The Billionaire's Bodyguard Bride Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Kindle Press, Seattle, 2015

  A Kindle Scout selection

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, Kindle Scout, and Kindle Press are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thank You!

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “Stop squirming, Lauren,” Stephanie Knight admonished, suppressing a sigh as she grappled with the delicate pearl closures trailing down the back of the beyond-breathtaking designer gown. “If you keep fidgeting I’ll never get these buttons fastened. This is so not the time for an attack of pre-wedding jitters. Just take a deep breath and relax. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Lauren Reynolds groaned, struggling to squash the desire to kick off her white silk stilettos and run in the opposite direction. “You’re not the one who’s going to be walking down that aisle in a few minutes. Remind me again why I let you talk me into this?”

  Stephanie locked gazes with her in the ornate dressing room mirror, shooting her a you-can’t-be-serious eye roll. “The answer hasn’t changed since you asked me that same question three seconds ago.”

  “This is a bad idea. Beyond bad. Like that time in fifth grade when I let Rhonda Jacobson convince me to dye my hair purple.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Stephanie chuckled. “You’re just nervous. That’s natural. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  “Right. Everything’s going to be fine.” Lauren parroted her best friend’s affirmation, but she didn’t believe it. She shouldn’t be here, and she most definitely shouldn’t be wearing this masterpiece in white silk. Donning a wedding dress hadn’t featured on her to-do list for today. Or any other day in the next decade for that matter.

  Taking a deep breath, she focused on her reflection in the mirror. A stranger stared back at her. Her green eyes had been lined and subtly shaded, the smoky shadow giving them a mysterious allure. Her cheeks glowed with a combination of anxiety and the soft pink blush the makeup artist had applied, and her normally unruly mop of blonde waves had been subdued in a polished French braid.

  Watching Stephanie pin a bridal veil onto those newly tamed locks, her stomach executed a triple back flip. So she was experiencinga mini–anxiety attack. Surely that was normal considering she’d only met her groom a mere twenty-four hours ago?

  The irony of what she was about to do didn’t escape her. The last time she’d offered her heart up to the man she’d loved, he had tossed it right back in her face. After that disastrous experience she’d vowed to never make the mistake of falling for anyone ever again. She’d already had her heart pulverized. Why on earth would she want to relive the torture?

  Ergo, she’d banned bridal-related moments in any way, shape, or form from her life. Or at least that had been her intention until Stephanie had talked her into taking this walk down the aisle.

  Nope. She really shouldn’t be here. And all the matrimonial vibes wafting through the air weren’t helping matters any. They were making her queasy. The only redeeming point in all of this was that her stroll down the aisle was for a tremendous cause. She was helping her best friend and raising tons of money for charity. Still, if she’d known when she’d volunteered to model for the mock wedding segment of the benefit fashion show she’d wind up pinch-hitting for the starring role, she never would have let Stephanie recruit her.

  She’d agreed to play a bridesmaid in tonight’s little matrimonial adventure because she was comfortable with the role. She’d played the part in real life so many times she could carry out bridesmaid duties in her sleep.

  Wearing the wedding gown, though, was an entirely different matter. The dress was a painful reminder of the happily ever after that had slipped through her fingers. The one she’d dreamed of sharing with him. Her emotional wounds were too fresh, too raw. She’d been a fool to think a man like Rafe Dimitriou could fall for a woman like her.

  “But now you’re short a bridesmaid,” she ventured, in a last-ditch effort to be let off the hook.

  Stephanie waved a hand in dismissal, clearly unconcerned. “I’ve already got that covered. Come on. This will be fun! Just think of it as a rerun of last night’s rehearsal, only this time you get to wear the best dress.”

  “Last night I was only playing a supporting role, not walking down a runway in a designer wedding gown that costs more than what I earn in a year while three hundred pairs of eyes are glued to the stage.”

  “It’ll be a piece of cake. Like they say in the business, ‘the show must go on.’ Mackenzie can’t model the wedding gown with a sprained ankle, so I really need you to step up. You know you’re the only other woman in the cast who can fit into this size four masterpiece. Besides, the hospital is counting on the funds tonight’s benefit will raise for the new neonatal unit.”

  “You would have to remind me of that,” she grumbled, tossing her hands up in surrender. “Okay. You win. I promise I won’t torment you with my whining for the rest of the night.”

  “Now that’s more like it. Hey, I’ve got some hot gossip to share,” Stephanie grinned, her eyes sparkling with delight in anticipation of the big reveal. “It’s guaranteed to take your mind off things while we wait.”

  “Go on, then,” Lauren enthused, knowing Stephanie always gleaned the juiciest tidbits from the rumor mill. “Spill it.”

  “It seems the hospital board has managed to finagle a special guest, some billionaire CEO. He’s already made a sizable donation, and he’s even volunteered to help with the fashion show. The benefit’s organizers thought it would be a great PR move to have him star in the show, so he’s taking over for Frank in the role of groom tonight.”

