Her Billionaire Bodyguard (Her Billionaire CEO Book 1) Read online

  She emerged in a pair of shorts, a Nike shirt and running shoes, her hair in a pony tail. Beautiful this early without make-up. She crouched to tie a shoe lace. “My personal trainer said if I run the bridge, I don’t have to do today’s work-out.”

  Thankfully, Luke was already dressed for running.

  She was quiet on the ride over to Shelby Street, where the bridge was. It was as though the fireflies had mellowed her, and she was no longer angry at the world. At Thelma’s tamales anyway.

  Gah, what was that all about?

  ***

  Madison was in her element.

  She loved fireflies, shooting stars and night skies, but she also loved sunrises. This sunrise was worth getting up for. Luke parked the Corvette in two-hour parking. While he slipped coins in the meter, Madison was already snapping shots with her phone.

  Sherbet colors of orange, plum and pink streaked across the sky. They bounced off the water under the bridge, like an impressionist painting.

  How could commuters keep commuting without stepping on the brakes and stopping?

  She crossed her arms over the rail and sighed contentedly as nature rolled out her show. She could feel Luke’s eyes as he joined her on the rail. She refused to let him spoil her mood. In fact, she was feeling so good, she decided to be extra nice to him.

  Shoving him by the shoulder, she declared, “Race you!”

  ***

  Luke pumped his arms methodically. He was a lot bulkier than Madison, but made up for his speed with his longer legs. She bumped against him playfully, messing up his stride.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” he said, pushing back at her.

  Other pedestrians leaped out of their way, looking either worried or amused. Bicyclists dodged them, too. The race was brutal. Luke hadn’t gone from zero to super-fast in a long time. Madison ran like she didn’t need air. Still, he managed to beat her at the end of the bridge. Just barely.

  He was bent over, panting, holding his knee.

  She patted him on the shoulder. “Are you okay?” she asked. Her eyes danced and her face glowed with perspiration. She grinned and stuck her tongue out. He reached out and grabbed the side of her face before she could get away.

  Seconds ticked by as Madison and he froze. He didn’t know if his heart was still pumping hard from the race, of from her nearness. His thumb stroked the side of her face as he straightened up. Her breath warmed his lips.

  What was one kiss? So what if he got booted off bodyguard duty?

  She turned away. He had waited too long.

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. He released her and let his hands fall to his side. She started slow-jogging to the other side. He didn’t join her.

  Luke needed to clear his head. What was wrong with him?

  You can’t have her, Luke. Face the music.

  As she approached the Corvette, Luke noticed a brown truck stopped at the intersection nearby. The driver had on a hat, like a throwback from the 50s. He wore a suit that could also belong to that era. In his mind’s eye, he recalled the pictures of Frank Dell.

  It was him.

  Frank was watching Madison. Then his eyes flickered towards Luke, a burning hatred in their depths. Luke watched as the traffic eased and Frank Dell burned rubber making a U-turn.

  Madison got to the car and noticed his frown. Her expression clouded. “Something wrong?”

  “No,” he said, not wanting to worry her. “Let‘s get out of here, shall we?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Madison shifted on her tummy and sighed contentedly. The Nashville sun felt good poolside.

  “Madison, hon,” Sally said from the next lounge chair over.

  “Mmm?”

  “We need to go shopping tomorrow.”

  “Whatever for?” Madison asked sleepily.

  “For the Governor’s Ball.”

  “Oh, right.” She kept her eyes shut. She didn’t hate shopping, but sometimes it could be tedious. She’d just as soon write songs with all that time. But she humored Sally. “As long as it doesn’t take the whole day.”

  “We’ll bring Thelma with us. She’ll have you dressed in no time.”

  “Mmm,” Madison repeated. She liked this down time in Nashville. In the other venues, she wouldn’t have it this way again. She might as well make the most of it. She drifted in and out of sleep. She shifted, her skin smarting at the movement. It had been hours since she’d put sunblock on.

  “Sally? Would you be a sweetheart and put lotion on my back?”

  “Be happy to,” Luke said.

