Scarlett’s on the run. Can she trust her heart to a man who was supposed to hate her?

James Clancy made a promise, and he intends to keep it. But protecting his former Marine buddy’s sister proves to be more trouble than he bargained for. He’s already been burned once. He’s not about to let that happen again.

The last thing Scarlett Hawke needs is a babysitter. What she needs is a husband, and a way out. When she meets James, she knows he’s oh-so-wrong for her, but resisting him might be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do… until she discovers who he really is and just how dangerous that can be. 

Scarlett never wanted a billionaire, and James hasn’t let on that he is one. He’s there to protect her, nothing more. But when they each begin to fall for the completely wrong person—each other—will they let love happen, or will it only make their complicated lives worse? 

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Scarlett needed a husband, now. She paced the boardroom of her company and tried not to think about how her parents had been almost mowed down by a gunman on the street. At least they had been wearing bulletproof vests and were fine. The pressure of ‘what if’ had kept her up all night. She hadn’t been able to focus on anything, and right now, for work, she needed to find a temporary husband for herself.

Outside, people walked in from swimming back to the beach in bright daylight while the palm trees swayed in the breeze. It was just another day in Miami for those people, but her mind swirled with the ‘what if’ questions that never stopped. If her father hadn’t taken precautions against an assassination attempt, she might not have seen them ever again. Her last stupid fight with her mother over her choice of a blue or red skirt seemed so stupid now.

Her secretary buzzed in and said, “He’s back.”

Right. James, the guy who’d showed up an hour ago without references, and told her secretary, Maria, that he was here to be her bodyguard. She’d instructed her secretary on the intercom send him away, but now, Maria assured her that he checked out.

Maria had even called her brother, Gabe, who confirmed he’d hired him.

And of course her brother thought she wasn’t capable on her own. Her hands went into fists, but then she unclenched them. Gabe wasn’t here to tell off. She crossed her arms, ready to meet this doughnut-eating, wannabe cop.

Then her gaze met the blue eyes of one of the most attractive, rough around the edges bad boys she’d seen in a long time. In her makeup company, Sundarata, she was surrounded by physically perfect male models, but they all lacked something tangible. This bodyguard, was all testosterone and sex on a stick. Her breath caught in her chest but then caught herself. Serious businesswomen didn’t flirt, and she was the CEO of a legitimate business. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Princess…”

“It’s Scarlett or Ms. Hawke.” He was her brother’s friend, clearly. To avoid him, she flipped her hair and turned toward the window. She had no time for someone who talked down to her, in the same way that she had no time for one of her siblings who tried to annoy her. “Use my name or see yourself out right now.”

He stepped closer and her pulse ached for his touch. Bodyguards were not supposed to turn her on, especially not when she had all these fires to put out in her life. The contract with Max Shepard would help grow her company, and work was all she could handle at the moment.

“Scarlett, your brother hired me to protect you, and despite my better judgment, I agreed because someone tried to assassinate both your parents and there are threats against your entire family. Your brother trusts me, and only he tells me when to leave.”

Her head was full of pressure that was about to explode, but her anger would be directed toward Gabe when she saw him next. She swallowed her pride, straightened her skirt, and remembered that the island resort where her business conference was to be held would be full of makeup executives. Assassins tended to stay local, or at least she’d like to think so. She crossed her arms and tried to speak with as much determination as she could muster. “Gabe means well, but I’m going on a business trip where I’m not leaving the hotel for a week. By the time I get back, this will all be over.”

“Everyone I know can buy a plane ticket, and you’re not exactly low profile, Ms. Hawke.”

Right. She was known as the daughter of the Hawke fortune and an international shopper with expensive tastes, welcome in every exclusive shop. This time she was going to be more, though, and the contract would put her company on a world map without her daddy’s credit card.

