Chapter 9

Their three days together were cut short when Kat received a call from Mario the next morning. Unlike the time that Liam had called her, this time there had actually been a break-in at the site. Mario apologized profusely on the phone. It had been on his watch that it had happened and he felt totally responsible, even though it had been after hours, and there had been nothing he could do. Frank, the site guard, had called in sick that evening. Mario had only left the site long enough to go visit his daughter, who had just given birth to his first grandchild. While she was royally pissed that there had been a break-in, she wasn't at all blaming Mario.

John watched as Kat took the news from the foreman in stride. He was impressed with her calm demeanor. It was so much different from the time when that asshole Liam had called her about the fake break-in while they had been at the coffee shop. John liked to think that it was because she was more comfortable now that he was with her, but brushed that thought aside since he had been with her during the last call from Liam... She hung up the phone, closed her eyes and sighed.

"I have to go down to the site."

"I heard, but Kat, WE have to go." He saw her start to object so he quickly continued before she could interrupt. "I can't let you go alone. There's still someone out there that wants to hurt you and I won't allow that." 'Not while I'm still breathing', he thought "Look, sweetheart...don't take it as me being overprotective, please. Just know that I do this for a living, and I'm very good at my job..."

Her dark blue eyes met his light blue ones. "Your job..." Her eyes narrowed but there was a smirk playing at her lips. "How many women have you slept with for your job, John?"

His answer was low and his eyes turned cold. "None, Kat...ever. Not even when I was doing...other questionable things, I never did that."

"John...I...I didn't..." He watched her stammer before she tried to sit up and pull away from him. He grabbed her and pulled her back down against him. She struggled against him until his lips were pressed against hers. She whimpered when he gently nipped her lower lip and then slowly moved back.

"Please understand. You're not a job to me. You're..." He reached out and stroked her face gently. How the hell could he explain to her what he felt...hell he wasn't even sure he knew exactly what he was feeling yet. What he did know was that he hadn't felt like this since...well, ever, but he wasn't sure he wanted to think about that yet either. "...so much more...I've never brought anyone..." He put his fingers under her chin and lifted so that she was looking up at him. "...anyone here, or to my previous place either. I haven't...been with a woman in... a very long time." This time it was John's eyes that turned down from Kat's. Then he felt her hand on his face gently lifting upwards in a mirror image of what he had done to her several times now.

"While I find that incredibly hard to believe, it also makes me extremely happy."

His eyes met hers with a look of confusion. "Why?" He whispered.

"Why would I be happy about you not bringing another woman home to your place... or with you not being with another woman for quite a while? Uh...what's not to be happy about?"

He wanted so badly to say the words that he was thinking at that moment, that there would never be anyone else but her, ever again, but he was afraid that was too much, too quick and it would scare her away. He leaned over and kissed her and then yanked the sheet off of them both as he bounded out of bed. "Come on sleeping beauty, you need to get down to the site."

The sight of her incredulous look coupled with her naked body sprawled out on his bed beckoned to him like a siren's call but he knew that she had things to do and that when work calls, you answer. Sighing, Kat got up and quickly headed to the bathroom. Her head knew he was right but her body obviously had other things it wanted.

John grabbed a suit out of his closet and started getting dressed. Kat came walking out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. "John, what am I going to tell the crew when I show up with some gorgeous, tall guy in a suit?"

He just shrugged and gave her a smirk."Let's go sweetheart...You wouldn't want your bodyguard showing up late for his first day on the job, would you?"

Her head tilted to the side. "Bodyguard, huh? Is that how we're going to explain you?"

He flashed her a quick grin. "You don't think I'll blend in?

"Uhhh no. And...you're going to get filthy if you're going to be following me around the site all day."

"I'm not afraid to get a little dirty for you, Kat." His grin turned into a wicked smile as he started to unbutton his dress shirt.

"Oh...well then, we might have to see how dirty you can get."He watched her face turn bright red as she realized what she'd just said. Then, almost on cue her eyes turned down and she turned to walk back into the bathroom. He chuckled and went to go find a pair of jeans and a shirt to wear.

They decided to pick up breakfast at one of the coffee shops on the way to the site. They also ended up taking Finch's Lincoln rather than walking; John had made that decision final by showing her his weapons stash for 'emergencies' hidden in the trunk. Granted, he didn't see them being needed at the site today but one never knew when an emergency might pop up. And he was too used to planning for all contingencies to stop now.She acquiesced to what he thought was extremely good logic and he grinned at her as he opened the passenger side door for her.

When he got in she was giggling and shaking her head. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"You...and that grin. God John, that grin; it could launch a thousand ships. Pardon the cheesy literary reference."