  Madison’s eyes flew open. Luke was standing over her. “Where’s Sally?” she asked.

  “Back in the house. She asked me to check in with you about your schedule for the afternoon. If you still wanted to ride horses?”

  Madison felt self-conscious, with her backside exposed. Even if it was in a modest swimsuit. “That’s fine, you don’t need to put sunblock on me.”

  His hand was already poised above her, holding the bottle. “Are you sure? I don’t mind, really.”

  Neither did she, to be honest.

  He did it very matter-of-factly. If Madison thought he would flirt and massage her, she was wrong. Within a couple of minutes, she was slathered up.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. You’re getting burned, by the way.” He traced a spot with a finger and she flinched. “Sorry.”

  “I should have put lotion on sooner,” she lamented.

  “So,” he said, clearing his throat. “We’re riding horses. Chan arranged it.”

  She pushed up to her belly. “What time is it?”

  “Two.”

  “Okay.” She stretched and turned over to her back, running her fingers through her tangled hair. She recalled that incident at the waterfalls, when he brushed her hair and wondered, looking at her reflection in his shades, if he was thinking of it, too.

  ***

  Luke averted his eyes from Madison’s perfectly toned body. She was driving him to distraction. That little stunt, with him putting lotion on her, was excruciating. The least he could do was to just pretend that she didn’t affect him, not one little bit.

  Right.

  The more casual she was around him, the more of the old Madison he was seeing. The girl he had fallen in love with way back when. And the Luke of the past was falling for her again.

  Stop it, Luke. Don’t go down that road.

  Suddenly, she sat up. He got into protect mode, tensing up, too.

  “Sorry, a lyric just popped in my brain,” she said. She sat unself-consciously in front of him in her modest swimsuit which made her look attractive nonetheless. She grabbed a little pink notebook from a canvas bag beside her and started scribbling something down. He stared at her long hair, flowing over one shoulder, her long, long legs, and her sun-kissed skin…

  Like the old times, at the lake.

  Her, lying beside him, sun-drenched, while Luke dozed, too. And then all of a sudden, he felt this ice cube down his back.

  “Hey, you,” he said, chasing Madison down the beach to the water’s edge. She dove cleanly into the water, and he followed after her. She was like a mermaid, twisting and turning, diving to the bottom, then hurrying to the top. They both broke the surface and he caught her in his arms.

  “Come here,” he said.

  She didn’t need any more convincing. She melted into his arms and raised her lips for him to take…

  “…heaven,” Madison broke into his thoughts. “What rhymes with heaven?”

  “Seven?”

  “Mmm.” She tapped her jaw with her pen. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with heaven?” She shook her head and scribbled some more in her notebook.

  “Do you always compose like this?” he asked, intrigued by her process.

  “It just depends,” she said. “There’s been times when all I had was a napkin from the restaurant, so I write on there, and then I have to reconstruct my thoughts once I get to a piece of real
paper.”

  “I wouldn’t do well in poetry,” he said. “You know. I nearly failed that high school English class.”

  “Not because you weren’t smart,” she said, smiling. “You just didn’t show up enough at school.”

  “What your mom must have thought of me,” he winced.

  She cocked her head and gave him an impish look. “She was a little scandalized at first, I think. She could tell that you smoked, from the smell of it.”

  “Why did she not stop you from seeing me then?”

  Madison’s eyes rose to meet his. Softly, she said, “Because she knew that I would be moving away.”

  Luke wished he hadn’t asked. The wound gaped open again. That Madison had chosen to move away instead of sticking it out with Luke. He would have tried to help her.

  But who was he kidding? He could about help her as much as Sally could resist cabaret singers with British accents.

  “We’d better get ready for the horse ride,” he suggested.

  “I’ll just be a minute,” she said.

  When he looked back, she wasn’t looking at him. She was still engrossed in her writing, tapping that pen against her jaw.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Ouch,” Madison said, as she stretched her leg to mount the horse. “I think my legs got too much sun, too.”

