Page 41 of Burning for Him

“What happened?” Jules asked as he returned, handing Jenn and Doug their drinks. “I only heard you were both in Colombia when the earthquake hit, but didn’t someone mention something about a landslide too?”

Jenn nodded. “Yes. And neither of those things were on my bingo card for that trip or even in my lifetime.”

Everyone laughed, then asked for details, which she and Doug supplied while keeping the private, intimate moments to themselves. After an hour of chatting, appetizers, drinks, and football on the TV in the den, Ellie announced that dinner was ready. By then, Jenn felt much more at ease with Doug’s family. They’d briefly stepped outside to the fenced-in backyard so she could meet his nieces and nephews, ages four through thirteen. The adults took turns checking on them every five or ten minutes, while Lila’s oldest girl, Emma, kept an eye on them until it was time to come inside.

The meal was delicious, and Ellie beamed when Jenn asked for the recipe for the pot roast she’d made. Everyone, especially Nana and the children, enjoyed the treats from Fancy’s bakery, and Rowan commented she would love to check out the cakes there when it was time for her baby’s christening. Jenn wrote down the business’s name and address for her. “Just tell Fancy I sent you. She’s married to one of my uncles and is one of the sweetest women I know. Her cake designs are amazing. I’m always in awe of her talent.”

Earlier, she told Doug’s family that her parents died—omitting that they were murdered—when she was seventeen, how her godfather had taken her in, and how her “uncles” were men who’d served closely with her dad. The group had been sympathetic and, thankfully, hadn’t asked too many invasive questions. When Lila asked how her folks died, before Jenn could answer, Doug simply said it was an accident and subtly steered the conversation in another direction. Under the table, he’d squeezed Jenn’s thigh, silently telling her that he knew she was reluctant to talk about it, and she was grateful he’d read her body language correctly. Since the first night they’d made love, they seemed to grow more in tune with each other as the daysand weeks passed. Someday, she might fill his family in on the morbid details, but for now, they seemed content with what they knew.

Everyone but his parents and Nana was surprised to learn that Jenn was the asset Doug had been protecting when he got shot. Though the revelation sparked more questions, it was Ellie who shifted the subject, offering Jenn a knowing look that showed she understood the younger woman wasn’t ready to talk about the painful incident. His mother probably also didn’t want to relive the horror of almost losing her only son.

By the time the sun went down, they were all stuffed and exhausted. When it was time to say goodbye, his sisters invited Jenn to join them for lunch one day soon, and Nana told Doug to bring Jenn the next time he visited her at the assisted living facility. Ellie said she expected Jenn to attend the family’s next Sunday dinner in two weeks. No one had questioned the age gap between her and Doug, nor did they give any indication they weren’t happy for the couple. Everyone had been pleasant, making her feel welcome and accepted.

Relief that all had gone well warmed over Jenn as she climbed up onto the passenger seat of Doug’s truck. After shutting her door, he circled the vehicle and got in. Before starting the engine, he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. “They loved you.”

“Really?”

“Mmm-hmm. My sisters don’t invite just anyone to join their lunch dates. My dad and brothers-in-law all said I was a lucky man. And my mom and my grandma both pulled me aside a little while ago and told me to hold onto you with both hands.”

She sagged into the seat. “Oh, thank God.”

He chuckled and started the engine. “I told you there was nothing to worry about today. Now, when it’s time for yourfamily to meet mine—yyyyeah, that’s when we should both start to worry.”

“Why?”

“Um...have you met your uncles?”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Oh, shit. You’re right.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Irritation coursed through Doug’s veins. The last thing he wanted to do was babysit Lainey Hall, but there he was, standing in a dance club she insisted on going to with her obnoxious friends as they sat in the VIP section. The music was so loud, to the point that the bass reverberated through every cell in his body, and he wondered how anyone could hear themselves think, much less talk to anyone else. He hadn’t been able to talk her out of going because other social media influencers were there, and she refused to be left out. God forbid they were at a popular event while she stayed home, safe from her stalker.