James moved closer and something sent a lightening bolt of awareness through her. She saw the hint of a tattoo under that blue t-shirt of his. As a girl, she’d wished for a dreamy-looking guy like him to come and find her at her prestigious academy, to show her the world. No guy ever measured up to fantasy. She dropped her arms from her waist, but held her wrists together to ensure he had no clue how he affected her pulse. “Where on earth did my brother meet someone like you?”

“Marines.”

“Naturally.” She took a deep breath and wished it was a cold shower. She needed to stop imagining that Marine equaled strength or that he might protect her. No one could. Then she brushed her hair out of her eyes. “The way you stand should’ve given that away.”

“Excuse me?”

Right now she had to find a husband, not a bad-boy bodyguard who must love flag and country over protecting someone like her, a socialite originally from New York. His kind hated her. She needed to find the buttons to push to make him go away. It was for their own good. Rolling her eyes, Scarlett mustered up her acting chops. “However, the scruffy five o’clock shadow shows you gave that lifestyle up, and that tattoo on your arm tells me you no longer care about anyone or anything. Look, you were probably good at security while serving overseas, but I run a business.”

James didn’t even blink. “Gabe warned me that you were high maintenance.”

“My brother doesn’t know me anymore.” Her hands balled into fists. Everyone in the Hawke family took Olivia and Gabe seriously, but they still expected Scarlett to be the one out shopping. No one understood that her makeup business was important to her and the hundreds of people she now employed. That number could soon be in the thousands, if she scored the contract with Shepard. “And your services will get in my way.”

“Then explain to me why you’d rather continue your life as you know it, without anyone next to you, when you know an assassin shot at your parents from the top of a building. If you’re next on the list, why would you even take a chance, Scarlett?”

“Because…” He’d be a complicated husband and confuse her. He’d not be worth the trouble. She couldn’t say that, so she had nothing to say. Drat.

“I’m listening.”

The truth was the only thing in her mind. She’d have to tell him. Images of them in bed while he kissed her, hard and demanding, flooded her thoughts and a sigh escaped her lips. “I’m going to an island resort to settle a deal, and I need a husband, not a bodyguard.”

His eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

Nothing drove a bad boy away faster than the thought of marriage. She stepped away from him and felt cold, air-conditioned air hit her overheated body. She stared out at the swaying palm tress and the people walking by. “My makeup company is still in its infancy, but we use organic products and we have a cult-like clientele that buys everything we produce. I built my brand on the idea that a beautiful woman can have anything she wants, and that includes a man. My investors want to merge Sundarata with a larger conglomerate, but I have to be the face of my company.”

He crossed his arms and stood beside her. Quietly, they both gazed out the huge bay windows of her beachfront premise.

“I’m not following,” James said after a moment.

If she used him for this trip, he’d ask so many questions and fill her head with thoughts she had no time for. Being attracted to her brother’s friend meant her brother would try to influence her life again.

It was best for both of them if she pushed him away and never admitted how her body ached to be closer to him. She lifted her chin, mentally said a prayer to help her, and thought of the rudest way to phrase what she was going to say next. “I’ll use easier words, then. I don’t need a bodyguard. I need a husband, and you’re not even close to what might qualify as a good candidate. You look blue collar and smell like sin on a motorcycle.”

He blinked. “What? Sin on a motorcycle?”

That was what he chose to focus on? She was never going to explain the fantasy of sex on a motorcycle that had popped into her head the moment she saw him. Never.

Everyone assumed she was the privileged daughter who spent her days and nights in the finest of luxury, haughty and spoiled like a princess. Well, it was time to muster up the princess act. She peered down her nose. “Did I insult you, Mr…? I don’t know your last name, James.”

He bowed, mocking her. “James Clancy, your highness.”

“Scarlett Hawke.”

“I know. I know your brother.”