  She and Luke met their riding guide at the stable offices just ten minutes away at a thoroughbred breeding facility which also did trail rides. Their guide, Dirk, was a skinny, long-haired dude who looked like he’d spent most nights on someone’s couch jamming on the guitar.

  “Welcome to Airedale Stables, where we have no Airedales. We just named it that because we wanted to be first on the alphabet. Brilliant, eh? Now, mind you, you are here on a private tour. We’ve already ensured that. Is it okay though if I get your autograph, Miss Kay? My grandma really likes your music. In fact, she’s already requested it for her funeral.”

  Madison didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. She went ahead and signed his Maverik super mug while stable hands brought out three horses.

  “Have you both ridden before?” Dirk asked.

  Madison said yes. Luke said a little.

  Dirk squinted at Luke. “What ‘xactly does ‘a little’ mean, sir?”

  “I have gone on trail rides with clients. I’m a bodyguard. I can stay on a horse, but if you ask the horse to lope I might bounce off like popcorn.”

  “It’s all in the legs, man. And I won’t be asking your horse anything. You will.”

  Luke didn’t smile. “I know.”

  “Well then.” Dirk rubbed his dry-looking hands. “Let’s go meet your horses, shall we?”

  Dirk led Madison to a red roan. “So, you’re an accomplished horsewoman, eh, Miss Kay?”

  “No. Nothing like that,” Madison clarified.

  “I wouldn’t have guessed that. Your songs are always about horses.”

  “I once told someone, I’m a cowgirl wannabe.” She flicked a glance at Luke.

  Dirk winked. “I’m a cowboy wannabe, too. But I kind of fell off the wagon.” He rubbed the roan’s nose. “This here is Penny. She’s like the real penny, kind of small and insignificant looking, but if you add ‘er up, she’ll amount to something. She never gives no one trouble. She’s a real sweetheart.” He lowered his voice confidingly. “One thing. She used to be in the circus, so if you raise your arm so,” here he raised his arm, “she will rear up.” And Penny did rear up.

  Dirk turned to Luke. “And for you, sir. Mr. Bodyguard. I got you one of our macho horses. This here is Goliath. He’s good for carrying a buff body like yours. He can carry boulders. The only thing you have to watch for him is he is blind on the right side. So you just need to give him a bit of a warning that you’re there, or he will kick.”

  “What a pair,” Luke said.

  “I know, right? I seen you coming over in your limo and I thought to myself the same thing. If you hadn’t said you were a bodyguard I’d have guessed that you were a bickering married couple.” He grinned, showing off semi-healthy teeth. “Just kidding. You are the epitome of wedded bliss. Or you can be, just name your poison.”

  “Shall we ride?” Luke said. “Do we mount right here?”

  Dirk bristled. “In time, my man, in time. First, I need you to sign waivers. Just the usual spiel.” He shoved papers under their noses. “That you won’t sue me if you die, get dismembered, crash into poison ivy, and the like. I’m sure every event is covered in here.”

  Madison glanced at the legalese, and couldn’t read the fine print well enough. She signed her name and waited by Penny while Luke signed as well.

  Dirk rubbed his hands together. “Now, we can mount.”

  “How did Chan find this place?” Madison asked Luke in a low voice.

  “Who knows? Online?”

  “From people that survived?”

  Luke smiled, and Madison’s heart skipped a beat. “Don’t worry, your chances of surviving are greater than mine.”

  “What was this, Groupon? We probably could have sprung a few more dollars and gotten someone more…put together.”

  “At the last minute? Chan said he had the hardest time getting anyone to even answer their phone. Dirk was the only one up last night.”

  “Okay, it’ll be okay,” she said, mostly to assure herself.

  Dirk rode up to them on a bay horse who kept sneaking bites from the grass. “This is Quinn. He likes to eat, as you can tell. So I need to keep moseying everyone along, or we’ll be sidelined like an out-of-control semi on the freeway. Everyone good with their mount?” He stared at Luke. “Where’s your helmet?”

  “I don’t do helmets, thanks.”

