Page 4 of Silk Shadow

Pat picked up the phone. "Show her in, Maisie."

A few minutes later, the office door swung open, and—Holy hell!—in walked the most stunning woman Viper had ever seen. Tall, close to five foot ten, with legs that stretched all the way to Canada, a Marilyn Monroe hourglass figure, and features that could grace the cover of a magazine.

He was momentarily speechless. Then he stumbled to his feet.

Pat reached out an arm. "Izzy, come on in. I want you to meet your assigned personal protection officer, Viper Morgan."

The woman walked in and looked him over. Her expressive brown eyes studied his face lingering on his mouth, then dropped to his chest, flickered briefly over his biceps, before lowering to his legs. Now knew how women felt when guys ogled them. Right now he felt like a piece of meat on display.

She gave a little nod, as if to say, “you'll do”, then stuck out her hand. "Izzy Beaumont. Good to meet you." Her voice was like cut glass, posh and crystal clear.

He puffed out his chest,—May as well look the part—forced a smile and engulfed her proffered hand in his hard, rough one. Her skin was soft, her nails perfectly manicured. A sensual exotic fragrance wafted over him. Floral, with a hint of something alluring. Vanilla, maybe. His gaze met hers. "Likewise."

She dropped her eyes first, pulling her hand away. He waited until she'd sat down, then resumed his seat.

"I take it you've told him about the death threats?" Her question was directed at Pat, but she was annoyed, he could hear it in her voice. Because he hadn’t let her get the upper hand, or because she didn’t want a bodyguard to begin with?

"Briefly. Why don’t you fill him in on the details?"

The stunner turned to Viper. He tried not to stare at her long, smooth legs ending in high-heeled sandals, or the coral nail polish on her toes. The short summer dress she wore had risen up around her thighs. He had a fleeting image of those legs wrapped around him.

What the fuck?

Where had that thought come from?

He hardly knew the woman. Swallowing, he banished the indecent image to the furthest recesses of his mind.

"I don't know if you're aware, Mr. Morgan, but my father, Richard Beaumont, recently passed away."

"I'm sorry," he said. He didn't have a clue who Richard Beaumont was.

"Thank you." She paused, studying him. "To give you some background, he was the founder and CEO of Omega Enterprises, a mining conglomerate with interests in Mexico and Central America. When he died, he left the company to me. I am now the majority shareholder."

Viper had heard of Omega Enterprises. Money and power. That was quite a responsibility for one so young. She looked maybe twenty-four, twenty-five, which made her eight or nine years younger than him.

"I think these death threats are related to that."

"Do you have them with you?" Viper asked.

"No, I gave them to the police."

"There are copies in Miss Beaumont's file," Pat informed him.

Viper nodded. He'd look them up later.

"Anyway, the police believe I've got to take them seriously, so I sought out Pat, who said he could help. I understand you have prior experience in this area?"

Viper nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, good. Well, I'd like you to start immediately, if possible. I'm leaving for San Diego tomorrow. It's kind of a working vacation, and I want you to come."

Viper glanced at Pat, who nodded. "Don't worry, Viper is ready to accompany you. We'll have to sort out the license for his weapon, but otherwise, he's good to go."

Guess he was going to San Diego.

Izzy smiled, the first time since she'd walked into the room. "It's a fashion shoot for my new swimwear line. To be honest, I could do with a break. It's been a very trying few weeks."

"I'm sure." Pat smiled fondly. "Have fun and don't worry about a thing. Viper is as good as they come. You're in safe hands." When he wasn't drinking himself into a coma and getting involved in bar fights, yes.

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