  “I’ll bet Frank is ecstatic over that piece of news. He told me at rehearsal the only reason he agreed to model was because you twisted his arm.”

  “What can I say,” Stephanie grinned. “I’m shameless. And you have to admit he was the perfect choice. He was positively yummy in that tuxedo.”

  “Definitely drool-worthy,” Lauren agreed. “Apparently he has luck on his side, too. I wish a mystery guest would show up and take over for me.”

  “That sounded suspiciously like a whine,” Stephanie chuckled as she made a final adjustment to the delicate veil. “I’ll overlook it since you’re doing me such a big favor. Back to the topic of yummy. I hear Frank’s replacement is drop-dead gorgeous . . . and unattached. Megan and Bethany met him when he dropped his donation off. They’ve dubbed him Mr. Tall, Dark, and Delicious. If their sighs and starstruck looks when they were raving about him are any indication, you could be thanking me before the night is through.”

  Lauren breathed a long-suffering sigh. “We’ve been over this a thousand times, Steph. I’m very happy with my single
status.”

  “I know.” Stephanie punctuated the affirmation with a nod that made her auburn curls dance. “It’s just that I hate to see you let one bad experience sour you on love for a lifetime. The way that pompous jerk treated you was unforgivable, but not all men are like him.”

  Lauren got that. Just because she’d declared love off-limits didn’t mean she planned to cloister herself away to live out the rest of her days in spinsterhood. She might not have any intention of diving in at the deep end of the emotional pool again, but she wasn’t opposed to dipping her toes in the lake of lust.

  Of course embarking on a fling would be easier if she could shake off the remnants of Rafe that obstinately insisted on hanging out in her head. She was so over him. She just couldn’t seem to kick the bad habit she had of comparing every potential play date to him.

  Tonight was a perfect example. Here she was surrounded by dozens of available, attractive, dynamic men, and yet not one of them measured up to Rafe. And none of them made her heart rev the way he had.

  “It looks like I’ll have to postpone my sermon,” Stephanie told her. “Here comes Michael to walk you down the aisle.”

  Michael greeted her with a low wolf whistle. “Lauren, you look stunning! Are you ready to knock their socks off?”

  She smiled, taking the arm he offered. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  It occurred to her, as the first strains of the wedding march filled the auditorium and they began their trek down the aisle, that perhaps tonight’s mystery groom was the answer to her dilemma. She didn’t want to get caught up in a serious relationship again, but a lighthearted fling might be just what the doctor ordered. Suddenly she was eager to see this Mr. Tall, Dark, and Delicious whom Megan and Bethany had raved about.

  Drawing closer to the bridal party waiting at the end of the stage, she faltered in midstep as she caught her first glimpse of her groom. No. It couldn’t be! But despite the denial screaming in her head, she knew there was no refuting the stunning evidence standing before her. Her mystery groom was none other than Rafe Dimitriou, the man who had stomped all over her heart two years ago.

  Lauren wasn’t aware she was holding Michael’s arm in a death grip until he sent her a questioning look. Mistaking nervousness as the reason for her hesitation, he patted her hand and flashed a reassuring smile.

  Somehow she managed to push back the shock, holding it at bay long enough to place one foot mechanically in front of the other until she and Michael reached the end of the runway. Standing in front of Rafe, caught in his enigmatic blue gaze like a fly thrashing in a spider’s web, she trembled in reaction to the torrent of emotions cascading over her.

  She thought she would never see him again. She’d reached out to him countless times, begging over and over for a chance to explain her side of the story. She’d desperately needed him to understand that her betrayal wasn’t what it seemed. But her pleas had gone unanswered, and eventually she’d had no choice but to accept she’d been ousted from his life.

  And now he was here, standing before her. Tall. Dark. Dangerous.

  Michael handed her over to her “groom,” oblivious to the tense undercurrents gyrating between the couple soon to be joined in mock wedded bliss. Rafe took her hand, and the door she’d worked so hard to batten down blasted open, allowing all the old, familiar emotions to come rushing back in.

  Regardless of the fact that she had every reason to hate Rafe Dimitriou, her traitorous heart reveled in the sight of him. Frank had been smashing in the tux at rehearsal last night, but what Rafe did to the suit should be illegal. Imposing was too mild a word. The crisp white dress shirt he’d paired with the elegant tuxedo accentuated his dark hair, bronze skin, and midnight blue eyes. The faint hint of ebony stubble shadowing his perfect jaw only added to his allure.

  She’d run her fingers through that lush hair, pillowed her head on that broad chest, and scratched her nails down the lines of that muscular back in ecstasy. The man was a living, breathing masterpiece . . . like Michelangelo’s David in the flesh. There wasn’t a woman in the auditorium who didn’t have their sights locked on him, and who could blame them? Testosterone practically oozed out of his pores.

  Much to her dismay, all of that testosterone happened to be focused on her at the moment. She willed herself to curb her body’s traitorous response as his mouth curved in a smile that revealed those amazing dimples. They still had the power to make her knees weak.

