Free Necessary Risk (Bodyguard) by Tara Wyatt

muscles flexing beneath tanned skin as he moved the towel from his hair down his torso and over his legs.
    Oh, God. She’d never wanted to be a towel so badly in all her life.
    Watching him, she felt a warm tightening between her thighs, accompanied by a tingling pulse low in her belly. Sean was still toweling off when she stepped out onto the patio stones, the freshly brewed cup of coffee clutched in her hands.
    “Morning,” she said, trying not to stare. “I thought you might like some coffee.”
    He smiled at her and took the offered mug. “Thanks. You sleep OK last night?” A droplet of water fell from his hair and onto his shoulder, sliding down over one of his gorgeously defined pecs and into the dusting of dark hair that arrowed a path down his abs and into his swim trunks.
    She had the sudden urge to trace the trail left by the drop of water with her tongue.
    “Sierra? You OK?”
    Her cheeks hot, her eyes flew up to meet his. An amused smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he waited for her answer.
    “Oh yeah. I’m good,” she stammered, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Did you, um…did you sleep OK?”
    “Just fine.” He took a sip of his coffee, still studying her. The strap of her tank top slipped off her shoulder, and his eyes tracked the movement, lingering on her bare skin. An electric current ran up her spine, and her lips parted slightly, the air suddenly too thick to carry enough oxygen.
    He reached out and gently slipped the errant strap back into place, the pads of his fingers grazing her neck and collarbone. She wanted to arch into that touch, needed more of it, but he pulled his hand back and took another sip of his coffee.
    “My agent wants to have lunch with me today. Can we do that?” she asked in a rush, her skin still tingling from the contact.
    He tipped his head and then nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Anything else you need to do today? Appointments or anything?” he asked.
    “Not an appointment, but it’s my friend Chloe’s birthday tonight. I’m supposed to meet up with her and a couple others for drinks at the Chateau Marmont.”
    Sean frowned, his lips pressed together tightly. He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced slightly as he shook his head. “No. It’s not a good idea.”
    She felt her shoulders drop slightly. “But you’ll be with me. It’ll be fine.”
    “It’s a public place at night, and I wouldn’t even know who or what to be on the lookout for. For your own safety, it’s best if you stay home, where I can control the situation. There are too many moving pieces, too many unknowns for me to think it’s safe for you to go to a bar right now, regardless of whether or not I’m with you.”
    “Oh.” Disappointment pulled at her, and she sighed heavily, but then frowned as she looked up at him. “So what makes this different from the lunch meeting with my agent?”
    “The time of day, the location, the activity. There’s a difference between a business meeting in the middle of the day between two people, and drinking in a crowded bar at night with a group.”
    “The attack at the convention center happened in the middle of the day.”
    He tipped his head, agreeing. “True, but the point of the attack wasn’t to hurt you. It was to humiliate you in a public place. We don’t know what they have planned next, or who they even are. Better to play it safe and minimize the risks. Invite your friends here. Then we’re both happy.” Another drop of water fell from his hair and onto his chest, landing with a tiny splash beside his right nipple. Her blood hummed in her veins in response.
    She sighed again. “I’ll see if I can convince them to change their plans for me, I guess. I feel bad asking them to, though.” A surge of anger pushed up through her chest, not because of Sean and his security protocols, but because of the situation that necessitated them. Not only was Sacrosanct trying to intimidate and humiliate her into shutting up,