Under His Protection (2 page)

Lizzy laughed just as Julieta’s phone buzzed in her purse. It was laying against her leg and she felt it on her calf. As Ivan and Lizzy started to talk, she snagged her phone and glanced at the incoming text. Even though she’d taken the day off her employees knew they could always reach her for an emergency. As she looked at the screen, all the air fled her lungs in a rush.

You looked fuckable when you left your house this morning. I wanted to shove that cherry dress up over your sweet ass and fuck you from behind. I bet you like it rough whore.

She tried to dismiss the ugly words but bile rose in her throat, swift and nauseating. Abruptly she stood and muttered what she hoped sounded like a believable excuse and hurried across the huge living room area of the luxury condo to the nearest hallway. Her stilettos clicked insistently over the hardwood floors as she hurried to one of the guest bathrooms.

Once inside the bathroom she took a deep breath. The expansive room was all dark wood and frosted glass everywhere. Not that she cared about the décor but it gave her something to focus on other than the revolting text. Whoever had sent it had actually
seen
her, because they’d described the dress she had on. Which meant whoever he was knew where she lived. An unwanted shudder snaked through her.

Today she was wearing a black retro style dress with a sweetheart neckline—with a cherry print. It was the first time she’d worn it too so the person wasn’t guessing. Paired with her heels it gave her the pinup look she’d been going for—not something she wanted a psycho to appreciate. She pressed a shaking hand to the middle of her chest and started to drag in a sharp breath when there was a knock on the door.

She opened it and was surprised to see Ivan standing there. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

His concern threw her for a loop, but she nodded. “Yeah, great.” Her voice sounded all high-pitched and uneven, even to her own ears. She cleared her throat. “Why?”

His eyebrows drew together as he stepped forward, making her take a step back inside. His broad frame took up way too much personal space for her comfort. “You looked shaken.”

On instinct her gaze flicked to her cell phone she’d laid on the frosted glass countertop. She met his piercing blue gaze again and shook her head. “I’m fine. Just needed a breather.” Seriously, she could hear the lie in her voice and knew he could too. But whatever, there was no way she was telling him anything. She didn’t want him to think her life was full of drama and besides, she didn’t want a stranger in her business. She could handle this situation. As soon as possible she planned to ask Lizzy and her husband Porter to help her. They were both security experts and had resources she didn’t and Julieta knew Lizzy would help with anything. They’d been friends forever.

Moving with a speed and grace she hadn’t expected for such a big man, Ivan crossed the distance between them and snagged her phone.

She let out a yelp of indignation but the man was fast, swiping in her code—how had he even known it!—and clearly reading her text. “What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to grab her phone from him, but he just turned to the side, using his body to block her as he read the message.

His savage curse made her freeze as he turned back to her, holding out her phone. “Who sent that to you?”

She snatched it from him with a trembling hand. “I don’t know. How did you know my security code?” Julieta couldn’t keep the suspicion out of her voice as she took a step back. It wasn’t like she truly thought he was the freak who’d been sending her texts the last couple days, but it made her uneasy.

He shrugged unapologetically. “I saw you swipe it in out there.”

Okay, his observation skills weren’t exactly surprising. The man didn’t seem to miss anything. “Well don’t do that again. It’s an invasion of privacy.” She clutched her phone tightly in her fist and crossed her arms over her chest.

When she did, his gaze dipped to her cleavage for the barest instant before his eyes returned to her face. As if he didn’t want to look, but couldn’t help himself. “You don’t know who sent you that?”

She shook her head as a tremble racked her body. And she had no idea who it could be either.

His frown deepened and he started to lift a hand as if he might comfort her but stopped himself. “Is it the first one?”

Again she shook her head, hating that Ivan of all people was seeing her like this. “No, but I’m handling it. And I don’t want to talk about it.”

Frowning, he opened his mouth to respond when her phone started buzzing in her hand. She jumped then cursed her reaction. It was the number to her shop which meant it was Ruby calling. “This is work,” she said to Ivan. “Do you mind?” She looked pointedly at the door.

When he just crossed his arms over his chest and gave her an almost challenging look, she blinked in surprise before annoyance surged up. She so did not have time for this. Turning away from him, she answered the phone. “Hey, Ruby.”

“Hey, boss. Someone on a motorbike just drove by and threw a rock through the window. There’s something white wrapped around it with a rubber band. It looks like a note, but—”

“Don’t touch it.” Julieta’s heart plummeted. She knew Ivan was still behind her but she couldn’t do anything about his presence. “Have you called the police?”

“Yeah, they’re on their way and I wasn’t going to touch it. And I’ve also put up the closed sign. Nothing was damaged and no one was injured, but there’s glass everywhere and… I didn’t know what to do.”

The dull throb of a headache started at the base of her skull. She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. “You did exactly the right thing. I’m on my way. If the police arrive before me tell them I’m coming.” After they disconnected she took a deep breath and turned around.

Yep, Ivan was still there. And he looked furious.

“Police? What’s going on?” he demanded, as if he had every right in the world to ask.

“Nothing I can’t handle. It’s just work stuff.” And she’d ask Lizzy for help before she asked a virtual stranger. She went to step around him but he moved with her.

Frowning, she looked up at him and glared. Even when she was in heels the man still towered over her. At five feet one inch tall she tended to wear four or five inch heels most of the time, but considering he was a little over six feet in height, her shoes didn’t give her much of an advantage. She placed her hands on her hips. “Is there a reason you’re still in my way?”

“Julieta, I just want to help.” The concern in his voice nearly did her in.

