CHAPTER THREE

 

 

NOAH MADE ANOTHER circuit around the outside of the house after going downstairs, then stood on the bluff gazing at the water again. It was crazy when he realized how long it had been since he’d gone for a swim in the ocean. Even before the mission in Yemen, he’d laid off the deep-sea workouts, trying to baby his knee. It had been nearly five weeks since he even tried it. Watching the deep blue water rise and fall, and seeing the waves lap onto the sand made him eager to do it again. But that would have to wait until after this bodyguard gig. Besides, his knee was doing good. He didn’t want to do anything to screw it up.

He headed over to the front of the house to grab his overnight bag from his SUV. His mouth curved as he thought of Peyton, replaying the stuff they’d talked about at lunch, then while she’d been showing him around the place. The mere suggestion that a woman as attractive, intelligent, and witty as Peyton could be in between boyfriends seemed too insane to consider. How could there not be a line of men a mile long trying to get with her?

He was still thinking about that as he rounded the corner of the house and saw a Black F-150 truck pulling up next to his SUV. He barely had a chance to recognize the vehicle before Sam, Wes, and Lane jumped out and headed for the front door, all three dressed in camouflage uniforms. What the hell were they doing here in the middle of a work day?

Knowing there was only one way to answer that question, he hurried to intercept them before they could ring the doorbell.

“I assume you guys are looking for me,” he said as they all turned his way. “Though to be honest, I’m more interested in how you found me than in why.”

Sam grinned. “Chasen mentioned you were out walking on the beach, so we knew something was up considering how much you frigging hate exercising on sand. When we stopped by your place, a neighbor said you left hours ago with an overnight bag, so I called your sister. She ratted you out in nothing flat.”

Noah ground his jaw. There were definitely disadvantages to having friends who knew him so well. Not only did Sam know Laurissa’s number, but also how much he hated exercising on the beach. Ever since going through the twenty-four weeks of hell that was Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, where running through the surf and sand until you puked was a near daily occurrence, he had a thing about working out there. He might love swimming in the ocean, but running—or even walking—on the sand? No way. Not unless someone forced him to do it.

“So, what’s up?” Wes asked. “Laurissa wouldn’t give us any details, only that you were at this address doing something important. What the hell, dude? You go out and get another job while on medical leave?”

He didn’t say anything, because honestly, what the hell could he say that would explain any of this?

“Holy crap!” Lane said, looking at Noah in shock. “That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? You got bored sitting around your apartment playing video games and decided to get a job.”

Noah couldn’t help but stare at the effing new guy. “What would you know? You’ve only been in the platoon for a month and we haven’t spent more than fifteen minutes in the same room together.”

Lane snorted. “Am I wrong?”

“No.” Noah grimaced. “I never knew I was so transparent.”

“Well, you are,” Wes said. “But if you needed something to keep you occupied for a few hours a day, you could have volunteered to be a door greeter at Walmart or something. Not whatever this is.” He gestured toward Peyton’s house and the pricey piece of beach front property she owned. “You didn’t get yourself mixed up in anything illegal, did you?”

Noah did a double take. “What? No! Why would you even think something like that?”

Wes shrugged. “You have to admit, our team has a history of making bad choices when it comes to the law. Hell, a couple months ago I spent the night in jail for one of my less stellar decisions. So, I’m in no position to judge if you decided to do something stupid.”

Noah remembered. That situation had definitely been messy.

“Well, you can chill out,” he said. “I don’t claim to be brilliant, but I’m not reckless enough to get involved in anything illegal. The woman who lives here—Peyton Matthews—is a writer who’s a friend of Laurissa’s. Someone broke in last night while she was out and tried to steal the book she’s writing. Her publisher wanted to hire a bodyguard and Laurissa recommended me.”

His Teammates stared at him like pigs looking at a Rolex.

“Very funny,” Sam muttered. “What are you really doing here?”

Noah scowled. He supposed he couldn’t blame the guys for not believing him. Noah barely believed it and he was living it.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Wes said when he didn’t answer. “This house really belongs to Peyton Matthews, the writer? Hell, I don’t even read romance and I’ve heard of her. And you’re actually her bodyguard?”

“Yes, I’m serious,” he said. “Yes, this is really Peyton Matthew’s house. And yes, I’m actually her bodyguard. But if it makes you feel any better, I’m not taking any payment for it. I asked the publisher to donate the money to a military charity.”

Noah filled them in on the whole story, including the part about Peyton storing her book on a hard drive she carried around with her, and the working theory that whoever was trying to get their hands on the book might be connected to some kind of book pirating operation.

“If you need backup, just ask,” Sam said. “If we aren’t on alert status for another treasury mission, we’ll be here.”

Knowing his buddies had his back meant a lot to him and Noah was about to thank him for the offer when his head caught up to the other stuff Sam said.