Other than constantly creating new profiles and messaging Lainey, Evan Jenkins hadn’t done anything else that they knew about. None of his DMs threatened her—they were just of the “Oh, you’re so sexy” and “We should go out sometime” variety. Doug was beginning to wonder if they were wasting their time protecting Lainey, but as long as she paid Trident’s fees, they would stay on her detail.

While she hadn’t posted any of her guards’ faces in her online photos and videos, they hadn’t been able to stop her from talking about the stalker and the fact that she now hadbodyguards. Despite their repeated warnings that doing so was counterproductive to reducing any threat against her, she continued to post, mentioning one or both at least once a day. She’d tried to snap a photo of herself with Peter Jacobson in the background the other night, but the TS employee noticed it right away and demanded she delete it. She reluctantly did that, complaining that she’d only taken the photo because her followers kept asking if her bodyguards were hot and wanted her to post pictures of them.

On the other side of the roped-off VIP section, Nolan Spade had his head on swivel as he kept an eye out for any threats. Doug was only stuck with the assignment because every other bodyguard in the Personal Protection Division was either already on a detail, recovering from long shifts, or out sick. Over the past few days, a stomach bug had affected about a quarter of the TS staff. Anyone with even the slightest symptoms was ordered to stay home in an attempt to prevent it from spreading further.

A waiter appeared, carrying another full tray of drinks. Scowling, Doug unhooked the gold velvet rope blocking anyone not invited from entering the area. He lost count of how many drinks had been delivered to the party of eight—five women and three men, who were well on their way to being drunk off their asses. Doug had demanded all their car keys two rounds ago. While his asset was Lainey, he couldn’t in full conscience allow any of the others to drive drunk and possibly kill themselves or anyone else. After giving him shit, they finally handed over their keys when he threatened to call a few friends on Tampa PD to wait in the parking lot and nail each of them for DUI.

“Wahooo!” Lainey shouted before downing half her drink. She spilled the rest of it on the table when she tried to put the glass down, which didn’t seem to bother her at all. “Let’s go dance.”

Doug met Spade’s gaze as the other man shook his head and rolled his eyes before watching the crowd again. It was the fourth time Lainey had tried to leave the VIP section, but Doug refused to allow her out on the dance floor, which was too crowded for the men to protect her.

He grabbed her arm as she tried to pass and pulled her out of the way of her friends, who were free to go wherever they pleased. Dressed in a silver, metallic dress that stopped mid-thigh and matching high-heeled shoes that he had no idea how she walked in, Lainey pouted and stomped her foot like a petulant five-year-old. “I wanna go dance! Let me go!”

Leaning forward so she could hear him, he repeated the same thing he’d told her the three previous times. “Either obey our rules or hire another company.” Ian had permitted him to tell her that after learning how difficult she could be. If a client refused to follow the rules for basic protection, Boss-man was more than happy to drop them rather than putting his employees at risk. “We can’t protect you on the dance floor. It’s bad enough that there are far too many people in this place. Unless you have to use the restroom, you’re staying right here.”

She ran her hand up his arm to his shoulder in a provocative caress. “You’re a party-pooper, you know that?”

“Yup, I do.” He tried to shrug off her wandering hands, now that the other one had joined the first. “Either stay in this section, or we’re taking you home. If that happens, then tomorrow you can find new bodyguards to put up with you.”

Stepping closer, too close for his comfort, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her body against his. He put his hands on her hips and tried to push her away, but she stumbled back into him, her face pressed up against his neck. After being with Jenn, having another woman who was intimately close to him felt wrong and unwanted on so many levels.

“Come on, Doug! Don’t you wanna have some fun? Let’s go somewhere private.”

“Ms. Hall.” He made an effort to back her up again but held on to her waist to keep her from falling when she swayed. He had no desire to take her to the ER if she injured herself. Unfortunately, she leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his neck again, and tried to kiss him. He dodged left to avoid her lips. When she dropped one of her arms and made a grab for his crotch, he was done. Enraged, he snatched her wrist and twisted it away from his family jewels. “Lainey! Knock it off!”

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