Page 16 of Mountain Protector

The next few hours are torture.

Every time Ruby glances in my direction, a flush creeps up her neck, and I know she’s thinking about what happened in that storage room. About my hands on her body. My mouth claiming hers. Her soft gasp when I touched her where she needed me most.

The final client of the day leaves just after six, sporting a fresh compass rose on his shoulder blade. Ruby locks the door behind him and flips the sign to CLOSED. The sudden quiet in the shop amplifies the tension between us.

“So,” she says, her voice overly cheerful as she begins wiping down surfaces. “I guess that’s it for today?”

“No,” I say simply. “That’s not it.”

“What do you mean? It’s after hours. Shop’s closed.”

“I’m not just here for the shop hours, Ruby. I’m here to protect you. Twenty-four seven.”

She blinks. “That’s not what my dad said. He just wanted security during business hours.”

I move closer to her, my eyes never leaving hers.

“Your dad hired me to keep you safe. This isn’t a nine-to-five threat.”

She turns away and starts gathering her things. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Clay. I don’t need a babysitter to tuck me in at night.”

The sound of my name on her lips does something to me. Makes my resolve harden.

“I’m not asking, Ruby.” My voice drops lower. “Wherever you sleep tonight, I’ll be there too.”

She whirls around, eyes flashing. “Excuse me? You don’t get to decide that.”

“Actually, I do.” I close the distance between us, standing close enough to feel the heat radiating from her body. “Your father hired me because I’m the best at what I do. And what I do is keep people alive when someone wants them dead.”

Fear flickers across her face before she masks it with anger.

“That’s dramatic, don’t you think?”

“No, it’s reality.” I soften my tone but not my stance. “Look, you don’t have to like it. You just have to live through it. And for that to happen, I need to be where you are.”

Ruby stares up at me, her jaw set stubbornly. But I can see the calculation happening behind those brandy eyes. She’s smart enough to know that Holloway is dangerous. That her father wouldn’t have hired someone like me if he wasn’t seriously concerned.

“Fine,” she finally says.

Relief washes through me, though I don’t show it.

The truth is, this twenty-four-hour protection detail wasn’t part of her father’s arrangement. It’s mine. Born from something deeper than professional obligation. Something that took root the moment I first saw her, and has only grown stronger with every defiant glance, every stubborn word.

Something that makes me certain I won’t be sleeping on any couch tonight.

* * *

I gripthe steering wheel tighter as we pull away from Fit Mountain Ink, the memory of Ruby’s body against mine in that storage room still burning through my veins. She sits beside me in my truck, close enough that I can smell the faint vanilla scent of her skin mixing with the ink and antiseptic from the shop. Too close. Not close enough.

I can’t help stealing glances at her profile as I drive. the delicate curve of her jaw, the slight pout of her lips. The same lips that were parted and gasping against my mouth just hours ago.

Fuck. I need to get it together.

The drive to her apartment is mercifully short. But as we get out of the truck and approach her building, my instincts sharpen to a knife’s edge.

Something’s wrong.

I look around and that’s when I see it. There’s a window propped open on her floor. I did a perimeter check this morning before we left for the shop. That window was closed.

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