"My grin huh...you mean it's not my charming personality that makes you smile like that?" He felt the grin turn into a full fledged smile as he looked over at her. Her face was positively glowing and the smile that graced her mouth made him feel weak. He wanted to lean over and kiss her so badly but he knew that if he did they'd never make it to her work.

"Oh yeah...your grin, your personality, your..." She breathed out and he watched her eyes flicker down to his mouth. "John...can we go now...please?"

"Yeah." He tore his eyes away from her so that he could start the car and get them on their way before they accosted each otherright there in the car. Apparently she was having just as much of a problem controlling herself around him as he was around her. The thought brought a smile to his face as he drove down the street towards the coffee shop.

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Kat sat next to John trying to glance over at him without being too obvious about it. She wasn't sure how well she was pulling it off but she was almost to the point that she didn't care. The man was pure sex in a suit...only, today there was no suit. He had changed out of his suit into a pair of blue jeans and a dark blue polo. Not exactly the casual dress she was used to seeing, but a little bit more practical than the suit. But he was still drop dead gorgeous.

She watched him as his eyes flickered off to the left, right, forward, and down over and over again. He was watching everything, his eyes on the lookout for absolutely anything out of the ordinary. Kat remembered her brother's friend Jack, who was a sniper in the Army. He was allways talking about how they had to be ultra observant of absolutely everything. She'd noticed that John was always watching everything, even the night they'd met, his eyes were always searching. She wondered if that's what he had done for the CIA...she wasn't sure if she could ask him, or if he could tell her but it might explain some things.

He caught her looking over at him and he took his eyes off the road for just a second to look over at her. Kat quickly looked away out her window. The car slowed and they pulled up in front of the coffee shop. John got out and came around to open the car door for her. She thought she could get used to this! She stepped out and John closed the door, and then she felt his hand on the small of her back. It reminded her of that night at the coffee shop where they'd had their first 'date'. She'd loved when he'd done it then and she loved it even more now. He opened the door for her into the coffee shop and followed her in. They walked up to the little counter where the barista welcomed them and asked what they would like to order.

They each ordered their coffee, John got a regular coffee to go and Kat got her usual zebra mocha. They walked back out to the car and once again he opened her door for her. 'Yeah', she could definitely get used to this. She thought back to past dates that she'd been on...this wasn't even a date and she still couldn't remember ever being treated with such respect. She glanced over at him and looked down at his arm resting on the center console between them. She reached over and took his hand in hers, laying her arm right next to his. He looked over at her and smiled as he threaded his fingers through hers. She sighed and went back to watching the concrete scenery, the little bodegas, and all the pedestrians that they passed by.

They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way to the site. When John pulled up to Kat's office he gently removed his hand from hers to shift the car into park and turned the key off. He turned to face her and took her hand again. "So Kat...I'm your bodyguard. I go everywhere you go...no questions, no arguments, ok? That's the deal with you being able to be here. I know it sounds overbearing, "

"Yeah...that's what I'm tellin' the crew. But, honestly...everywhere John?"

"Everywhere. I'm not taking any chances until I find out who's trying to hurt you Kat." He reached over and ran the back of his hand down her cheek. He still inwardly cringed every time he looked at the cuts on her face. Some of the places on her cheek and eye were starting to discolor and take on the look of a bruise and it appeared to be painful but she didn't complain about it. He noticed that she'd actually done quite a good job at hiding it with her makeup this morning. Not for the first time, he wished that he could go back and kill that bastard Liam before he'd been able to touch her. She shouldn't even be in the position to have to hide things like that with makeup.

"Promise me you won't let your pride get in the way and try to go off by yourself. I know this is your place of business and I respect that a great deal, but your safety is my number one concern here, above all need to keep up appearances. I'm here to keep you safe..." He paused and Kat watched his eyes darken as he inhaled deeply. "...and hopefully I'll be able to keep my hands off of you long enough to keep your reputation intact." His fingers slid under her chin and his thumb came up to trace lightly across her lips. Her eyes unwillingly closed as her body's reaction to his touch made it impossible for her to function properly.

Her mouth dropped open and he heard a soft mewling sound that was music to his ears. She was so incredibly responsive to him. Just the slightest touch and it was like he was pressed up against her again. He felt a twitch between his legs and knew that he needed to take a proverbial step back so that he could control himself. His hand left her face reluctantly and closed fleetingly around her hand. "You ready to go?"

Her eyes opened slowly and rose to meet his. "No...but unfortunately, I have to."

He squeezed her hand lightly before releasing her and turning to get out of the car. This time Kat didn't wait for him to come around and open her door. She wanted to keep up appearances that he was there as her bodyguard, not her date.

