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  Cain wouldn’t let her off that easily. Couldn’t. There was too much at stake for both of them. He rubbed his eyes. “Don’t become what you hated, Celeste. Don’t become me—or at least what I used to be.”

  “You did what you had to do. Duty means you make sacrifices.” Celeste put Pan onto the floor.

  “That’s the excuse I used.” He took her hand, humbled when she unconsciously gripped it back. “Three years ago, I deliberately seduced you. I didn’t care about you or what you wanted. I’d wanted the serenity you brought to my life and made sure I left you with no other choice.”

  “I wanted to be seduced,” she admitted quietly, but it was the underlying shame that caught like a hook in his heart. “You didn’t do anything I hadn’t wished for.”

  “But you also wanted more. At the time, I knew I couldn’t give it to you. But I can now,” Cain rasped, his voice raw with what he’d lost. He brushed away a tendril of hair from her cheek. “I’ve never begged anyone. But I’m begging you now.”

  His words pierced Celeste like tiny, sharp arrows, bringing down the last of the barriers that constricted her heart. She searched deep into the pewter of Cain’s eyes, now tinted with regret.

  “I’m sorry, Celeste. Forgive me.” His hand slipped over her heart, his forehead tipped against hers. “I love you. I loved you the first moment we met, I’ve loved you with every breath I’ve taken since.”

  He used his thumb to brush away a tear on her cheek. “I can’t promise a life of bliss,” he whispered. His hand curved around the back of her neck, tilting her head back. “But I do know that without you, I’m only half alive.”

  Her hand caressed his jaw, her fingers traced the hard lines of his features—knowing that the power that lay just beneath the surface would not make their life easy.

  Celeste realized that she wanted the flesh-and-blood man before her—and the exciting roller coaster of emotions that came with him. A small smile tilted her lips. “Partners?”

  He groaned, trembling as his hand gripped hers. “Partners.” He lifted her onto his lap. Automatically, her legs locked around him as his mouth found hers, this time with a need she felt confident she could fill. And she gave herself freely. Because Cain had saved her too.

  “I’m going to work for Labyrinth,” she said against his lips, and happiness flowed through her, sweet and warm.

  “I’m going to be your boss,” he reminded her, determined.

  “That’s okay.” She nipped his jaw, finally feeling complete, whole. “Because someday I plan to be your boss.”

  “What makes you think so?” he teased, while his hands danced up her spine, making her squirm, making the heat between them flare.

  “If I’m tough enough to love you…” She tugged his hair to make him stop, but instead her fingers caressed its silky texture. “…then I certainly have the guts to boss you around.”

  He nuzzled her neck, laughing, and the rumbling sent shivers quaking through her limbs. She’d done that, she thought. She’d made him happy.

  “I do love you, Cain.”

  With a groan, his hand caught hers, warm and welcoming. Slowly, he slid her body back onto the seat then knelt before her. Ignoring a high-pitched yowl from Pan, he tugged the green ribbon and the solitaire ring free from the cat’s neck.

  “Cain?”

  “Celeste?” Cain mimicked her softly, then held out the ring. Blue fire flashed beneath the limo’s interior lights. “I know this might be too soon, but I can’t wait.” Cain’s mouth tilted, sexy, teasing—taking her breath away. “I guess impatience has become one of my newly discovered traits.”

  “Could work for me.” Her lips curved in a secret feminine smile as he slipped the sapphire band on her finger.

  “I didn’t think I had anything—not even you,” she said, not bothering to hide the tears that welled in her eyes. “Now I don’t want anything but you.” Cain gathered her close, and she felt the tension drain from his body. She shivered as his breath fanned her skin. Tipping her head to one side, she allowed him more access.

  Cain leaned back, taking her with him until she sprawled over him, limbs entwined. His hand slid up her thigh, groaning when he touched a spot of bare skin above the silken hose. “White cotton?” he asked rhetorically, passion turning his eyes sleek silver.

  “Always.”

  Gently, almost reverently, he kissed the side of her mouth. “I love you,” he murmured, linking her hands behind her back, drawing her tight. Desire tripped through her and she melted into him.

  “You pick the damnedest times to go soft on me, Gypsy.”

  “And no bed in sight.” She laughed wickedly, letting her love filter through.

  His fist hit a button on the nearby bar. Suddenly the lounging seat on the other side of the limo flipped, and the backrest slid down, revealing a full-size bed.

  He caught her earlobe tenderly between his teeth. Goose bumps chased down her neck. “You were saying?”

  Pan jumped onto the bed and looked at Celeste, his eyes hooded and lazy. With a languid yawn, he circled twice and settled down with a flick of his tail. Celeste glanced from the cat to the bed to her man. With tender fingers, she cupped his cheek and lowered her lips to his.

  “Stay.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-2535-0

  ENGAGING BODYGUARD

  Copyright © 2006 by Donna Young

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  About The Author

  Books by Donna Young

  Cast of Characters

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Copyright