Page 4 of Revealing Mark
It wouldn’t be long before he was. I hated to think of him putting his life on the line to protect a stranger. I struggled with that, for both him and my brother. It was the part of their job I hated. I would never forget when Matthew had been shot while he had been protecting Sarah. When my mom had called to tell me, sobbing, it had felt like my whole world had tilted on its axis. Thankfully he had made a speedy recovery and, once he’d become serious about Sarah, he’d given up being a bodyguard in order to manage the company.
But Mark was still risking his life on each assignment. It was something I tried not to think about for fear it would drive mecrazy. So far he had never been injured but I knew it would only be a matter of time before something like that happened, and I waited with dread.
“Is that headache making you extra grumpy?” he asked with a smirk.
“No, it’s the annoying bodyguard,” I couldn’t help snapping back. The alcohol had loosened my tongue and I wasn’t going to back down like I would have before.
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I see bad things happen to people every day.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. There was a darkness in his eyes and it made me wonder what he had witnessed in his job. I couldn’t imagine dealing with life and death on a daily basis. My most extreme day-to-day stress was meeting deadlines.
It made me look at him differently. He looked so effortlessly smart with a white button-up shirt open at the collar. His hair was a little longer than usual, and I liked it. It made him look younger.
“Your job has made you neurotic. I’m fine, just a little absent-minded.” I didn’t want to argue with him.
I dropped my arms and leaned against the back of the elevator. It felt like it was taking forever, or was it just my need to escape that was making it feel longer.
“Besides, your job entails putting you in the way of people doing bad things,” I reminded him. He studied me silently. “If anyone in this elevator has a reason to worry, it would be me.” Suddenly, my mouth felt dry as he continued to watch me—possibly taking in the telltale signs of how I truly felt about him.
“Do you spend a lot of time worrying about that?” he asked softly. All smiles were gone. I had walked into that without thinking about it and I wished I had just kept quiet. I would never admit how much time I spent fretting over him.
The elevator pinged and the doors opened, giving me a temporary reprieve from answering his question.
He led the way to my room and opened the door for me. He surprised me by entering my room and closing the door behind us.
“You’ve seen me to my room, I can take it from here,” I threw over my shoulder as I slipped my high heels off and sighed at the relief. “It's not like I can get lost in the shower.”
“Do you have painkillers?”
Then I remembered my headache. My imaginary headache.
“I'm sure I do.” I headed to my luggage that I had abandoned beside the bed.
“I'll wait while you check.”
It was almost impossible not to get more irritated by his continued presence when all I wanted was for him to leave. I knew very well that I didn't have anything, but I wasn't going to tell him that.
I slowly unzipped my luggage and pulled out my toiletry bag. Under the pretense of another lie, I looked through the bag before looking at him across the room where he stood.
“I have painkillers.”
I expected him to turn and leave now that he was finished with seeing me safely to my room, but he didn't.
“I was sorry to hear about you and Jack.”
I hadn't expected that. “It's fine.” I held his gaze, unwavering.
“You looked upset earlier.” He had been watching me?
I shrugged, not wanting to discuss Jack or anything that had to do with him. I still felt raw over it and just wanted to forget about it. Constantly talking about it would just keep it fresh in my mind and that was the last thing I wanted.
“Does this mean I get to interrogate you aboutyourpersonal life?” I raised my chin defiantly as I folded my arms. “Who are you dating? How long have you been together? Is she nice? Is she treating you well?”
I fired one question after the other, trying to make a point. I didn’t want any answers. Hearing about the women in his life would hurt too much and I was too wrung out to handle any more.
“It’s not the same.”
“How so?” I questioned with my arms crossed. “Explain it so I can understand why you can meddle in my life and I can’t in yours?” I tapped my finger against my chin. “Come to think of it, I have never met any of your girlfriends. Maybe I should so I can give them my seal of approval?”
“I can handle mine.” His confident statement made my mouth drop open.
