Playing With Fire

If he hadn’t left last week, if he had stayed and kissed her and laid her down on her bed one more time, he wouldn’t have been able to pull himself away. Not until things got ugly again. Here in Sydney, he was a self-made man, but with her, he wasn’t sure he’d ever shake the feeling that he was from the wrong side of the tracks. Her father had made sure of that.

None of that matters now.

He was living his dream, so far away from the struggles that had plagued his childhood. Far from debts. Far from the illness that had sapped his mother’s life away. And the sickening feeling of helplessness as his family suffered.

His parents had given up everything when they’d left Cuba, and they’d put all their hopes into the future of their kids. If they were alive now, they’d be more than proud of him. He now experienced luxuries his teenage self would never have believed. He was living the kind of life his father had hoped to give his sons, the kind that should give Simon peace of mind—

Fuck. He had a meeting in a few minutes. He wouldn’t keep his team waiting.

Forget the past. Forget Marianna. He belonged here in this corner office with floor-to-ceiling glass and clients lining up at the door. Where people saw what he had become, not where he’d started.

The ghosts of yesterday didn’t really bother him anymore, anyway. He’d found his place alongside Cameron Blackmore, his boss, and his partners, Derek Latu and Max Jensen. They’d been through a lot of intense shit together, and the trust built through working on a security team together mattered far more than his hang-ups from years ago.

Simon grabbed the files spread out across his desk and headed out the door to the conference room.

Derek and Max were already seated at the half-circle table that faced the video conference screen, and Stephanie was fiddling with the system.

“Need some help?” he asked her.

“Please.” She beamed up at him, and he immediately regretted his offer. Her shirt was unbuttoned enough to give him a peek at her generous tits, and her smile was just a little friendlier than business appropriate.

She always lingered longer in his office than necessary, and he had tried hard not to lead her on in response. Not that she wasn’t attractive. Just an unnecessary complication.

“I’ll take care of this,” he said, gesturing to the system. “You can get back to work.”

Her smile fell a little, but she nodded and walked out.

Simon adjusted the settings, and Cameron Blackmore’s picture appeared on the screen in a conference room that mirrored their own.

“This thing actually works,” said Derek. “Your girlfriend was right, Cam.”

The corners of Cameron’s mouth turned up. “She’s right about a lot of things.”

“First Derek, now you,” said Max shaking his head. “What’s this place coming to?”

Simon had to smile. Derek had been married to Laurie for a couple years, but Simon never would’ve guessed that Cameron could fall in love so quickly. He had—with Jackson McAllister, the PR expert who’d been sent there from New York a few weeks ago to give their team an image adjustment. The moment Cameron asked Simon to get on a plane with him to follow her back to the States, Simon knew his friend was long gone on the woman. Which was how Simon had ended up back in Miami, the city he swore he’d never return to. With the woman he’d sworn to never get caught up in again.

“Looks like you’ve set foot in the New York office,” said Simon to Cameron. “Does that mean you and your father kissed and made up?”

Cameron gave a humorless laugh. “He’s still a fucking asshole, but he’s leaving me alone now that I have the board behind me. It’s probably the best I could hope for.”

Simon nodded. He had met Harlan Blackmore in person a handful of times. The man was as bad as Cameron made him out to be. Sometimes worse. He was the CEO of Blackmore Inc., the company Cameron’s grandfather had started, but he’d had it in for his son ever since Cameron took over the Sydney branch—which Harlan used to be in charge of.

“And your father’s on board for moving the global business toward surveillance instead of just focusing on personal security?” asked Derek.

“I couldn’t give a shit what my father thinks. The board is interested. That’s what matters,” said Cameron with a shrug.

The move made sense, and Simon had already expanded the new surveillance team for the Sydney branch. He had spent a lot of time with the IT department, and it was coming along, though not fast enough. When Cameron got back to Australia, Simon would officially take on that division of the business. Not that he didn’t still get off on the intensity of high-pressure personal security jobs, but building the new surveillance arm of Blackmore Inc., Australia, would be a chance to use his education instead of just his physical skills. In time, he hoped to offer his expertise to the board if they voted to make it a global initiative.

“Sick of my job yet, Derek?” Cameron smirked.

“Glad Simon is back. Not sure it was wise leaving me alone with this clown,” said Derek, nodding toward Max. “The only jobs he wants are with women.”

While Derek was the team’s responsible father bear—and the hulking Pacific Islander knew how to get just about anyone in line—Max was the resident playboy and joker. Probably because he was used to getting away with a lot. He came from a wealthy ranching family, the closest thing Australia had to royalty.

“One day you’ll join the ranks and find a woman who’ll bring you to your knees, Max,” said Cameron.

For once, Max didn’t smile.

“The problem isn’t finding her,” he muttered.

Right. Natasha. Shy marine biologist who he was always obsessing over, the one with a famous model sister. Why the hell didn’t Max just make a move on her? He wasn’t known for holding back in any situation, especially not one that involved a woman. Didn’t make much sense.

But obsessing over a woman did strange things to a reasonably sane guy. He should know that better than anyone. Simon frowned.

“I hear you, Derek,” said Cameron. “Glad you made it back from Miami, Simon. How was the visit?”

Cameron knew exactly how that visit would be. He knew better than anyone in the world the way Marianna had torn his heart out.

“We don’t need to talk about this now,” he growled. “That has nothing to do with Blackmore Inc. business.”

“Actually, it is Blackmore Inc. business,” said Cameron.

Simon gritted his teeth. What the fuck? Derek and Max looked from Cameron to him.

“I got a call from Marianna Ruiz yesterday,” Cameron continued. “She’s coming to Sydney for a few days. And she wants to hire you as a personal bodyguard, Simon.”

“Hell, no,” he blurted out. A screech of feedback echoed from the video conferencing system. “Follow her around while she’s here? What the fuck is she thinking?”

Cameron put his hands up. “I know. And I said something like that, though not quite in those terms.”

Simon’s heart was pounding hard in his chest. Hell, no. Just thinking about her was making him crazy. Spending time in close quarters with her, keeping his hands off that sweet little body? Watching her smile at every guy who hit on her? Yeah, not going to happen.

“No way I’m doing that, Cameron,” he said.

Cameron raised his eyebrows. “She said you’d probably react that way. I don’t even want to know what went down in Miami.”

Did he have to use the words what went down? Because that was all it took for that scene he had just imagined back in his office to flash in front of him. Vividly.

Simon closed his eyes. “I walked out on her, and she’s trying to get her revenge, Cam. That’s what’s going on.”

Max gave a low whistle.

“Now we know why you’ve been in a shit mood since you got back,” said Derek.

Cameron shook his head. “At first I thought it might be something twisted like that, too. But not anymore. She’s serious.”

Simon scowled.