She watched John scan the site quickly then he asked her to follow him around to the back of her office to check for anything out of the ordinary. When he found nothing, he let her know that he wanted to check out the inside first before she went in. Kat personally thought that he was being overly cautious but she didn't argue with him. John walked up the steps to the portable trailer and Kat's eyes followed him, watching how the fabric of the jeans tightened teasingly across his thighs and butt as he climbed the ramp. She fought the urge to follow him up the steps and wrap her hands around what she now knew, quite intimately, that the material was hiding. She almost moaned at the thoughts that rushed to her mind because she knew it would be hours before they could come to fruition.

Kat sighed and followed him up the steps as he opened the door and slipped inside. John held up his hand as she pulled the door open wider. She didn't expect him to find anything or anyone in here, it wasn't like the area was large enough for someone to hide. The only place she could think of that someone could conceivably hide would be in the makeshift closet where she kept her clothes and a spare handgun in a locked safe box. She watched John's head turn from side to side scanning absolutely everything and then he opened the closet. When he found nothing he waved her in. She walked in and closed the door behind her and twisted the lock. Before John turned back around to face her, Kat's eyes were drawn to the back of his neck where his hairline came to a sharp point. She wasn't sure why she found that so incredibly sexy, but she did, and it just spawned more thoughts... She pictured him lying naked across his bed with her straddling his back, running her fingers down through his short salt and pepper hair, right down through that point. Then she leaned down and ran her tongue up the length of his spine. Kat wasn't able to suppress the moan that was ripped from her throat. The sound alerted John, he spun around and started walking towards her.

"What's wrong?" The concern etched across his forehead made her embarrassed for not controlling her, 'incredibly inappropriate during work', thoughts.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. It's nothing..." Her eyes dropped to the floor, but not before John caught the look in them. He was across the room,standing in front of her in three long strides.

"Well well Kat..." His voice was so low and rough as he brought his hands up to cradle her face and then threaded them back through her hair. "We just got here...and I'm not even dirty yet."

Her breath caught in her throat and the fire between her legs ignited instantly. "Oh...this was...a mistake." She whispered, shaking her head.

"What?...Why?" He asked. A look of confusion, and then hurt, flickered across his face as he stepped back from her.

She turned her eyes up to meet his without lifting her chin and grabbed his hands before he could retreat any further. "Because... I don't think there's any way I'm going to be able to keep my hands off of you all day."

Now it was John's turn to be floored. The look of hurt was quickly replaced by a look of lust filled hunger. His eyes darkened and it was only a matter of seconds before he had one hand wrapped around the back of her head, and the other around the small of her back. He pulled her against him so hard that it took her breath away. His mouth descended on hers with the force of a starving man diving into his first meal. Kat whimpered as she felt her back meet the wall that John now had her firmly pressed against. She could feel him harden against her almost immediately. She moaned and her head dropped back. "Ohh... John..." She breathed.

"Say it again...Kat...say it again, please."

She clawed at his shirt desperately, pulled it out of his jeans. She lifted it up, her fingers quickly finding his skin. His lips went to work along her jaw, then moved down her neck, nipping lightly as he went. She cried out when his teeth were a little more exuberant than he'd intended. His tongue snaked out to soothe the skin where he'd nipped her. "Say it..." He thrust his hips against her, pushing her harder against the wall. "...again." He shoved her legs apart with one of his knees and then pushed it up firmly between her legs.

"Oh!" She cried out. Her arms slid up under his shirt and wrapped around his back. She pulled him closer and lifted her lips to his ear. "John..." Her voice was soft and breathy and it made him so hard that he thought he might come right there.

They both jumped when someone started pounding loudly on the door to her office.

"Kat! Kat are you OK in there?"

She immediately relaxed a little when she recognized the voice of the person on the other side started speaking.

She took a deep breath and answered. "Yeah Mario! I'm fine...I'll be out in a minute."

She straightened her hair and pulled her shirt down flat and looked up at John with a questioning look. They were both breathing heavily but John was able to get his under control fairly quickly. She was amazed at his power over his own body. He straightened his shirt and tucked it into his jeans. When he nodded she stepped away from him and walked over to the door. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth before reaching for the knob and unlocking it. She opened the door and was face to face with her foreman Mario. The look of worry on his face warmed her heart immensely. She smiled and welcomed the older man in. He came to a stop when he saw John standing by the back side of the office.

She decided introductions were the first order of business. "Mario, this is John. He's going to be with me for the next few...well, I'm not sure how long, while I'm at the site. I've hired him as my bodyguard at the suggestion of one of the detectives that was here after...you know, after what happened the other night."

Mario's eyes went from skeptically raking over John's tall form to quiet acceptance. "Well, I'm glad you're taking precautions but... with Liam gone..."

"We know someone hired him Mario...we just don't know who yet."

"But...but why?"

"We don't know that either..."

"Well, I'm glad you found someone to watch your back then." Mario stepped up to John and extended his hand. They shook hands and then Mario turned back to Kat.

