Guarding His Queen

Chapter 6

"What are you doing out here?" I demanded while Yukon bounded out of the water, just so thrilled to have new hands to pet him. Perhaps he wasn't the most loyal choice.

Jasper chuckled, utterly unbothered by the my temper that rarely peeked out and my very wet dog. "You requested that I be your personal guard, didn't you? I'm just doing what the esteemed queen asked of me," he said innocently while scratching Yukon's ears. 

My control snapped back into place like a rubber band that had been released. I swam a little deeper into the water, making sure my bikini was fully submerged. I felt the surprise anger waft away from me, into the liquid. Through my resolve I found a toehold for my dominance. "You aren't wearing your suit. It's customary that you at least look the part," I said.

"What are you going to do?" he taunted. He crossed his thick arms across this best and slumped his shoulder against a tree trunk. "You can always fire me, kitten. This whole thing could be over right now if you want it to be."

I curled my hands into fists beneath the water. "You will not call me kitten."

"I will if I want to. I just did it because of your childish tee shirt, but now that I know it bugs you I'm not going to let it go. Now, can we please go? Your day is about to start and unless you want to tell everyone about your secret swimming hole I suggest we aren't late."

I narrowed my eyes at him, not particularly fond of his tone and his dramatic eye rolls. But, he was right. I didn't want to greet my security team with wet hair and smelling like the outdoors.

"Can you at least look away?" I demanded.

"Why? What are we? Seven year olds in a locker room? Just be a big girl and get out of the water please," he ordered.

"No," I snapped. Thankfully, I didn't blush at the thought of my tiny bikini that barely offered any coverage. My anger was at the forefront now.

"Kitten, you aren't my type. I don't care much for girls who think saying words like 'fuck' are below them. Just get dressed."

Now my cheeks turned bright red which I hated. Why did my body have to validate his words? And why did I even care? He was just some random body guard that would be going back home in about a months time. I shouldn't feel like having a clean vocabulary and a prestigious upbringing was something to be ashamed of. If anything, he should've been embarrassed.

So, keeping my chin up, I paddled my way over to the edge of the pond. I didn't hesitate when my feet hit the rocky bottom, pushing my upper body out of the water, but God, I wished I had worn the full-coverage one piece. But it was too late now and I was proving a point. Water trickled out of my hair, down my chest, over my stomach, and down my legs as I strolled towards Jasper. Keeping my eyes locked with his, I bent over an snagged my towel and began drying off. 

"So, I reviewed your current security policy and I have to say, it's lacking to the fullest degree," Jasper announced. His dark eyes didn't even flicker towards my soaked bikini. If he had been Edmund he would've been all wide-eyed and slack jawed. At least, that's what I hoped for, but we wouldn't know until our wedding night.

"My security is fairly tight, I think. We've never had any real threat until recently," I advised. My cat shirt was tugged over my head then I shimmied my shorts up my wet legs.

"Everyone is smarter after the funeral," Jasper shot back. "If we are going to be reactive, you're going to die. Events like these usually spark others."

There was no anger in those eyes or a sneer on his lips that told me he liked to watch me squirm. The only thing he allowed me to see what his certainty. I nodded my head curtly, but felt panic curl its dark fingers around my heart again. My hour of swimming and release was wasted. 

Jasper and I walked back to the palace in silence, Yukon darting ahead and investigating everything and anything that moved or didn't move at all. He was still soaking wet and when he found a gardener to sniff out the staff member shrieked and shoved him away.

"Cute dog," Jasper grunted.

"Thank you. I rescued him a little over two years ago, after my-" I cut myself off. Jasper was just trying to be polite. He hadn't asked for a sob story. I swallowed hard and started again. "He's become a great addition to the family and the newspapers said it made me more personable so my father came on board eventually too. He was hoping that when I came home with a dog it would've been a Pyrenees or a Corgi. But Yukon grows on everyone."

My new guard nodded along, but said nothing.

Jasper stayed stationed outside my door while I got ready for my meeting though I insisted he shouldn't need to.  But he was stubborn and I was impatient. I showered to get the outside off of me, using the products that my hair stylist recommended on my blonde hair and exfoliating my skin like I did every week. 

Once my hair was dried and pulled up into a severe bun I slipped into a grey skirt and tucked in a clean, white blouse. A swipe of my sheer gloss and a wipe of mascara on each eye completed the look.

When I reappeared outside of the room Jasper was waiting, still wearing his shorts and tee shirt. His gaze swept over me in one smooth motion. He didn't look any more impressed than he had when he had seen me in a bathing suit. We walked to the meeting together, but while I sat at the head of the table in the conference room with my highest guards surrounding me, he stood, leaning against the wall.

"Will you be joining us?" I asked pointedly.

"I'd like to see how you function without an intervention," he dismissed.

I didn't feel inclined to argue with him so I addressed my staff instead. We spoke for about an hour, throwing out ideas and talking about gaps that we had noticed since the attack. There wasn't much arguing, there never was. We came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to hire a handful more guards. It would take time to get them trained, but we should have them soon enough and the guards we had could be stretched if we paid over time. That way I would have more coverage.

The meeting was over in less than an hour and I gave Jasper a cocky grin as I sauntered out of the office.

"How do you think your meeting went?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Very well, I feel much safer already," I stated. My lips curled upwards in an arrogant smirk and I strutted with less grace and more power. This Canadian was going to be packing his bags soon enough.

"Well, you shouldn't," Jasper bit out. 

"Excuse me? You say nothing during the meeting and now you have an opinion?" I demanded.

"What I'm going to suggest wouldn't have gone over well with your high collar group in there."

"And why is that?"

"Because someone tried to kill you and no one knows why. And no one seems to care. If we can't take out the desire to murder you then you aren't ever going to be safe. And if they can't take their anger out on you they are going to go after Cecilia, Edmund, Yukon. They won't stop."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm afraid you won't like my plan much either."

My eyebrow quirked. Well, he certainly knew how to get me interested. 

Jasper's firm brown eyes settled on me as he inched closer. If I had been a quivering damsel I would've pressed back against my bedroom door. But I was a queen. I held my ground, even when I felt the warmth of his body through the limited space between. His breath tickled the skin of my neck as he leaned in.

"You are going to get dressed in your most normal clothes. I'm talking ripped jeans, fishnets, sweaters from sporting events. Then, after nine tonight, you and I are going to grab a couple drinks at the bar and see what drunk locals have to say about you."

"That's dangerous."

At that Jasper grinned. "You don't have to worry about that, kitten. I can handle it."