustration inside her. Frustration won. “What makes you think it would? One tragedy doesn’t always signal another.”

“I know. But even getting past that, it’s not just Kara. It’s you and me. We’re too different, Alex. Our worlds are light years apart.” He shook his head and she felt the finality of that one single action. His features were tight, implacable. His voice a promise as he added, “I’m not looking to fall in love, Alex. What would be the point?”