Her Savage Protector

Her Savage Protector

Blurb

That night while running for my life, I jumped into Bill Haynes.

Ex-military, tough, handsome, and sexy as could be.

Even in my disarrayed mind I was not blind to this.

Three men brutally killed my boyfriend in front of me.

They were coming after me now.

And then Bill offered to keep me safe, helping me fight.

I was dangerously close to falling for him.

And I knew it could turn deadly...

But he promised to be my savage protector,

or he would die trying.

Chapter 1

Zion

So, tell me about Belize, I said leaning in to show how interested I was in hearing the rest of the story.

Tyler Zane leaned forward gently in his chair across the table from me and paused a moment, his sensual mouth poised as if he was about to speak something profound. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and held my breath for a moment. I’d been waiting for this for a while.

I couldn’t believe I was at Mesa Palo, the hottest restaurant in the city, very exclusive and hard to get into, and I was with Tyler Zane, the youngest junior partner at Wilson, Bane, and Brock, one of the most prestigious law firms on the west coast. I’d been eyeing him from the day I started my internship there and finally after several weeks of flirtation Tyler and I were having dinner together.

It’s really great, he said. The climate is beautiful, the people are warm and really hard working, and there is a lot of room to really do some great work down there. I really miss it. That is one of the downsides to being a junior partner. I just don’t have the time to donate to noble causes like building houses in Belize. I used to do it every single summer for at least a few weeks with my neighbor’s church group. It was a blast.

That’s great, I said. I loved that he was into noble pursuits that way. Tyler was so confident that it bordered on cocky and if you didn’t really know him or weren’t able to look past that then you would never really get to know this side of him. I think this is what attracted me to him the most.

How about you? Tyler asked. Done much traveling?

I shook my head. No, not really. But I’ve always dreamt about going to Nepal.

Yeah, Nepal is good, he replied. It’s very majestic and I love all the mountains.

It’s definitely on my list of places to visit, I said. As well as Japan and Australia.

You want to go down under? Yeah, that place is a trip. I went there a few times as a kid with my folks and I try to make it back there every few years if I can.

Is that where this love of travelling came from? Your folks?

Yeah, and I hate to be stuck in one spot for long.

Does that mean you don’t plan to be with the firm that long?

He nodded. Good guess. I mean, I love what I do, but I’m not sure that I want to be doing it ten years from now. I might be able to make full partner by then, but then what will I do? I don’t want to stay in the same place and just stagnate.

He cut off a piece of his salmon and forked it into his mouth. He seemed to pause to savor it almost as if he was trying to emphasize the fact that he was putting something between his lips. I found it both enticing and a bit off putting. Very arrogant, but something about him really drew me to him.

I had started my internship just a few weeks ago and so far, I was enjoying every single bit of it. I loved the people, the work I was doing, and I loved learning about the legal profession. I had almost two years left to go in law school and I hoped to enter the firm as an associate when I graduated. It had been my life’s dream to practice law ever since I was twelve years old. And I’d worked so hard to make this dream a reality. Now it was coming closer and closer.

And I was in the process of meeting some amazing people, some of them super-hot men like Tyler. Wow, he was incredibly good-looking. He was charming and he was really the type of guy that I could see a future with, but one thing at a time. We’d just started talking and this was our first actual date. So far, I was having a great time.

I can understand that, I said. So, what does your dad do? Is he a lawyer as well? Did he kind of drive you into the field?

No, he is actually a plumber, he replied. He’s been a plumber for about thirty years. I guess he likes it. He works for himself, makes good money, and he gets to work with his hands. My dad is a simple guy. He has always been that way. He hasn’t wanted much in life and he hasn’t really gotten it.

But you are different. You want the brass ring.

Yep. I want it all, as much as I can get. That is the goal in my life. I want to do everything I want to do and I want to be in a position to never worry about money. ‘I can’t afford it’ should never be in my vocabulary.

He smiled and took a healthy sip of wine.  I tried not to laugh. Wow, that sounds like you are a bit delusional, but I like that. It’s probably why you are the youngest junior partner.

Exactly. You have to believe that you can do whatever you set your mind to. That is the thing holding most people back in life. He pointed to his temples. The thing right between here.

I nodded. I guess I can agree to that. So, your father is a plumber who likes to take expensive trips.

