DEAR BROODING BODYGUARD: A Curvy Girl Romance (SINCERELY YOURS Book 5) Read online

  "Well, maybe you should figure it out."

  “You say it like it’s the simplest thing.”

  “No.” I chuckle humorously. “There is nothing simple about finding out what makes you happy. But when you do find something that makes you happy, it’s all the more meaningful because of the work you put into it.”

  Movement in the corner of my eye makes the hairs in the back of my neck stand up. I turn and see a familiar limp moving through the crowd. I can’t see the man’s face, but he’s dressed in a white dress shirt and black pants.

  “Being here with you makes me happy,” Margot says.

  The man with a limp dressed as one of the serving staff turns and locks eyes with me. There’s half a second that makes me wonder if I’m jumping to conclusions. But the flicker of fear in his eyes confirms my suspicions. The man drops the tray he’s holding and runs for the door that leads to the kitchen.

  I want to chase after him, but my job is to secure the safety of Margot. I pull out my phone and call Vanessa. She's outside working the perimeter, and give her the description of the man with a limp. She confirms, and we hang up.

  “We have to go,” I say quietly to Margot.

  I lead her out of the ballroom and across the hotel lobby towards the front doors and into the SUV that pulls to a stop in front of us.

  “What happened back there?” Margot asks.

  “I think we got our guy.”

  “But my father’s still back there. He’s the one they are after. We have to go back.”

  “No,” I hold up my hand to stop her. “Your father wasn’t the target.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your father was concerned about how you’d react, so he instructed us to be vague about the threats that were directed towards you.”

  “Me?” She recoils. “What threats?”

  “I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”

  “The hell you shouldn’t. This is my life,” she snaps. “What threats?”

  I run my palm over the back of my neck. “The security team for your father’s company intercepted some threatening emails sent to you.”

  “I never saw anything.”

  "I know, like I said, your father wanted to spare you until it was deemed a creditable threat.”

  “Creditable threat?”

  “The pictures of you that were attached showed that whoever was sending you the emails knew where you lived. They were taken outside your apartment building.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Margot says, grabbing her stomach.

  I scoot over on the backseat bench and pull her into my arms. "I'd won't let anything happen to you."

  Her arms wrap around me, and her grip is tight. "I know you won't."

  My phone rings in my pocket, and I pull back to answer it. "Vanessa? Tell me some good news."

  “We got him.”

  I know Margot hears this because I feel her relax in my arms. But I don't let her go. If anything, it's at this moment that I finally feel like I can let out everything I've felt for her that I kept tucked away waiting for this moment.

  “Thanks, V. I call you later for updates,” I say and hang up the phone.

  Margot looks up at me, the wall she's tried to hide behind earlier crumbles, and I see all the emotion I feel for her reflecting in her eyes.

  “Where are we going?” she asks.

  “I’m taking you home."

  “Stay with me?”

  I nod and cup her face in my hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  The SUV drops us off in front of her apartment building, and I take Margot by the hand and lead her inside.

  I wondered if once the threat to Margot was over if things would feel differently between us—and it does in the best way possible. The invisible barrier that separated us when I was the bodyguard, and she was the protectee, is gone, and now we are just Connor and Margot.

  We get to her door, and she steps inside, our hands still linked, nearly pull apart as I stand in the doorway. I want to be sure that this is what she wants. I need to know that what she wrote in that letter wasn't some drunk rambling that she doesn't still feel right now.

  “What is it?” she asks, looking back.

  “You said the letter wasn’t for me.”

  She looks down at our hands. "I lied. I was embarrassed you found it and read it. Sometimes you are so hard to read that I wasn't sure if you felt even a fraction of what I feel."

  “I do,” I answer quickly, needing her to know that even though I’m a man of few words, the ones I do use have weight behind them. “I always have, but I couldn’t let my feelings cloud the focus I needed to have to protect you.”

  “Come on.” She tugs on my hand. “You don’t have to worry about that now. It’s just you and me.”

  I follow her into the apartment. The wind blows through the sheer curtain by the balcony door, making it flutter. I start to turn towards it, but Margot tugs me by the lapels of my tuxedo jacket. Her lips meet mine, and I'm lost in the sweet taste of her. I've dreamt of this mouth since I met her, and finally, I get to see what it can do.

  I break the kiss for only a moment and lean down to lift Margot into my arms. I walk us back towards her bedroom and set her down by the bed. I pull off my jackets and tug at the bow tie around my neck, eager to be free of any barriers between us finally.

  Margot reaches under her arm and pulls at the zipper of her dress. The sequined fabric falls to the floor in a puddle at her feet. I feel like all the blood leaves my brain when I see that Margot isn't wearing anything but a lace thong underneath. Her bare full breasts are rising and falling with each breath she takes.

  "You are so beautiful," I breathe out, and I undress in record-breaking time.

  Margot pulls back the covers of the bed and hurries back to watch me. The devilish smile on her face as she takes in the sight of my naked form tells me that all the time I spend in the gym is worth it seeing the look on her face.