  He captured her gaze, eyes shining with sardonic amusement. Clearly he hadn’t missed the way she’d practically devoured him. There was no time for further rumination as the actor playing the celebrant commenced the exchange of vows.

  She zoned out, besieged by a flood of memories that sent the scripted words flying in one ear and out the other. She was back on that Grecian beach where they’d first met, cradled in the solid strength of his arms as he schooled her in the pleasures he could impart with that amazing body.

  His kisses had tasted like forever. How could those beautiful, masculine lips have spewed such venom after making her believe he cared? His cruel words had burned like acid. They’d poisoned her heart.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the mock celebrant announced, drawing her out of her reverie with a start and unceremoniously depositing her back into the nightmare playing out before her. Her heart gave a jolt. Darn. She’d forgotten about this part. She couldn’t possibly. Wouldn’t. No way was she locking lips with this man again.

  Rafe clearly had other ideas. Before she had a chance to steel herself, he was laying claim to her mouth in a kiss that was half sensual challenge and half seductive temptation.

  Incendiary, Lauren thought when he unabashedly deepened the kiss. And though he tried to control his ragged breathing as he broke away, she could tell by the way his eyes deepened to stormy midnight he was just as affected. It took her a moment to realize the thundering in her ears was the audience’s roar of approval as they rose to give them a standing ovation.

  And then Rafe was drawing her into his arms as they joined the rest of the bridal party for the show’s dance finale. Her legs trembled in time to her thundering heart. She was certain the solid support of his arms around her waist was the only thing standing between her and an up-close-and-personal view of the gorgeous marble floor.

  “I know I’m not stepping on your toes, so why the pained expression?” he queried softly. “Aren’t you pleased to see me?”

  She’d entrusted him with her heart and he’d crushed it, leaving her soured on love. Did he really believe she’d break out the pom-poms to celebrate his exalted return? If so, he was going to be sorely disappointed. The fatted calf would be staying in the barn.

  “Did you honestly think I would be thrilled to see you?” she demanded in a ferocious whisper. “If I’d known you were in New York, I would have been certain to be out of town. Shouldn’t you be in France? I just read an article about your new publishing house there. Judging by the photo of you with your latest conquest, you’re still mixing business with pleasure.”

  “You know what they say about all work and no play,” he shrugged, the subtle movement drawing her attention to impossibly broad shoulders magnificently showcased by the tuxedo’s exquisite tailoring.

  “So what brings you here? Another acquisition?” She hated that she needed to know.

  “In a manner of speaking.” He paused, capturing her gaze and holding it. “I have business with you, actually.”

  “You came here to see me?” she asked, incredulous.

  He nodded, pulling her closer while soft, romantic music pulsed and ebbed around them.

  Lauren’s head urged her to pull away and put some distance between them. Her body, lured by the heady scent of his cologne, the warmth radiating off him, and the hard, muscular lines that provided the perfect counterpoint to her soft curves, defied her. Her body won the battle and she reluctantly gave in, allowing him to pull her closer.

  She had to know why he’d sought her out after all
this time. “Why are you here now, when you haven’t wanted to have anything to do with me since Greece? When you wouldn’t even listen to my explanation? Why?” she choked out.

  Her little tirade didn’t faze him in the least. If anything, it appeared to amuse him. “I’m here because you’re key to the success of a little business venture I’m currently pursuing. It happens to mean a great deal to me.”

  “And you think I care about something that means ‘a great deal’ to you after you cast me aside like I was garbage?”

  “You know why I walked away. And I think you’ll care when you hear who may be negatively impacted if you refuse to help.”

  “What are you playing at, Rafe?”

  “Make no mistake, I’m not playing. I have a proposition for you.”

  “You can take your proposition and stuff it,” she spat, outraged.

  “Really?” he asked, his vivid blue eyes narrowing as they bored into hers. “That seems a bit hasty. Business used to be more important to you than anything. As I recall, you were always willing to do whatever it took to see an assignment through. After all, you did sacrifice your virginity to me for the sake of a story.”

  Lauren’s face heated and her palm itched to slap the smug expression off his handsome face. “Why you . . . you . . .”

  “Careful, agapi mou. If you don’t tone it down a bit the audience isn’t going to believe we’re lovers. How about showing a little enthusiasm for your groom? We want those donations now, don’t we?”

  Agapi mou. My love. To think there’d been a time when she’d believed those words had really meant something.

  She knew better now.

  It was a brilliant plan, Rafe thought, as Lauren shot daggers at him through those gorgeous emerald eyes of hers. She was even lovelier than she’d been two years ago when he’d first laid eyes on her after he’d fished her out of the waters off his private beach. Though he’d tried, he hadn’t been able to forget her.

  He’d been on his usual pre-dinner jog, following his favorite path along the cliffs by the ocean. He was relishing the view of the sunset and the invigorating smell of the fresh sea air after a day spent sequestered in an interminably drawn-out board meeting when a movement in the ocean below caught his eye.