“Thanks. I’ll definitely call if I need any help, but what do you mean about another treasury mission?” He was curious even if he couldn’t be a part of it. “I thought we were officially done with that after we left Yemen.”

“Apparently not,” Sam said. “Agent Woods has been given the unenviable task of tracking down and capturing Magpie. They’ve moved him to the San Diego field office so he can be close enough to reach out if he decides he needs tactical support. We deploy the second we get confirmation they’ve found Magpie.”

“But the Treasury Department has to know there’s almost no way they’re ever going to find Magpie,” Noah said. “They never had a clue who he was to begin with and now that he knows someone is after him, they never will.”

“Agreed, but Woods drags us into daily intelligence briefings to go over possible sightings anyway,” Wes said. “There’s no other word to describe it except painful, but Chasen wants us on alert for whenever Woods calls. Speaking of which, we better get back before the chief gets suspicious.”

Noah nodded. He definitely didn’t want Chasen finding out he was doing this bodyguard gig, especially since he’d already lied to him about it. The chief always took care of his Team, but it still wouldn’t end well for Noah.

“Hey, before we go,” Lane said, “do you think you could introduce us to Peyton Matthews? I mean, since we’re here and all. I’m sort of a fan of hers.”

Noah stared, stunned Lane read the kind of books Peyton wrote.

“Maybe some other time,” he finally said. “Peyton has a book due soon and is trying to finish it on time.”

“Okay, that’s cool. I get it.” Lane’s shoulders sagged for a minute before he grinned. “Hey, why don’t you can bring her to the party Friday night? She can’t write all the time.”

Noah frowned in confusion. “What party?”

“It’s a platoon promotion party,” Sam answered, giving him a grin. “Nash got promoted to Petty Officer 1st Class and I made Petty Officer 2nd Class. We’re pooling our money and having one big party. You should definitely bring Peyton. Hell, invite Laurissa, too. We’re going to find a restaurant with a private room, so we can let loose.”

Noah doubted Peyton would want to go hang out with people she didn’t know, especially when she had a book due. Inviting Laurissa along might help, though. And he definitely wouldn’t mind spending some time with the Team. He was barely two weeks into his medical leave and he already missed the camaraderie.

“I’ll ask her,” he said with a shrug. “Laurissa, too.”

His buddies left a little while after that, but not before Sam got another promise from Noah that he’d call if he needed help.

Grabbing his bag, he headed for the front door. Thinking he should let her know he was back inside, he set his bag on the floor beside the sectional couch and headed upstairs to her office. He heard the clicking of the keyboard before he even reached the top of the stairs. Damn. If the sound was any indication, she typed fast. Like a cheetah-on-caffeine fast.

He poked his head in the open doorway to see her sitting at her desk, her back turned three-quarter to him, iPhone AirPods shoved in her ears, head moving rhythmically to whatever tunes she was listening to, fingers moving in a blur across the keyboard of the laptop. If he wasn’t seeing actual words appear on the screen, he would have thought she was typing gobbledygook.

Noah was about to walk away, not wanting to disturb Peyton when she was obviously on a roll, but then she started singing softly in time with her head bobs…something about X’s and O’s. The sound was so breathy yet adorable, it was impossible not to watch.

He must have stood there a good five minutes, entranced at the sight of Peyton typing away on her book, singing along with her music, pausing every once in a while to lift her hands up and dance around in her seat.

Damn, it was adorable.

Back downstairs, Noah considered turning on ESPN, but worried the noise might bother Peyton, even if she was listening to music. Then the bookshelf along the wall caught his eye. He walked over to graze a little, immediately becoming intrigued when he realized one of the shelves was full of book Peyton had written. Thinking about what Lane had said about reading them, he pulled one out deciding to give it a look.

The cover was a smaller version of one of the posters upstairs in her office, featuring a good-looking guy with a pretty girl. Admittedly, it wasn’t his usual reading, but curiosity made him flip through it. It only took him a second to find the first book in the series, and when he had it, Noah moved over to the couch and sat down. If nothing else, maybe it’d keep him occupied for a bit.

Before he knew it, he found himself lost in the story. It might have started simply as a distraction, but Noah soon admitted it was good. Damn good. Having enlisted in the Navy right out of high school, he never went to college like the characters in Peyton’s books, but he could relate to them anyway. Maybe because when you got right down to it, a lot of the crap the characters went through wasn’t so different than what he’d dealt with as a young SEAL. Figuring out who you wanted to be, the kinds of people you wanted to associate with, the path you would take in the world, where you even wanted to go with your life. He guessed those were universal issues, no matter where you were in the world and what you were doing.

Then again, it could also be because he had a younger sister who’d spent a lot of time talking his ear off about her time in college, friends, boys, course loads, and the various life crises she went through.