  I pull at the waist of my boxer briefs, and my hard cock springs to attention, eager to sink deep inside Margot.

  I kneel on the bed and run my hands up her bare legs, savoring the sensory pleasure of her creamy soft skin. My fingertips flutter over the damp lace cover her pussy, and she lets out a moan that nearly makes me come. I grip the sides of her thong and pull them down her legs. Her knees drop open, and I can barely hold back from burying myself in her.

  Slowly I kiss up her legs, stopping briefly to pay special attention to the inner parts of her thighs and the soft wet folds of her pussy. I let my tongue dance over her clit, and loving the way she squirms from the attention. She grips my hair, pulling me closer to her. I hold on tight to her hips until I bring her to the edge, and she falls over into bliss.

  I wouldn’t let myself think this before, but I’m in love with Margot. I want to spend the rest of my life giving her this pleasure and listening to the sounds she makes when I do.

  7

  MARGOT

  No man has ever made me feel this good. I can barely catch my breath from the mind-blowing climax he's just given me when Connor crawls up my body and starts kissing his way from my breasts to my neck to ticklish spot by my ear.

  “I nearly came listening to you,” he whispers.

  "I don't think we should wait to give you your own release," I say back.

  He kisses me, his tongue urging my mouth to open and allowing him to deepen the kiss. It's pure bliss when his cock pushes inside, filling me as I've never felt before. I try to relax, allowing my body to adjust to the thick size. Connor waits, with what I'm sure is a Herculean effort, until I'm ready for him to push in even further. I reach around him and grab his bare ass and pull him towards me.

  Without further prompting, Connor begins the slow and steady rhythm of pushing in and out of me. He allows me to set the tempo, following my screams for him to move, “Faster!”

  I reach the peak again, and I try to hold off from losing myself until Connor is with me.
I want our first time together to be as one. For as long as we've known each other, it's felt like there was a divide between us. I don't want to ever let anything separate us again.

  I feel Connor's body tense against mine, and we fall together. My grip on him and the weight of his body pressed against mine feels like the only thing keeping me from floating away.

  Connor and I lay in bed, tangled up with one another afterward. We stay that way until Connor's team calls to update him about what is happening with the guy they have in custody.

  "I'm sorry, but I have to run down to the police station to identify the man they have in custody. They said that he's starting to talk and wants to speak to me," he says as he quickly gets dressed in a tuxedo. "What?"

  I chuckle. “Nothing, it’s just you are still so sexy even with your rumpled suit and sex hair.”

  Connor laughs and runs his fingers through his hair. He leans down and gives me a quick kiss. “I will be right back.”

  “Okay,” I say as I reach down to the bench at the end of my bed for my robe. I slip it on and walk him to the door.

  “Lock this door behind me,” he says and heads out.

  I do as I’m told and click the deadbolt behind him.

  “I thought he’d never leave,” a deep voice says behind me.

  I startle and spin around. A man is standing on the balcony. The door pushed wide open. The shadow of night covers part of his face until he takes a step forward, a dark smile spreading across his face.

  “You don’t remember me, do you?” he asks.

  I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t find any words. All I can do to answer his question is shake my head back and forth.

  “I shouldn’t be surprised that some pampered little princess doesn’t remember me.” He takes another step forward towards me. “You live your perfect life with your money and your connections. You’ve never known what it’s like to put in an honest day of work, have you?”

  I still can't find the words to speak, but I step backward towards the door.

  "You don't remember how you and your fiancé," he pauses, and his smile grows wider. "I guess I should say your ex-fiancé got me fired."

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

  “Of course, to someone like you, you wouldn’t remember ruining a man’s future. The golf cart accident wasn’t my fault. You could have stopped him from complaining to my manager and getting me fired.”

  The memory of that day comes flooding back into my mind. Greg and I had spent the morning fighting about wedding preparations before we were supposed to meet some friends at the club. I wasn’t speaking to him by the time we arrived.

  After the whole situation, I remember talking to the manager to try and explain that it was Greg and not the maintenance worker’s fault that caused the accident. He’d assured me that the situation would be taken care of accordingly. I thought that it meant that he wouldn’t be punished for Greg’s behavior. I had no idea that they still fired him.

  I try and explain as much, but he doesn’t believe me.

  “You’re lying!” he yells.

  I recoil at the anger in his voice. “I swear, I had no idea that happened to you.”

  “I didn’t just lose my job that day. My wife left me after that because I couldn't keep a job. She took our children with her. I lost everything, and it's all because of you!"

  I see a flash of rage in his eyes, and I turn and try to reach for the door, but he's faster than me. I feel the sharp pain in my head before I realize his hand has grabbed hold of my hair, and I'm yanked back. My vision blurs as I'm thrown across the room. My head cracks on the corner of the wall, and vision begins to wobble and grow dark just as his hands reach down for me. I try to push him away, but his hands wrap around my neck. His tight grip cuts off any air I can take in.

  A loud crack, like wood splintering, pierces my consciousness. Just as suddenly as he was on me, the man is yanked off, and I can suddenly breathe again. I cough hard, my throat and lungs burn with each intake of breath. There's a loud scuffle just out of my view—the sound of glass shattering mixed with the man’s screams of pain.

