THE (UNSOUGHT) BODYGUARD

TEASING THE BODYGUARD

On Monday morning, Annika went downstairs to go running, assuming someone from her mother's detail would be filling in, and almost had a stroke, faltering on the last stair, when she saw Shivaay standing by the door in shorts and t-shirt, running shoes laced up. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Shivaay shrugged. "Are you going running?"

Annika grit her teeth at the bland, impersonal tone. That's how we're playing it, then? Good. "Of course. It's six fifteen on a Monday morning." She pulled her t-shirt off, baring her littlest black sports bra, one that she almost spilled from, and started stretching. "So they wouldn't let you be a quitter, then?" she asked, opening the door.

S: "Not yet."

She huffed in amusement. "That sucks for you then, I guess." She put her earbuds in, cranked her music loud and set off, feeling Shivaay behind her.

Annika tried, as she set a quick pace to the park, not to feel elated and thrilled Shivaay was stuck with her, because a good sized part of her was more than pissed he'd found her so undesirable to be around after the silly kiss that he would transfer. And then offer up the lame excuse about crossing the line with her. If only he would, she thought traitorously. No, she wasn't glad he was still around, but she felt a little spring in her step nonetheless.

Once she got to the park, she did her usual two laps around the pond, but didn't stop, pushing herself to take the circuitous route back home, feeling Shivaay move up behind her. She put on a burst of speed to maintain the distance between them, but he kept pace with her evenly. Annika felt her breathing coming in gasps and stopped just inside the park. "Stop that," she panted, pulling her earbuds back. She was sweating and red-faced from exertion and the warmth of the day.

Shivaay handed her water and she grabbed it, drinking half then dumping the rest over her head, wiping her face. "Stop what?" he finally asked.

"Being up in my personal space. I'm trying to think," she snapped.

"And you never go this way. Precautions still need to be maintained." She glared.

"Oh yes, someone might just grab me off the street, right?" she shot back, feeling grouchy.

"You never know," Shivaay said reasonably and she sighed in disgust, rolling her eyes. She reached up to put her earbuds back in. "Camera, eleven o'clock," he added.

Annika's heart beat stuttered for a moment as she thought of the incriminating photos she'd been sent. "Goody," she said with a forced off-handedness and put her earbuds back in properly, starting back up at her normal pace. Shivaay stayed a respectful two steps back.

Once she made it back home, Annika was out of breath and sweating more than ever, but she felt pleased she'd managed to almost completely block Shivaay from her mind. Until she glanced over at him as she walked around to cool down, seeing him lift his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow, revealing a toned, golden expanse of stomach and the mouth watering lines of his lean hips. Sweet fucking God.

She turned to go in abruptly, turning off her music as she got into the kitchen. Her mother was there with Omkara, going over the planned itinerary for the trip to Europe, and the woman was kicking up a fuss at her husband's planned time management. "No, no," she was saying. "This is a mess. I want to go to the spa on the first day, not the second. Harsh has no clue what he's talking about."

Annika smiled at Omkara, who glanced at her. "Mom," she said, opening the fridge, basking in the cool for a moment, "stop getting mad and just write your own."

"I always do anyway," Vanshika said archly. "Your father's horrible at time management. He thinks a half hour is sufficient time to get dressed and ready for a day." Vanshika rolled her chocolate brown eyes, tossed her brown hair, a few shades lighter than Annika's, but just as long and pin-straight, and pulled out a pen from her purse nearby, which she was halfway through transferring the contents of to a different purse.