Noah finished the first book and was heading for the second when he realized it was almost 1730—five-thirty. He’d been reading for quite a while. He thought about asking Peyton if she was hungry, but when he sauntered over to the bottom of the stairs he heard the sound of rapidly clicking keys. He didn’t want to interrupt her when she was on a roll.

He ended up ordering some pizza, grabbing a couple slices for himself and putting the rest in the fridge, then lost himself in Peyton’s second book. He was done with those slices and devouring a few more, halfway through the book, before she came downstairs. It was dark outside, and a quick glance at his watch told him it was after eight already. He wasn’t sure how she could write for that long, but judging by the number of books on the shelf, she definitely could.

“There’s more pizza in the fridge,” he said, glancing up as she headed into the kitchen.

She came out a few moments later with a slice of microwaved cheese and pepperoni in one hand and a glass of iced tea in the other.

“Hope you don’t mind that I grabbed one of your books to read,” he said as she sat down on the other side of the sectional.

“Not at all.” Her lips curved into a smile. “I didn’t peg you for a romance reader, though.”

He chuckled. “I never thought I was. But yours are good. Not too much of the mushy stuff.”

“Thank you…I think.” Laughing, Peyton took a bite of her pizza, holding the plate under her like she was afraid she might make a mess. “Mmm, this is delicious.”

“Can’t go wrong with pizza,” he said. “In fact, I damn near live on the stuff. I could eat it every night of the week.”

“Better not tell your significant other that.” She eyed him, pizza poised in hand for another bite. “She’d probably want you to slip in something different now and then, like fruits and veggies.”

Noah wasn’t sure how they’d gone from talking about pizza to his relationship status. But he knew when a woman was fishing for personal info and why she might be doing it. Hell, he’d done it himself a few hours ago. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t stoked knowing Peyton was interested in him that way.

“I’m sure she would if there was a significant other,” he said. “But there isn’t, so I get to eat pizza any time I want.”

Peyton’s expression didn’t change, but Noah thought he detected the slightest trace of satisfaction there now. But it disappeared as she went back to eating and he had to question if maybe she was a much better player than he’d assumed. That only made him more intrigued than he’d already been.

“I have a bunch of other take-out menus in the top drawer to the left of the oven.” She gave him a smile. “If you decide you need to break up the pizza routine, I mean.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He set down the book to pick up his plate and the half-eaten slice still on it. “How’d the writing go? It certainly seemed like you were in the groove if the clicking of the keys is any indication.”

“Actually, it went much better than I thought it would.” She sipped her iced tea. “With everything that happened last night, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to focus, but I got on a roll and knocked out about five thousand words.”

He shook his head. “Damn, that sounds like a lot. Does that mean you’re done for the night?”

Peyton yawned, then let out another laugh. “Oh, I’m definitely done. I’m going to eat another slice of pizza, take a quick shower, then try to catch up on all the sleep I missed last night.”

Noah had an image of a naked Peyton standing underneath a spray of warm water with soap suds running down her body. The thought was enough to make him want to groan, but fortunately she chose that moment to stand and head into the kitchen for that next slice of pizza, giving him a few seconds of privacy to get his perverted thoughts back together.

“The bed in the guest room upstairs is already made up,” Peyton said from the kitchen as she hit the button on the microwave. “Laurissa sleeps over all the time, so I keep it ready with clean sheets and stuff.”

As much as he liked the idea of sleeping in a nice comfy bed a few feet away from Peyton, that wasn’t a good idea. He was here to guard the woman, not lust over her.

“Actually, I’ll be sleeping down here on the couch,” he said.

She walked into the living room, a baffled look on her face. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. If anyone does tries to break in, they’ll have to go through me before reaching the stairs and the second floor,” he said. “That should give you enough time to get out of bed, grab your phone, and bail out the window. I know it looks like a long drop, but the grass is soft, so you’ll handle the fall okay. After that, run to the nearest neighbor and call the cops.”

Peyton stared at him for a few long seconds, fear in her eyes. “Do you really think someone might try and break in during the middle of the night?”

“Do I think it will happen? Probably not,” he said. “But I need to be ready in case it does. So, I’m sleeping down here, okay?”

She studied him for another moment before nodding. “Okay. There are sheets, blankets, and pillows in the linen closet at the top of the stairs and the bathroom down here has its own shower if you need it. Have a good night,” she added as she headed upstairs, carrying her glass and the remainder of her pizza slice.

“You, too.”

Noah’s gaze locked on her spectacular butt as she disappeared up the steps. He knew he shouldn’t be staring, but it was hard not to. He recalled the conversation he had with himself earlier when he wondered if he could have something with a woman he was supposed to be keeping safe. Still not having an answer to that question, he stood and headed for the kitchen, hoping another slice of pizza might help him figure out how he was going to get through this whole thing with his sanity intact.