  "Margot!" The sound of Connor's voice is music to my ears. His strong arms encircle me, and suddenly I feel safe like nothing, and no one will ever hurt me again. “Margot, are you okay?”

  “You came back,” I sob into his shoulder.

  "I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He pulls me closer to him. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

  I pull back, wanting to look him in the eyes. “None of this is your fault.”

  “It’s my job to protect you and I—”

  I cut him off with a kiss. For the briefest moment, his lips don't react to mine, but all at once, its flip is switched, and he's kissing me like there is no tomorrow. We break apart, only for air, and I rest my forehead against his.

  “You saved me. How did you know?”

  “Something kept nagging in my mind that something wasn't right. Then I got a call from Vanessa telling me that the guy they had in custody was the nephew of the real person threatening you. He was just supposed to be a decoy. Then I remembered seeing the balcony door was open, but I know it was closed when we left tonight. I got back here as soon as I could."

  The sound of other people coming in surrounds us, but I can only focus on Connor.

  “I was so scared.”

  “I know.” He pulls me closer. “But we have him now. You are safe. I love you.”

  I look up at him, needing to let him know how I feel. “I love you too.”

  “Good.” He chuckles quietly. “Because I wasn’t sure how you were going to handle me sticking around if you didn’t.”

  Connor helps me to my feet, and he cups my face in his hands. "I need you to know that I will always love you, and I will always keep you safe."

  Epilogue

  CONNOR

  It's been almost a year since the break-in, and Margot is finally starting to show signs that she is moving past the attack. It kills me that my mistake, my lack of focus, caused her to experience it, but every day, she says that it wasn't my fault. It's the fault of a man that was pushed to the brink after losing everything—at least that's what Margot keeps saying. I don't know how she's been able to find the strength to forgive the man. I just hope that one day I can too.

  "I'm heading out to my class," Margot says, poking her head into my office in our apartment. "Love you."

  She's dressed in her workout gear, so it must be Tuesday. She's teaching her self-defense classes today. Margot's skills have improved considerably since I started showing her moves on how to protect herself from anyone, even someone bigger than her. She's taken me down a few times, and I couldn't be prouder.

  “Could you hang on just a moment?” I ask, pushing away from my desk.

  I run my damp hands down the front of my jeans, knowing that it's now or never to get the courage to ask her what I need to ask.

  “Sure.” She sets down her bag. “Is something wrong?”

  "No," I assure her, not wanting to worry her. "I just can't seem to find the right time or place to talk to you about this, and I know that if I don't do it now, I might chicken out for another month."

  She tilts her head in curiosity at me. “What are you talking about?”

  “I talked to your dad this morning.”

  She laughs. “And how did that go?”

  Her father wasn’t too happy when he found out about Margot and I getting together. He blamed me for what happened to her and questioned my professionalism. He couldn’t have picked two better bullseyes to hurt me the worst, but I also couldn’t blame him. I blamed myself, despite Margot continuingly telling me that it wasn’t my fault. Like her own issues of safety that she had to work through, this is my issue.

  “It was chilly at best,” I admit.

  She cups my face in her hands and pulls me down to her for a kiss. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

  �
��I’m pretty sure he still hates me.”

  She shakes her head. “He doesn’t hate you. And you know why?”

  “Why?”

  "Because I'm in love with you, and that is never going to change."

  I pull her hands from her face and kiss the tips of her fingers. "I hope you mean that because I have an important question to ask you."

  Her eyes widen in shock when she sees me pull something from my pocket and kneel in front of her.

  “What are you doing?”

  "I wanted to give you some time to work through what happened and have a clear mind when I ask you." I take her left hand in mine. "Margot, I've been in love with you from almost the moment I met you. I know that we are meant to be together forever, and I don't want to miss another day without having you become my wife. Will you marry me?"

  She throws her arms around me, and we stumble back onto the floor. We both laugh, and I push some hair away from her face.

  “Is that a yes?” I laugh.

  “That’s a hell yes!”

  If you enjoyed DEAR BROODING BODYGUARD, check out the rest of the Sincerely Yours series!

  Check out more new stories in the Sincerely Yours Series are coming your way!

  DEAR HANDY SILVER FOX

  DEAR ONE NIGHT STAND

  DEAR KILTED SCOTSMAN

  And don’t miss the original four books that started this series!

  DEAR BILLIONAIRE BOSS

  DEAR BRITISH PROFESSOR

  DEAR BAD BOY NEXT DOOR - Lucy and Beck’s Story

  DEAR BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND

  Do you want to read the SINCERELY YOURS BONUS EPILOGUE to find out more about what’s happening with Maren, Willa, Lucy, and Cassidy?

  Check it out today!

  Also By Lana Dash

  EVERY LITTLE THING

  Steamy Blue Collar Alpha Single Mom Instalove

  WILD KNIGHT’S RIDGE MOUNTAIN MEN

  A Curvy Woman & Mountain Man Small Town Romance