When Garrett didn’t respond, her brain chimed in with the serious repercussions she was trying to ignore.

Was f**king him worth losing your job? Worth losing one hundred thousand dollars? Worth losing your self-respect, to think that you’re just another woman who fell into Devin McClain’s bed?

She couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “Garrett? Are you so quiet because you’re booking plane tickets?”

“Excuse me?”

“I worried that when I told you about Devin and me becoming lovers, you’d have my ass on the next plane back to Denver.”

“Is that what you want?”

“No! It’s just . . . the fact that you’re not freaking out about this is freaking me out a little.”

Garrett said, “Gimme a minute, okay?”

“Fine.” He put her on hold and canned Muzak tortured her ear. Who thought an instrumental version of “Smells like Teen Spirit” was a good idea?

Maybe Garrett wouldn’t shitcan her. Maybe he’d just pull her off the assignment.

Why did the thought of leaving Devin make her sad and not like she’d dodged a personal and professional bullet?

“I’m back. This might be the understatement of the year, but besides your bedroom antics, you and Devin are getting along well?”

“Yes. He takes the security issues seriously. He listens to me and trusts me.”

“Look. If it were anyone else, I’d pull them off assignment, but I suspected something like this would happen. And before your outrage burns through the telephone lines and zaps my brain stem, lemme explain something. It is not that uncommon when people are in close quarters like you two have been that an intimate relationship will develop.”

Relief swept through her, followed quickly by a niggling suspicion. “You didn’t plan for this to happen, did you?”

“No, but I’m not naive either. So be warned: There’s truth in that movie The Bodyguard—how it played out and how it ended.”

It ended badly, if she recalled correctly.

“When the period of danger is over for the client, the guard and the client go their separate ways.” He paused. “Is that what worries you? Have you fallen for him?”

No. Not yet. Okay, maybe a little. “No. I just . . . I wasn’t sure if sleeping with the client was a firing offense. The situation wasn’t addressed in the employee handbook.”

Garrett chuckled. “As long as you can be honest about your ability to still do your job at the same commitment level as when you started the assignment, then I don’t have a problem with it. But if there’s a change in dynamic on either side, you’ll need to inform me ASAP.”

“Understood.”

“I never doubted your ability to handle this job, Liberty. But I avoid assigning opposite-sex bodyguards to clients for any length of time for this very reason.”

“Great. I’m a cliché now too.”

“Not yet. So do you want me to tell the promotion company that your relationship with Devin has become intimate and see how they weigh in?”

She chewed on her lip. “I’ll leave that decision up to you.”

“Then as far as I’m concerned, everything is goin’ according to the contract we signed. I’ll leave it as is for now. They were the ones who insisted on hiring you. They were the ones who suggested you pose as his girlfriend before we settled on the personal assistant title. They really can’t be shocked that you two became sexually involved.”

“True.”

“Can I give you some advice?”

Unsolicited advice from Garrett Barker? This oughta be good.

“Make sure to take it at face value. The minute you start thinkin’ that you’ve found something real and start makin’ plans with him . . . it’ll fall apart.”

“Are you speaking from personal experience, Garrett?”

A pause followed. “Yeah. Didn’t end pretty. I did my job and kept her safe. She walked away intact, which I was paid to ensure. I limped away, half-goddamn-broken, and that f**ked me up big-time.”

“If you had it to do all over again, would you take the job?”

“Yes. But I’d remember it was just a job. It’s not real.”

Liberty tipped her head back, knowing in her gut he was exactly right. “Thanks for talking to me.”

“Anytime. Stay safe. Keep in touch.”

“I will.” She ended the call and tossed her phone on the bed, relieved and yet also worried if she and Devin kept up the level of not only sexual intensity, but intimacy, she’d be nursing a broken heart.

Chapter Sixteen

A week of having Liberty in his bed and Devin still couldn’t get enough of her.

And after the high-energy performance he’d just given—he loved rowdy, loud crowds, especially during a rare afternoon concert—he was damn near desperate to prolong that adrenaline rush.

They were in the media room, acting civilized.

He felt anything but civilized.

Devin angled his head and murmured, “I want to f**k you. Now.”

No one else saw it, but he felt Liberty tremble against him.

“Devin McClain.” A booming voice echoed behind him.

As he turned to face the man, he let his fingers sweep across the bottom of Liberty’s ass.

She hissed, “Stop it.”

“You don’t want me to stop.”

He forced a smile for Jarvis Barnes, the program director for the biggest country music station in three states, and held out his hand when the man finally waddled toward him. “Jarvis. Good to see you again.”