"Ya know, this break in comes at an awfully convenient time, especially after what happened the other night. You think they might be connected?"

John's brow rose at Mario's astute observation. "Why yes, it does seem very odd, doesn't it?"

"Well, you let me know if you need anything at all." He said to John and then he turned to address Kat. "I've talked with the police, let them know what was taken, and they said they'd contact you if they need anything further."

"What was taken Mario?"

"One of the company trucks. It wasn't one with any tools in the chest but still... They also took the copper in the first shed."

"Shit." She mumbled. "Well, it could've been worse. They could have taken any of the larger pieces of equipment and there's far more copper stored in the shed out by the West end of the site."

Mario shook his head. "Yeah, that is kind of odd huh?"

"How 'bout if we go take a look at where everything was taken from?" John directed his question at Mario.

"Sure. You ready to go now?"

John looked over at Kat and she nodded. "Let's go."

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Kat and John walked the entire site with Mario while John spent the time looking for things that might clue him into who had robbed the site. He was also looking to see if there was any evidence that the hit on Kat had anything to do with the robbery but so far he had come up with nothing. Whoever had robbed the site was clean...obviously professional, a hell of a lot better than that bastard Liam had been. That worried John because whoever was behind this was evolving their tactics to better suit their needs of hurting Kat. The pure animalistic rage that he felt at that thought scared him. He had to keep a clear head so that he didn't get distracted by his emotions. It had happened once before and he'd be damned if he would let it happen again. He would go to the ends of the earth, go to any lengths, do anything to protect her...Anything.

While they walked through the site, John familiarized himself with the layout, entrances, possible exits, and places where anyone could hide. As they walked, Kat was telling him about the various stages of the building that they were currently working on. It was going to be a clinic that would service the community, along with offering free health services for those that didn't have health insurance. She had bid low on the project so that she could work directly with the group that was in charge of the project. Her excitement about the project shone through as she spoke about it. And he could tell how passionate she was about wanting to help by taking on the project for so much less than her competitors would have. It would end up saving the group loads of money in the long run. The amount of money she was saving them would allow that money to be used to purchase several more pieces of medical equipment that they would have had to waited to purchase. They would have had to depend on paying for them through private sector donations.

John wondered again who the hell would want to hurt Kat. She was such a good person. But then again... Something clicked. He made the decision to look up all of the other companies, that had submitted bids on the job, when he got back to his apartment. Maybe one of them had been so upset by losing the bid that they were trying to exact revenge on her now. The anger was returning fast and hard, he tamped it down with everything that he had.

"John?" Kat's voice calling his name caught his attention.

He looked over at her. She was maybe fifteen feet away from him, and he had no idea how she had been able to get that far from him, without his noticing. She had a worried expression on her face which immediately put him on high alert. His eyes scanned the perimeter quickly and thoroughly. His hand shot back to finger his Sig that was tucked firmly in the waistband at the small of his back.

"What's wrong?" He asked. His voice was low and hard. He continued to scan everything around them as he walked quickly towards her.

Kat tilted her head to the side and her look of worry turned to confusion. "That's what I just asked you, John."

When he reached her side, he stood as close as he could directly in front of her. His protective stance was meant to warn anyone within their sight to stay back.

"What do you mean? You looked worried. You said my name. Did you see something?"

Kat's eyes took in John's eye movements and his hand at his back, where she knew he kept his Sig, and that started to worry her now. His body was so tense and his hard expression wasn't easing up.

"I...I said your name because you had stopped dead and you looked...really angry.

He took a slow deep breath and she watched as his shoulders dropped as he visibly relaxed. "No, there's nothing wrong. I'm sorry I worried you. I was...thinking about...it's nothing." He raised his hand to her face and ran his thumb along her cheek once. His voice lowered even further to almost a whisper. "I'm sorry." He dropped his hand quickly, she assumed, not to make a scene... just in case there were still any crew members around.

She reached out and squeezed his arm. "It's alright." And then she smiled up at him. "Hey, it's almost time for the crew to take off. I've got some paperwork I have to get done before I leave."

He took another deep breath and gave her a small smile. "OK, let's get you back to your office then. The sooner you get that done, the sooner we can get to the market and get what I need to make our dinner."

Kat's brows rose. "You're...making me dinner? Really?"

John's head nodded slowly. "Oh yes. You've worked all day, it's the least I could do." She could have sworn she saw a wicked look flash across his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Ooo K. That sounds...mmmm...promising."

"Yes..." He drew the word out and Kat thought she had never heard that word sound so sensual in her life. "...it is definitely...promising."

This time she did see the wicked gleam in his eye and she shuddered in anticipation of what was to come later that evening...after dinner.

"Well then...let's get back so I can get that pesky paperwork done."

"Mmm hmmm. Let's..."

She smirked as they walked side by side back to her office.