  “Too tough for one, eh? Well, I also don’t like broccoli, but I decided early on you don’t fight with common sense. Go on, we’ll wait for you to get some sense on.”

  Luke ‘s expression soured. Madison suppressed her urge to laugh. Luke snapped his helmet on with a scowl.

  Dirk turned to Madison. “Your helmet good, miss? And away we go.”

  They started from stables along trees. It was already promising to be a hot day, but in the shade it wasn’t too bad. Madison liked Penny. She made a cute snuffling noise as they got along. Birds darted in and out of the canopies above. Madison felt her stress melt away.

  She smiled at Luke, offering an olive branch. “I’m glad we can ride today. I’ve forgotten how much I love this. It’s so relaxing.”

  Mr. Bodyguard smiled back, his shade-covered eyes a mystery.

  “Now don’t you go falling asleep on us,” Dirk said.

  “Don’t worry,” Madison assured him. “I won’t. It’s too pretty out here for that.”

  Dirk smiled. “You are too pretty for that. So, how is the country superstar life?”

  “It’s ordinary, until I’m on stage.”

  “I wouldn’t say that riding limos is pretty ordinary,” Luke said.

  “Well, there are perks, certainly. Like private horse rides.” She patted Penny’s head.

  “You don’t need to be no celebrity to get on one of my private horse rides, ma’am.” He glanced at Luke. “Your britches too tight?”

  “No.” Luke’s scowl deepened. “I was just thinking of something.”

  “Good. We don’t want to have you go back with a high-pitched voice.”

  Dirk turned forward. Luke made a face and Madison laughed.

  “Why didn’t Sally come?” she asked Luke.

  “She said she didn’t want helmet head.”

  “Well, that could have been your excuse,” she teased.

  Dirk led them single-file through a narrow path between trees. “Watch your head now. Not you, miss, but you, sir. You don’t want to clothesline off your horse.”

  ***

  Luke was a bit irritated by the prattle kept up by Dirk. He was friendly enough to Madison, but he couldn’t help but feel that Dirk liked to poke him in the eye when he could. He wondered why he subjected himself to this. He
should have admitted to Madison that he wasn’t all that comfortable on horses. She could have still gone on a horse ride, just with someone else. But of course, for Luke to do his job well, they needed to ride side by side.

  This was the best gig ever, if only he could do something about the feelings that were threatening to surface. For a moment, he took off his shades.

  She’d pulled back her hair so that it was drawn away from her face. The sun had tinged her cheeks a pretty tan. Her eyes sparkled with good health and contentment. She had worn very little makeup, not that she needed it. He thought he was immune to Madison’s charms, but here he was again, starry-eyed like one of her fans.

  He averted his eyes and put his shades on, in case Dirk caught him staring, but he wasn’t quick enough.

  “Ah,” Dirk said. “So I now know the lay of the land.”

  Madison gave him a questioning glance.

  “You two know each other from before?” Dirk asked.

  “We were in high school together,” Luke said.

  “Let me guess. Exes?”

  Madison and Luke exchanged glances. “Yup,” he said.

  “My, my. How interesting. Well now, do you intend to stay exes?”

  “Yes,” they both said firmly.

  “Life is too short. I’m frankly surprised that you would choose that. Now, I been married three times, and each time, my wife never changed.”

  “To the same girl?” Madison asked.

  “Yes, didn’t learn my lesson until the third time. And then she died. So we couldn’t get married the fourth.”

  Dirk led them along a stream. “You go on and let your horses catch a drink, and we’ll be heading up them hills.”

  Penny drank her fill while Madison got off and dipped her finger in the water. She splashed some drops against her face to cool off. Loosening a button, she wiped the sweat trickling down her neck with her sleeve.

  Luke stared at her, but only for a second before resolutely turning away.

  ***

  Madison felt a heat spread under her collar. For a moment, she thought Luke was looking at her like he wanted her. But he shuttered his eyes and he was back to his solemn self.

  Penny pranced, anxious to move on. Madison was about to mount again when she sensed movement in the trees. “Are there wild animals here, Dirk?” she asked.