Yes, he is. You’d be surprised to see how much a good, reliable plumber can make. Everyone needs them eventually.

That is true, I replied. I sipped my wine and leaned back in my chair.

So, I’m a little surprised that you agreed to go out with me, Tyler said softly.

Really? Why is that?

Because, you were very standoffish at first. I pegged you for someone who is all business and you are not here to make friends or to date anyone.

That’s right; I’m not. But I guess you kind of wore me down.

He chuckled. I have that effect on people. It’s really just a matter of persistence. So much in life is that. I’m not the most talented guy, and I’m not the most charming, but I do think I have more perseverance.

Oh, don’t count yourself short. You are very charming.

Persistence is charming, he corrected me.

I guess you’re right.

How about you?  I’d love to hear more about your life growing up.

I sighed. Well, as I’ve mentioned before, I was an Army brat. My dad was in the Army and I got moved around a lot. It was an odd way to grow up but I think it made me tough. It went a long way in making me the person that I am today for sure.

That’s great, because I really like the person that you are.

I smiled.

We finished up dinner with a wonderful dessert of pie with several different flavors of ice cream with a chocolate brownie on the side. It was incredible and probably added a few inches to my waistline. But I figured I’d run it off tomorrow and tonight was a bit of a special occasion in my mind.

We started the walk towards my place. I only lived a few blocks away and though we’d met at the restaurant, I was glad to see that Tyler was happy to walk me home. Of course, I could feel that the heat was on between us and that once we got to my place all bets were off as to what was going to happen. I felt a burning desire for him deeply inside of me and it was growing by leaps and bounds. I could only hope that he felt that same burning desire for me.

As we walked along, I felt his hand on the small of my back. He was pulling me slightly towards him, our strides matching up perfectly. The night was warm and not too muggy. The sun had just set and the last purplish pink still drifted heavily on the clouds in the far horizon. It was breathtaking. It was so romantic. I felt like some sort of a princess.

Tonight, has been pretty spectacular, Tyler said as we walked along. I’m really glad you said yes.

I smiled. I’m glad you ignored my initial cold as ice demeanor. I can be pretty bitchy sometimes.

Nah, you are just being a tough nut to crack. I like to work for things.

Well, hopefully you won’t have to work too much harder, I said.

He stopped beside me and turned towards me. Our eyes met and he began to lean down to me to give me that sweet kiss I’d been thinking about. Our lips were almost touching when I got a very uneasy feeling washing over me.

It was hard to describe and I barely had time to react to the way I felt, the change in the atmosphere before it happened. The bushes moved quickly and then a dark blur swirled around us. It was like being wrapped up in some type of thick fog that happened all of a sudden.

It took my mind a moment to put it all together, what was happening and what I was now seeing standing before us. I saw three large men, all brawny and thickly built. All very tall, close to six feet three to six feet five. Tyler was six feet and they towered over him.

The men were all wearing black from head to toe. Except their faces. There they wore only evil, yet smug grins. I had a very bad feeling about this. Something wasn’t right. My first thought was that they wanted to do something to me. No... please God no...

But I quickly realized they knew Tyler and were hardly even paying attention to me. Tyler held his arm out in front of me to scoop me behind him. He was going to do his best to shield me from whatever may happen next.

Well, Tyler... you don’t look too happy to see us, my friend. The tall one spoke. His voice was deep, low and rumbling in his chest. His words barely articulated through his gritting teeth. I thought I detected a southern accent, maybe Texas...?

What are you doing here? I have three days, Tyler said.

Yeah, I don’t know about that. You had three days about five days ago. I guess your math is worse than we thought.

No, I’ve talked to the boss. He knows I’m a man of my word.

The smaller one who was still about six feet three and two hundred twenty pounds stepped forward. He is impatient. He has things going on. It’s time to make this happen.

Now, if you aren’t ready to make it happen, the bigger one said. Then you are shit out of luck.

Maybe we can take it out of her, and get an extension... The one in the middle finally spoke. He was eyeballing me up and down. His hair was shoulder length, blonde, and he had a crooked smile with a few days scruffy beard on his throat.

I felt my heart leap into my chest.

Over my dead body, Tyler growled through gritted teeth as he stepped in front of this man.

The man chuckled and shoved Tyler, who had braced himself. He barely moved. Tyler answered back with a quick jab and