“Look. I don’t have the time to play semantics.” The name Clancy took her by surprise, but she merely held out her hand like the reigning monarch in this play. Clancy was a common name, and it was unlikely he would be any relation to her father’s friend. She’d know him if that was true, so she dismissed the thought and focused on getting rid of him. Once he left, she’d hire her own bodyguard and temporary husband, most likely a pretty model-type that she’d never be attracted to. “Now, Mr. Clancy, I have to continue my interviews for this husband I need.”

She could take care of herself, and she didn’t need Gabe’s interference in her life. Trying to pay as little attention as possible to James, she walked to the boardroom table that was set up for interviews and opened her folder. He followed her.

Taking a seat next to her, he blatantly stared at the names on her list. “How long do you need a husband for?”

James qualified for sex, and heartache when he left. He might be a good bodyguard, but husband material was out of the question. She picked up her pen. “Are you volunteering?”

“How long?”

Her mind raced to think of something clever to say, but she wasn’t capable of thinking on her feet like that. He’d never volunteer anyhow, so she settled on the truth. “A week at least, though I’d rather a month to ensure all the contracts are signed and no one takes anything away.”

He leaned backwards in his chair and rocked it. “I’d scare off any man who walks in for that job.”

True, but secretly that was fine with her. She fixed her necklace around her neck. She hadn’t counted on him making her want to run her hands through his hair and strip off all his clothes. Most attractive men left her cold and indifferent, and she had to remind herself that James was her brother’s friend. She pointed toward the door with the pen. “Which is why you should leave.”

He shook his head. When was the last time she’d even thought about a man like this? College, maybe, but she’d never actually dated anyone who made her body this hot from simply being next to him. His presence was so distracting she almost missed what he said.

“Scarlett, I promised your brother that I’d protect you.”

The words took a second to register. She dropped her pen and turned toward him. “Why?”

“Why what?”

He might look like her dream bad boy, one her parents would never approve of, but he was a boring boy scout at heart. She crossed her legs. “Why would that promise matter to you?”

“Ms. Hawke, you want your head in one piece. So I suggest we come to an agreement.”

That wasn’t an answer. Her head in one piece was her goal too, but more important was building her company with none of her parent’s money. Her company wasn’t tied to the Hawke name, and she wanted to keep it that way.

She gazed into those baby blues of his again. “James, you’re not bad looking, but we both know you being a Marine and boy scout means you hold honor in high regard, and my blasé attitude toward marriage right now probably offended your morality.”

“That sounds like Gabe.”

Her brother always was the moral one. She turned and picked up her pen again. “He hasn’t changed.”

James placed his hand on hers, making her jolt as he said, “I’m not your brother, Ms. Hawke. A month-long marriage and my job to protect you go together. I’ll marry you, and we’ll set the date and time for the divorce on our honeymoon.”

Business. That was all this was. She had to think those words to stay sane, because the way the words ‘marry you’ played in her heart like a stringed bow playing a love song on repeat wasn’t good. “You didn’t ask what the pay will be.”

“I owe Gabe. Protecting you might be payback.”

Owe Gabe? Her brother typically only associated with billionaires who thought money was the only way out of a situation, and James Clancy wore jeans that had seen better days and a threadbare t-shirt. She unbuttoned the top button of her blouse while she imagined his lips on her exposed neck. This wasn’t good. She played with her necklace again. “What did he do for you that you’re not asking for payment?”

“He didn’t let me go back to prison. Now if that’s all, Scarlett, it seems I need to shave before we say I do.”

“Don’t. I like scruffy-looking. Gives you an edge.” She watched him walk to the door and check it out. Then he held out his arm for her, like he wanted her to follow him. She stood up. “And I’m sorry I was rude earlier. I thought it would send you away.”

“Takes more than words to send me packing.”

Unsure what else to do, she picked up her folder and joined him. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

He winked at her. “This might be my only wedding, ever. So humor me: wear white.”

“Of course.”

Today they’d be married and tonight they’d fly to Grand Bohemia. That was the plan, but with James, she couldn’t imagine the plan staying on track. Desire shook her on the inside and knocked her right off course.