Breaking Her Rules(6)

Iris tensed at his words. Hearing Wyatt’s name from her boss completely threw her off balance. If Wyatt wanted to hire Red Stone that meant he needed extra security. She hated the thought of him in danger.

Without giving her a chance to respond, Harrison barreled on. “I don’t like the idea of you guarding him, especially since I found out you two are f*cking married. It goes against protocol, but…my father owes him a favor and he’s apparently collecting. You still have the option of declining this job though. You want it, it’s yours. If not, it’s going to Betina.”

If Iris had claws, they’d have sprouted at the woman’s name. Tall, blonde, beautiful and bitchy as anything—hell, no. Iris inwardly groaned at her stupid possessiveness. Betina was more than qualified, but Iris sure as hell didn’t want the woman guarding Wyatt and posing as his damn date. Not when he was married to her.

Married. Gah, she’d been avoiding even thinking the ‘M’ word. “I’ll take it.” She didn’t have to think long because she could tell by Harrison’s tone he was close to changing his mind anyway. “Being professional won’t be a problem.” Not for her, anyway. And she’d make it clear to Wyatt where things stood between them while they worked together.

“I’m not worried about that with you. Seriously though…I send you on vacation, you get married and don’t tell anyone?”

Iris cleared her throat, unsure what to say. The question sounded rhetorical anyway. While her first instinct was to say they’d be getting an annulment or divorce soon, she couldn’t force the words past her lips. She wasn’t sure why, but saying them out loud to someone else just felt wrong. “Yeah, well…I’ll read that file as soon as you send it. When am I meeting the team and setting up?”

“Tonight if that’s okay with you. The team’s already there but I want you taking point. There was a potential threat at his house and—”

Panic punched through her at the thought of anything happening to Wyatt. It completely shredded her. She might not want to be his wife, but she still cared about him. Deeply. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, no one was injured and the suspect escaped. It’s all in the file. Call me if you have any questions. If not, let me know when you arrive. I want to be kept up to date more frequently with this job.”

“No problem.” As soon as they disconnected she located her laptop and fired it up. Before she called Wyatt she wanted to know what she was walking into. The man might drive her insane, but if anyone could keep him safe, it was her. There was no way she was letting anyone harm him.



* * * * *



Iris dropped her green military duffle bag she’d had since her years in the Corps on the tiled foyer of her home. She still held onto the garment bag which contained two formal dresses as she punched in her security code. After it beeped once she opened the front door and hurried outside. She’d have only ten seconds before it armed and the piercing sound it would make if she didn’t get outside fast enough was beyond annoying.

As she hefted her bag on her shoulder, she paused at the sight of a dark SUV with tinted windows pulling into her driveway. It wasn’t one of Red Stone’s vehicles. Different model and newer year than they typically used. And she’d told Harrison that she’d drive herself to Wyatt’s new home. She still couldn’t believe he’d actually bought a home in Miami—something she planned to ask him about as soon as she saw him.

Which might be sooner than later if this was him.

She wasn’t expecting a ride though so she casually withdrew one of her weapons from behind her back. Some people might consider her paranoid—and she was sometimes—but better that than dead. She might not be in the Marines anymore, but some things went bone deep and in her opinion, there were two kinds of people: those who were prepared and those who weren’t. Those who weren’t ended up dead or victims, something she refused to do. Keeping her trusty SIG out of sight, she took a couple steps down the stone walkway, but relaxed when Jay Wentworth got out of the driver’s seat.

Jay was Wyatt’s long-time bodyguard and Iris genuinely liked him. The man was huge, standing at six feet five and even though he was currently wearing a dark, custom-made suit, she knew he was tatted up and down his arms and across his chest. He’d been a SEAL until an op gone bad had taken four of his friends’ lives. His decision to transition to civilian life had been quick and final after that. Lucky for Wyatt, too, because the man was loyal.

Jay nodded at her, a slight tilt of his head. His hard lips curved up into his version of a smile. “Hey.”

Even though she was annoyed he’d showed up without calling she knew this was Wyatt’s doing, not his. “I don’t remember asking for an escort.”

He ignored her statement. “You have more bags?” he asked as he started to round the vehicle.

She tucked her weapon away and shook her head. “No, and I can get these.”

He ignored her and quickly strode up the walk. She met him halfway and let him take the bags, only because she knew he was following Wyatt’s orders. Plus, Jay was a Southern boy, born and raised. She’d already had this argument with him about carrying her stuff more than once in the past and she knew when to pick her battles. She wanted to start things off on the right foot, especially since she was going to be in charge of overall security for the next week.

Trailing after Jay, her heart rate kicked up a notch when the back door on the passenger side of the vehicle started to open up. Iris glanced around her quiet neighborhood, instantly looking for any threat. After reading the detailed file on Wyatt—and learning that Jay had found poison in Wyatt’s ridiculously expensive coffee—she wasn’t taking any chances.

And Wyatt shouldn’t be either. Hell, the man shouldn’t even be here. Coming out into the open like this was unnecessary until she’d done a complete overview of potential threats. Hurrying across her lawn, she nearly tackled him as the door opened completely. His blue eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she jumped in the vehicle and shoved him over. She slammed the door behind her and fought the urge to snap at him. She might be worried about his safety, but he clearly just wanted to see her.

Before she could say anything, he fisted her hip in a tight grip and tugged her so that she was straddling him. She knew she should protest but her traitorous body moved over him as if it was the most natural thing in the world—as if that was where her body belonged. After that dream she’d just had she wanted to feel him pumping deep inside her. But this was no dream. “What are you—”

His lips were on hers, his kiss demanding, probing and powerful. Her entire body flared to life in that instant, need slamming into her with an unexpected surge of intensity. She put her hands on his shoulders, ready to push away but he beat her to it. His head pulled back a second later, his breathing just as ragged as hers.

“I’ve missed you,” he rasped out, his eyes darkening with hunger and need.

I’ve missed you too, she almost said, but was saved by the driver’s side door opening. They’d only spend a freaking week together in Vegas. Sure, it had been the best time of her life, but she missed him too much and admitting that made her feel unbalanced. Letting him know would give him too much control. She refused to do that.

She needed to set up ground rules during this job so she could remain professional. Too bad it was difficult when she was actually close to Wyatt. Just being around him and her senses went haywire.

Iris quickly slid off Wyatt and sat back on the plush, leather seat as Jay put the SUV in reverse and studiously ignored them. She’d missed Wyatt something fierce this past month but she didn’t want to discuss anything personal in front of someone else. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’ve reviewed the file on your new home and the security concerns you have. They’re valid and I’d like to go over exactly who you’re meeting with over the next week and who you think is the most likely individual to target you. Poisoning something that you alone were likely to ingest was an interesting choice and tells me a little about the person who targeted you. They don’t want collateral damage, but that could always change if they get desperate. I’m not sure what timeline whoever wants you dead, is working with—or if they even have one. We’ll need to figure that out and soon.”

Wyatt’s eyes strayed to her mouth, his expression heating up and she nudged his shoulder with hers. “Can you focus?” she whispered. “Your security is important to me. Who’s the first name that pops into your head as a threat?”

“Mark Keibler,” Jay muttered from the front seat.

The name was familiar to Iris. She frowned, running through all the information she’d read in Wyatt’s file. Keibler’s name had been linked to one of Wyatt’s competitors, but he hadn’t had a red flag next to him. “What’s his deal?”

“We worked together in Iraq,” Wyatt said.