She dropped her arms from their defensive pose. “Ivan, I…I need to get to my shop. I can’t handle…”
Your concern.
But she didn’t say that. “For two months you’ve either ignored me or glared at me so don’t be all concerned about me now,” she finally snapped before sidestepping him and hurrying from the bathroom. She hated to leave early, but she had no choice so she went in search of Mina and Lizzy.

Owning her own business meant she had to take care of certain things. She just hoped the vandalism and the weird texts weren’t related. Hopefully the vandalism was just a stupid teenage prank. Unfortunately her instinct told her the two things were very related and she had a big mess to deal with.

* * *

Taken completely off guard by her dismissal, something that was rare for Ivan, he stared at the luscious backside of Julieta Mederos as she fled the bathroom. What the hell had she been talking about? Ignored or glared at her?

For the past two months he’d barely been able to keep his eyes off her. Whenever she was around he forgot how to think and sometimes breathe. She was the reason he’d come out to the party today. Not for the damn food. He’d known she’d be there and he’d needed to see her like a fucking addict needed his next fix.

And she’d actually said his name for the first time.
Ivan.
God, he’d be replaying that in his head later. Hearing Ivan on her lips—fuck. He scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d fantasized too many times about what it would be like to hear her say his name but under much different circumstances.

He shouldn’t be thinking about that. Not when Julieta was clearly facing a threat. Grabbing his radio, he called the other two guys on Mina’s security detail and told them to take over. The high rise condo was locked down tight and the building itself had great security protocols, but with the bridal shower today they’d taken extra precautions. Ever since Mina’s father had died and her wealth had increased substantially through her inheritance, Mina’s soon-to-be-husband had insisted on an increase in security whenever he went out of town. Which hadn’t been often the past couple months.

Mina didn’t like it, but she loved Alex and she was smart enough to know there were real dangers out there so she lived with it. Especially after what had happened a few months ago. Plus she spent most of her time painting or sculpting in her studio so she was barely aware of her guards for at least eight hours out of the day anyway.

Once the other two guards answered in the affirmative that everything was under control he headed out of the bathroom. At the end of the hallway he waited, watching as Julieta stood talking to Mina, her expression apologetic.

She looked so petite and almost fragile compared to the tall Mina. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Julieta if he tried. He wasn’t sure what the style of dress she had on was called, but it was insanely hot. She was petite and curvy and the way the dress flared showed off her toned calves and sexy high heels. He couldn’t count how many times he’d fantasized about her draping her legs over his shoulders with her wearing nothing but those heels. Hell, he could actually imagine her digging those things into his back as he tasted her… And, he shut that thought down as his pants started to get uncomfortable.

When Julieta made her way to Lizzy near the chocolate fountain Ivan maneuvered his way through the women and politely interrupted Mina as she spoke to one of her friends from back home.

Mimosa in hand, she raised her eyebrows. As usual, paint stained her fingernails. Red today. “Everything okay?” she asked.

He didn’t have time for small talk. “What did Julieta say to you?”

Mina blinked in surprise. “Oh, ah, just that a work issue came up and she has to leave.”

He frowned at that. Over the past couple months he’d noticed that Julieta seemed to downplay things and didn’t like to talk about herself much. Which was frustrating because he wanted to know everything about her. “I heard her on the phone with one of her employees. Whatever happened at work it’s bad enough that the police were called.”

Mina gasped but he continued. “If you don’t mind, she seemed shaken up so I want to head over there with her.” Even if the gorgeous woman didn’t want him to go with her, it was happening. “Your place is locked down and—”

“Go. The security here is great and you and Alex worry way more than me anyway. I’ll be fine. Just make sure Jules is okay. And make sure you update me, okay?”

He nodded and started to leave when Mina lightly touched his forearm. He didn’t like to be touched much, but he made an exception for some people. She was one of them. Pausing, he looked back at her.

“Jules is so sweet and she’s my friend. And I don’t have many so…” Trailing off, she bit her bottom lip. “I’ve seen the way you look at her,” she finally finished.

It took him a moment to realize what she was trying to say. “I would never hurt her.” He’d been watching Julieta enough the past couple months to realize that she had the ability to break his heart. Something he’d never imagined possible. He never made it past one date with women. Julieta was different though. He knew that one date, one time with her, would
never
be enough. On a level he didn’t understand, that scared the hell out of him.

She was worth the risk though.

Looking wary, Mina just nodded, as if she wasn’t sure she believed him. He didn’t bother responding as he turned and zeroed in on Julieta who was still talking to Lizzy. As he approached, he could see her visibly stiffen. She was aware of his presence and didn’t like it.

The thought made him frown. Yeah, he didn’t like that at all.

Both women turned to look at him, but he kept his focus on Julieta, even if staring at her made him lose his train of thought. “Are you ready?”

She blinked at him in confusion.

“I’m taking you.” When she started to protest, he tilted his head in the direction of the display of champagne glasses. “I’m guessing you had at least one drink.”

“Oh.” Her pretty, full mouth pulled into a frown. She glanced at Lizzy then back at him. “I had one drink more than an hour ago. I didn’t even think of that.”

If she’d only had one, then an hour was long enough for the effect to be out of her system, but he didn’t care. “Then I’ll take you. It’ll put my mind at ease.”

Julieta bit her bottom lip indecisively and he had to bite back a groan as he imagined nibbling on it himself. A protective urge swelled inside him as he watched her. He was going to find out exactly what the asshole texting her was up to and how long it had been going on. He was going to make the fucker regret making Julieta so afraid.

“I caught a ride with Charlotte so if you want I can drop your car off at your place. I know she’ll follow me then just take me home from there. It’s not like you live far,” Lizzy said.

Ivan wanted to hug Lizzy as Julieta started to nod. “Well, if you really don’t mind…”