Guardian (Wolf Shifter Romance): Reckless Desires (Alpha Protectors Book 1) Read Free

the phone, her absolute refusal to deal with anything resembling the grittiness of real life once again making me grind my teeth.
    But she was right. I had asked her to find me someone. I just hadn’t expected them to turn up at my door at just after eleven on a Saturday evening. My agency did all the hiring and firing. Which reminded me. “You need to hire new bodyguards. The ones I have here with me just took off at this guy’s word and went for coffee.”
    “You won’t be needing new bodyguards, Ms. Silk,” the deep voice murmured through the door. “You’ll have me .”
    My eyes were drawn back to the door as a shiver ran down my spine. Did he look as good in real life as he did in his photo? My eyes flicked back to the wallet in my hand, then back to the door.
    Karen was bleating in my ear, her words blurring into one long grovel of apology. I hit the end button, my feet already moving, my hand already reaching out.
    Clicking the locks, I took a deep breath. If this man could help me…
    I swung the door open.

Chapter Three
    Cole
    L arge brown eyes hidden behind wire frames blinked at me, widening a fraction as she looked up to meet my gaze.
    Huh. She’d always seemed taller on billboards. In real life she was a tiny thing, at least a full foot shorter than my six foot four. She didn’t look much like the Natasha Silk the camera adored, with her hair scraped back into a messy bun and her face scrubbed clean of makeup. She looked fragile and tired. Though there was no denying she was achingly beautiful, it just wasn’t in the sex siren kind of way.
    She looked like a real woman, and I liked it. Maybe a little too much.
    She stepped back and I strode into the apartment, her scent immediately wrapping around me. Lemon. Natasha’s scent was all citrus and soft and tangy on my tongue. Mouthwatering.
    “So, Mr. Colstone.”
    “Call me Cole,” I insisted, pausing by the couch and noting the neat pile of papers and the mug of tea. Lemon, like the woman. Unconsciously, I took a deep breath, dragging her into my lungs. I’d never smelled anything so… exciting? Familiar? Compelling? The words buzzed in my head, contradicting each other as I tried to focus. What the hell is the matter with me?
    “Cole, then,” she conceded, tugging a well-worn cardigan tight around her chest, fingers wrapping in the soft wool just under her chin. “I’ll go put something more…appropriate on.” Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink, the only outward sign of her discomfort.
    “No need on my account,” I replied. “If I’m going to be your bodyguard then I’m sure I’ll see you in a lot less.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “About that. I’m not sure if you—”
    “I’m the best.”
    The corner of her mouth quirked. “And very modest, too.”
    I shrugged, grabbing an apple off the counter and rolling it in my hands. “There’s no place for modesty when it comes to protecting a client’s life. Your life. It’s not like I’m bragging about my looks, or my sexual prowess, or how well I’m hung—”
    I broke off at the small hitch in her breath, the way her flush deepened and stained her neck, the slight tremor of her fingers as she tightened her hold, and the way her lids lowered, her long dark lashes hiding her eyes. I could hear her heart thundering in her chest.
    I took another deep breath, my nostrils flaring as the faint smell of her arousal wrapped around me, my cock immediately twitching awake. Okay, that was a lie. It had been at half-mast since she’d opened the door. I took a step forward, already imagining how she would taste, how she would respond in my arms.
    Her eyes snapped wide open. “I’m going to go put something else on. You can take a seat, or stand, it’s up to you. I’ll be right back, Mr. Colstone.” She spun on her heel and marched off down the corridor without a second glance.
    What the hell had happened? She wanted me—for fuck’s sake, I could smell her hunger—but she’d shut me down.